10 Historic, Must-Visit Towns and Districts in Japan

Japan, known for its colorful culture and long history, has managed to preserve old towns and districts that are of national importance.

Many of these places are former samurai districts, merchant districts, geisha districts, post towns, pilgrimage towns, or villages that are full of history.

Many of Japan’s historic towns and districts were actually lost during the countess wars and battles across the country.

Others could not survive natural disasters, fires, and modernization.

Thus, the following 10 must-visit historic towns and districts in Japan can offer any traveler a rare peek into the country’s rich past and fascinating culture.

1. Gion District, Kyoto

Japan’s most famous geisha district, the Gion District in Kyoto is a major tourist attraction for its many traditional ochaya or teahouses.

In these ochaya, geiko or geisha and their apprentices called maiko perform exquisite dance and song numbers to entertain high-end clients.

Gion District is also known for its wooden merchant house or machiya.

2. Chaya Districts, Kanazawa

Another famous geisha district in Japan is located in Kanazawa.

Kanazawa has three old districts for chaya or teahouse where geiko entertain guests through songs and dances.

These districts include the Higashi Chayagai in the east, Nishi Chayagai in the west, and the Kazuemachi.

Entrancing, these districts are home to several wooden, traditional chaya located in paved streets.

3. Sanmachi Suji, Takayama

Sanmachi Suji in Takayama is a well-preserved town of affluent merchants who resided in the then-exclusive area from 1600 to 1868.

In this former merchant town, visitors can see the old, wooden homes of well-off Japanese businessmen of the past, quaint coffee shops, crafts shops, and even sake breweries, which have been operating for many generations now.

4. Kurazukuri Street, Kawagoe

Kawagoe was a merchant town where very wealthy businessmen built then-expensive and even fire-proof warehouses or kura to store their wares.

Aptly called Kurazukuri Street, this street exhibits the structures that were built by the businessmen who made successful transactions in Edo or modern-day Tokyo.

Kurazukuri simply means warehouse style, an allusion to the structures built in the area.

About a dozen of kurazukuri structures survive today, far less than the 200 believed to have been built in Kawagoe.

These structures now serve as museums, stores, or restaurants.

5. Nagamachi, Kanazawa

A former samurai district located at the base of the now ruined Kanazawa Castle is Nagamachi in Kanazawa.

In this area, samurais and their families resided.

Houses of former samurais, old gates, water canals, and earthen walls survive up to this time.

One of the houses of the wealthy samurais has been restored to exhibit the artifacts about the daily lives of the people at that time.

This place is called Nomura-ke.

6. Kakunodate

Perhaps the most intact of only a few former samurai districts in Japan is the Kakunodate, a well-preserved place that showcases samurai housing layout and architecture.

At Kakunodate, the street are wide and lined with cherry blossom trees, favorite spots of the Japanese people for holding their annual and customary hanami parties during spring.

The place used to house as many as 80 samurai families.

Now, only six of these houses are open to the people.

The most famous of them are the roomy Aoyagi House and Ishiguro House.

7. Tsumago, Kiso Valley

The most well-preserved former post town in Japan is Tsumago in Kiso Valley, which lies on the ancient Nakasendo route from the ancient capital Kyoto to modern-day Tokyo.

A visit to this enticing post town will give visitors a feel of the Edo Era.

The long-standing Honjin and Wakihonjin are well-preserved and carefully maintained.

They served as lodging for government officials passing through the old Nakasendo route.

Also, minshuku and ryokan abound in the area.

These are traditional Japanese-style lodging aimed at travelers.

Moreover, the aged office where horses and even aides could be rented by the travelers of the past is being well kept in Tsumago.

8. Ouchijuku, near Aizu

Another former post town in Japan that can give travelers a genuine feel of the Edo Era is the Ouchijuku that lies along the old Aizu-Nishi Kaido trade route.

This trade route was where people from Aizu passed through to get to Nikko, an important place during the Edo Era.

In Ouchijuku, one can find thatched-roof buildings with thick walls, unpaved streets, and several minshuku.

Travelers can eat there the local specialty of soba noodles as well as roasted skewered fish.

9. Taketomi Island, Okinawa

A lovely place that is the site of the small, quaint, and well-preserved Ryukyu Village in Japan is the Taketomi Island.

Taketomi Island has streets filled with white sand on which people can use bicycles to pedal to nearby beaches.

At the Ryukyu Village, one can see old one-story houses with red roofs and surrounded by thick stone walls.

There are also shiza statues, which look like lions and are meant to ward off evil spirits.

Many of these well-kept houses serve as minshuku, shops, or restaurants.

10. Oharaimachi, Ise

Oharaimachi is a pilgrimage town adjacent to Shinto’s most sacred Japanese shrines called the Inner Shrine of Ise.

In this town, one can see many Japanese –style buildings serving as restaurants, shops, or lodging.

Most of these buildings have been operating for many centuries, serving travelers going to this pilgrimage town and historic district in Japan.

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