Takahashi / Niimi

Top Things to do

• Bitchu Matsuyama Castle

  4.5

  289 Reviews

  Okayama Pref. Takahashishi Uchisange 1

  Bitchu Matsuyama Castle stands at the highest elevation above sea level in Japan at 430 meters as a castle which has a surviving keep. The castle was originally built on Omatsuyama by an Ukan town feudal lord, Akiba Shigenobu during the Kamakura period It was restored by Mizunoya Katsumune in 1683 and retains that castle keep appearance to this day. You can see the vestiges of a castle that was called impregnable, a solid wall of rock rising up to the mountain top. It is also famous as you can observe the apparition of a sea of clouds floating by in the early morning from the end of September to early April. Bitchu Matsuyama Castle was used in the opening shot of the “Taiga” (a long running historical drama on NHK) drama series called “Sanada Maru”.

• Raikyuji Temple

  4.0

  49 Reviews

  Okayama Pref. Takahashishi Raikyujichou 18

  "A 15-minute walk from Bitchu-Takahashi Station on the JR Hakubi Line. This is one of the Ankokuji temples established by the shogun Ashikaga Takauji. The temple is the 13th temple on the Setouchi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage and its principal object of worship is a statue of Avalokitesvara. The temple's central rock garden, featuring a symbolic depiction of legendary Mt. Penglai, was created around 1605 by Bitchu Province magistrate Kobori Masakazu and was designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty in 1974. Nicknamed ""The Crane and Tortoise Garden,"" the garden features symbolic depictions of a crane island and two turtle islands floating in a sea of white sand, with pruned satsuki azaleas representing waves; Mt. Atago stands in the distance, providing a stunning backdrop."

• Hirokane Residence

  4.0

  38 Reviews

  Okayama Pref. Takahashishi Nariwachounakano 2710

  "A 55-minute drive from the Kayo Interchange on the Okayama Expressway. This building was the residence of the Hirokane family, whose members served as the village heads of Onoro and amassed a vast fortune around 1800. The residence' stone walls were built at the end of the Edo period, their majesty a match for the romon-zukuri style residence. The residence was made famous nationwide when it was twice used as a shooting location for filming different versions of ""Village of Eight Gravestone"" in 1977 and 1996. Here visitors can experience the residence' luxurious, movie-like atmosphere and learn about the history of the estate and the Hirokane family, who prospered thanks to the Koizumi Copper Mine and the production of melanterite (a component used to make ferric oxide pigment)."

• Nishie Residence

  4.5

  10 Reviews

  Okayama Takahashi-shi Nariwacho Sakamoto 1604

  This important historical and cultural building left from the height of the Edo period is about a 25-minute drive from Nimi Interchange off the Chugoku Expressway. In the Edo period, the Nishie house fell under direct control of the government and became an official location for the local government representative. The structure retains its condition from the Meiji period. After the family lost their positions, they took up work in iron oxide dye (or red ocher) making for paints and pigments, with apparently great success. In addition to experiencing the novel forms, fresh color, and original melanterite designs, you can try red ocher dyeing yourself.

• Takahashi Samurai Manor - Old Orii Home

  4.0

  11 Reviews

  Okayama Takahashi-shi Ishibiyacho 23-2

  This old samurai residence is about a 15-minute walk from JR Bitchu-Takahashi Station. It is located in Ishibiya-cho, amidst a number of other samurai residences, in the ruins of the outermost region of Bitchu Matsuyama Castle, and it is a designated Takahashi City Important Cultural Property. Built in the Tempo era, it is a beautiful stucco walled structure with a formal, architecturally traditional main house. The courtyard has a pond and garden stones that appear almost exactly like they did when the house was in use. The while stucco and heavy beams of the Nagayamon gate are particularly lovely. Inside you'll find displays of weapons and daily lifestyle items to offer a look at how life was lived long ago.

• Takahashi City Local Museum

  3.5

  12 Reviews

  Okayama Takahashi-shi Mukocho 21

  This museum is about a 10-minute walk from JR Bitchu-Takahashi Station. The main building was the old Takahashi Combined Elementary and Higher Elementary School, which was built in 1904, and is now a designated municipal Important Cultural Property. It was preserved as an important representative of early Meiji architecture in 1972. Inside, it holds a collection of over 3,000 pieces of daily life items gathered with help from residents, and range from the Edo period through the early Showa eras. They offer a tangible sense of history. The ceiling of the meeting hall, with its Momoyama-style double-height stepped construction, offers a grand sense of the Meiji period.

• Fukiya Furusato Village

  Okayama Pref. Takahashishi Nariwachoufukiya 838-2

  This Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings is located in the Nariwacho Fukiya area of Takahashi City. A town that flourished from copper mining and the production of red iron oxide (red pigment) during the Edo period (1603–1868), it preserves the townscape lined with the rouge-colored machiya (wooden townhouses) of wealthy merchants together with red copper roof tiles.

• Niimi Museum of Art

  3.5

  9 Reviews

  Okayama Pref. Nimishi Nishigata 361

  This art museum is located in Nishigata, Niimi City. Centered on about 80 pieces by the literary painter Tomioka Tessai, It holds approximately 1,100 works of art such as modern Japanese paintings, Western paintings and crafts by artists in connection with their hometown. You can interact with the natural of Niimi throughout the four seasons through the garden in the museum and the view from the cafe.

• Bengarakan

  4.5

  4 Reviews

  Okayama Pref. Takahashishi Nariwachoufukiya

  "A 40-minute drive from the Niimi Interchange on the Chugoku Expressway. A museum operating out of a renovated Meiji period ferric oxide (known by the Dutch-derived term ""bengara"" in Japanese) factory in Fukiya Furusato Village. Fukiya Furusato Village was designated a National Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in 1977 and it was ferric oxide production which created the village's foundation. The museum presents how the factory made ferric oxide, which was developed as a red pigment. The elegant museum building's walls are painted with ferric oxide paint; inside visitors can get a taste of the village's heyday when ferric oxide production was at its height and experience the quiet passage of time through the surrounding old townscape."