I must admit to my penchant for secluded small towns and romantic images of the idyllic Shangri-La. Whether it's Urbino in Central Italy or Wuyuan Shicheng in Eastern China, I can never resist the call of these landlocked and thus harder-to-reach destinations, nestled within some exotic remote mountain ranges.
And that, in a nutshell, was why we chose to spend a night at beautiful Tsuwano.
This was Day 10 of our 16-day West Japan Circle Route, a self-guided itinerary that loosely followed the rugged coastlines of western Honshu except for a few interesting stops inland: Bitchu-Takahashi and its mountaintop castle, 17th century mining town of Iwami Ginzan, and now finally, Tsuwano and its enchanting little canals teeming with colourful Koi fish.
Tsuwano turned out to be the perfect stopover on our 5-hour journey between the hotsprings of Yunotsu and the castle town of Hagi, two largely unknown UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the San'in Coast. Yunotsu to Tsuwano was a three hour train ride with a transfer at Masuda (which features excellent local souvenirs such as Yuzu sodas and grilled poisonous Fugu fish), and the trip from Tsuwano to Hagi was a 100 minute bus trip through local mountain passes.
By sheer luck we came across a series of autumn festivities along our route, starting with Saturday night when the ancient hotspring town of Yunotsu held its weekly Kagura Dance. On Sunday one of Tsuwano's most iconic sights, the C571 steam locomotive, would pull into the train station for the last time of the year. And the next Wednesday just happened to be November 23, the date of the annual Yanai Matsuri festival along the historic streets of Yanai. Our planning had little to do with it -- the timing just turned out more perfect than we could have planned for.
So we rented our own apartment for a night in Tsuwano, and even considered reserving a partial ticket for the steam train's 2-hour return trip to Shin-Yamaguchi as it puffed through the unspoilt Japanese countryside. But the timetable turned out too inconvenient, and I resorted to watching the train's arrival from the comfort of our balcony, merely 200m from the train station.
I took this picture while enduring some inquisitive glances from Japanese tourists on ground level ... how did this guy claim such a prime viewing spot? Everyone could hear the old-fashioned train-whistle from miles away as the steam engine announced its approach towards a platform already swarming with railway buffs from across Japan.
As I enjoyed the convenience of our balcony, my wife unintentionally found a superb angle from an anonymous rail crossing while coming back from grocery shopping! The locomotive would dock at Tsuwano for photos with train enthusiasts for the last time of the year, and reverse direction via an antiquated turntable for its return to the regional transport hub of Shin-Yamaguchi where it would winter until next spring's Sakura season.
While the steam locomotive draws its own hardcore following, what really puts Tsuwano on the tourist map is a historic settlement surviving from the feudal era, on par with Kyoto's Higashiyama or Takayama's Sanmachi as a nationally protected area of Important Traditional Architecture. We even encountered a rare organized tour of English-speakers -- the only one we came across anywhere in the San'in region -- possibly on a combined tour with nearby Hagi.
Despite the lack of an unmistakable icon like Kyoto's Kiyomizudera or Takayama's Jinya, Tsuwano does features its own eccentric mix of attractions such as the inconspicuous Koi-no-Komeya, roughly translatable as Rice Shop of the Koi Fish. Aside from serving the community since the 1800's as a trusted wholesaler of locally grown rice and commercial cooking charcoal, the shop delights school kids and tourists alike with a surprising highlight at its back room ...
Four hundred colourful Koi fish waiting for a quick snack from your hands! Ingeniously tapped into the town's canal system, the freshwater once powered a rice milling machine which has since given way to the overfed fish. To access the room, just bow to the shopkeeper and walk towards the back of the shop where you can put down 100 yen for a bag of fish feed.
Stuffed pangolins and sea turtles grace the traditional medicine cabinet at the 200-year-old pharmacy of Hakusekido, famous for its own brand of gastrointestinal medicine that predates its internationally famous cousin, the Seirogan. For 1650 yen (CAD$19) an unlucky visitor can pick up 300 tiny pills formulated for upset stomachs and traveler's diarrhea.
Further down the street you would find an even older Tsuwano institution, the 300-year-old Hashimoto Sake Brewery best known for an award-winning Daiginjo known as Kairyo. Its friendly competitor for over two centuries, the slightly younger Kasen Shuzou, looms just steps away as Tsuwano's most popular Sake-maker in recent years.
The picturesque Tonomachi-dori, Tsuwano's most advertised sight judging by the covers of local tourism brochures, turned out strangely deserted even on a Sunday afternoon during peak autumn season. Flanking the majestic boulevard were whitewashed earthen walls of Samurai residences surviving from the Edo Period, now reborn as town halls and community centres.
I suspect that the town's little canals weren't exactly teeming with overweight carps back in the 1800s. The convenience of streetside fish food dispensaries have since made feeding these semi-disinterested fish a favorite activity of day-tripping tourists.
Occupying a corner of Tonomachi-dori, the Tsuwano Catholic Church bears witness to cultural shifts in a town once notorious for the persecution of covert Japanese Christians in the early days of the Meiji Era. Nowadays the small neo-gothic church is famous for its original Tatami mat seating, an extremely rare feature even in rural Japan.
Our favorite discovery at Tonomachi-dori was the brilliant maples in the grounds of the old Yorokan, the 19th century training academy for the feudal domain's Samurai and bureaucrats. Another memorable spot was a traditional papermaker just west of the traffic lights offering an eye-popping assortment of stationeries and household goods from hand-made Sekishu Washi paper.
Guided by the last rays of sunlight we took the 10-minute hike to the photogenic Taikodani Inari Shrine, deliberately constructed on the hillside of the former castle to protect the Daimyo's clan from evil spirits. Note the giant straw rope fashioned after the iconic Izumo Taisha -- this shrine is still within the boundaries of Shimane Prefecture, even though we're 2.5 hours from Izumo by express train.
For those who have visited Kyoto's Fushimi Inari Taisha, this distinctive tunnel of vermillion Torii gates, stretching from level ground to the mountaintop shrine, should look quite familiar. Both are considered among the top Inari shrines of Japan, and while Tsuwano's version of the tunnel may be shorter, it's arguably more atmospheric especially in the dim yellow glow of the lanterns at dusk.
It was nearly dark by the time we made it downhill, and the zigzagging path of the Torii gates became even more discernible in the soft luminance of the lanterns. After a brisk wintry stroll up Tonomachi-dori, we walked back to the train station where we made our dinner reservation at a locally recommended Sushi-ya, to be reviewed in the next post.
One night was quite optimal for appreciating Tsuwano's small town character, still quaint and largely unchanged since the age of the feudal Daimyos. With another half-day I would have loved to visit the nearby 18th Century manor and gardens of Hori Teien, but we decided to take the early 08:00 bus to Hagi. I don't think anyone could blame me for hurrying to our next hotspring Ryokan, especially this late in November.
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