Kagawa · Shiwaku IslandsNo.629★★Open in map →
Kasashima Historic District
A small port village on Honjima in the Shiwaku Islands, kept as the only nationally designated preservation district in Kagawa. Narrow lanes bend and cross at odd angles between latticed townhouses, and several of the old merchant houses are open to visitors.
- FromMarugame Station
- ~1 hrFerry from Marugame, then a walk
- Get off atHonjima Port (Honjima Kisen ferry)
- From there
- Kasashima Historic District
The sweet spot
This is a nationally designated district and no secret inside Japan. It is quiet because it sits on an island, so the number of people in the lanes at any hour is set by the boat timetable rather than by a tour schedule. Between sailings the district goes back to being a village.
Where it is
23 more notes in Kagawa · open the map →What to look for — in walking order
- Shiwaku Kinbansho sitethe seafarers' administrative office near the port, a national historic site
- Maccho-dorithe shore-side lane that curves through the length of the village
- Machinami Preservation Centre (Maki House)a merchant house open to visitors, with a white namako-walled storehouse
- Higashi-kojithe north-south lane that crosses Maccho-dori at a right angle
- Monjokan (Fujii House)the document house, one of the residences opened inside the district
How to actually get there
- Marugame Station → Marugame Port (walk).
- Marugame Port → Honjima Port (Honjima Kisen ferry, about 35 minutes).
- Honjima Port → Kasashima (about 25 minutes on foot, or the island community bus).
- Walk Maccho-dori and Higashi-koji, then return to the port for the boat back.
- Marugame Station to Honjima Port by Honjima Kisen ferry
- Marugame Station → Marugame Port on foot → Honjima Kisen ferry, about 35 minutes → Honjima Port. From the port it is roughly 25 minutes on foot northeast to Kasashima, or a ride on the island community bus. Allow about an hour from the station to the district.
- Back from Honjima Port to Marugame
- Walk or take the community bus back to Honjima Port and board the Marugame boat. Sailings are spread through the day and the last one leaves in the evening. The timetable is the real constraint here, because there is no bridge and no late option.
About the place
Kasashima sits on the northeast shore of Honjima, in the Shiwaku Islands off Marugame. Hills close the village on three sides, and the lanes inside it were laid out to defeat a straight line of sight. They curve, they meet in T-junctions and crossroads, and they change width as they go. Two of them carry names. Higashi-koji runs north to south along the eastern side of the village, and Maccho-dori curves along the shore at a right angle to it. The houses facing them are townhouse-form: a low upper storey, wooden lattice across the front, and small plastered mushiko windows above.
How to enjoy it
Boats leave Marugame from early morning to late evening, so a morning sailing out and an afternoon one back is enough for the whole district. The island community bus covers the stretch between the port and Kasashima, which is worth using for one leg if you would rather walk the other. Check the return sailing before you start walking, because the last boat leaves in the evening and there is no other way off the island.
Background & history
The Shiwaku Islands were governed for centuries by their own body of seafaring households, whose administrative office stood on Honjima. The site of that office is a national historic site, and a village elder's grave in Kasashima is included in the same designation. Kasashima itself lived on shipping, and the trade that passed through the anchorage paid for the houses that still line its lanes. In 1985 the national government selected the district as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings.
Before you go
- Cash
- Tickets are sold at the port counters in Marugame and on Honjima, so carry cash. Admission to the houses that are open in Kasashima is collected on site.
- Before you go
- The district is a living village. Most houses are private, and the lanes are narrow enough that voices carry between them. There is little street lighting after dark, and the crossing can be rough in strong wind.
- Another way
- From the Okayama side, passenger boats also run to Honjima from Kojima, a short walk from Kojima Station, which is useful if you are arriving on the San'yo Shinkansen.
- After you get off
- From Honjima Port, follow the island road northeast along the coast to reach Kasashima, about 25 minutes on foot. The community bus covers the same stretch.