Shimane · TsuwanoNo.843★★★Open in map →
Tsuwano
— A samurai castle town in the San'in mountains
A samurai quarter in a narrow mountain basin in western Shimane, kept whole rather than restored piece by piece. Carp swim in the open channels beside the main street, and a hillside shrine looks down over the roofs.
- FromShin-Yamaguchi Station
- ~1 hJR limited express
- Get off atTsuwano Station (JR Yamaguchi Line)
- On foot
- Tsuwano
Where it is
14 more notes in Shimane · open the map →What to look for — in walking order
- Tonomachi Streetplastered lattice walls on one side, open channels with carp on the other
- Tago Gatethe surviving front gate of the domain's chief retainer house
- Tsuwano Catholic Churcha church standing among the samurai walls on the same street
- Taikodani Inari Shrineabout 1,000 vermilion torii climbing the hillside to the shrine
- Tsuwano Castle Ruinsstone walls on the ridge, reached by chairlift and a footpath
How to actually get there
- Take the JR Yamaguchi Line limited express from Shin-Yamaguchi to Tsuwano.
- Walk south from the station, or pick up a rental bicycle at the forecourt.
- Follow Tonomachi past the channels and the retainer gate.
- Climb the torii path to Taikodani Inari Shrine, and the castle ridge above it.
- Shin-Yamaguchi → Tsuwano
- A limited express on the JR Yamaguchi Line takes about an hour from the shinkansen station at Shin-Yamaguchi. Coming from the San'in coast instead, Masuda is the connecting point.
- Few trains, so check first
- The Yamaguchi Line runs a thin timetable and the last useful southbound service leaves earlier than most people expect. Fix the return before you walk up to the shrine.
About the place
The town sits in a narrow basin with wooded ridges close on both sides, and that shape is why the comparison with Kyoto keeps being made. Its centre is Tonomachi, the former samurai quarter, where lattice-patterned plaster walls run along one side of the street and open channels along the other. The channels were cut as waterways when the castle town was laid out; the carp came later. The old town is small enough to cross on foot, and a rented bicycle reaches the sites on its edges.
How to enjoy it
The old town is compact enough to walk end to end, and rental bicycles at the station cover what lies outside it. Give the main street two passes, once on arrival and once after the day trippers have gone back to the platform. Late July brings the Sagimai heron dance to Yasaka Shrine.
Background & history
The town grew as the seat of the Tsuwano domain, with the castle on the ridge above and the retainers' houses on the flat below. Taikodani Inari Shrine was founded in 1773 on the slope between the two, placed to guard the castle. Mori Ogai, the novelist and army surgeon, was born here and lived in the town until he was 10; his house still stands at the southern end. The castle itself is now walls and foundations on the ridge.
Before you go
- Cash
- The street itself costs nothing. Museums, the castle chairlift and rental bicycles are paid separately, and small places prefer cash.
- Before you go
- Everything on the street is outdoors, so weather decides the day. The chairlift to the castle stops in strong wind and keeps its own off days.
- Another way
- The SL Yamaguchi steam train runs to Tsuwano on selected days as a slower, scenic approach; confirm it is operating before planning around it.
- After you get off
- From Tsuwano Station it is about a 10-minute walk south to Tonomachi, or a few minutes by rental bicycle.