Takehara Townscape Conservation Center

The Takehara Townscape Preservation Center serves as a preservation center for an area where the entire townscape is protected as the Takehara Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings. Takehara prospered in the Edo period as a salt-production town and was also a merchant town known as "Aki’s Little Kyoto," so it features traditional architecture, with most buildings being merchant-house architecture. With the traditional merchant town preserved as it was, you can see architecture from the mid-Edo period through the Meiji period. All of the buildings, including the Shunpu-kan Yoriya Residence, the Fukko-kan Yoriya Residence, the Shoren-ji Temple Bronze Bell, and the former Hinomaru Photo Studio, are Important Cultural Properties. There is also Taketsuru Sake Brewery (the birthplace of Masataka Taketsuru, founder of Nikka Whisky), making it full of highlights. It is said that if you hold the Jizo statue located at the top of the stone steps while making a wish, and it feels light, your wish will come true. While in Takehara you can only view the exteriors, at the Takehara Townscape Preservation Center you can watch videos showing the interior structures of old houses and learn about the area’s history. The Takehara Townscape Preservation Center is a 15-minute walk from Takehara Station.