Takahashi / Niimi

Top Things to do

• Fukiya Furusato Village

  4.0

  36 Reviews

  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.

• Maki-do Cave

  4.0

  35 Reviews

  Okayama Pref. Nimishi Toyonagakouma 2276-2

  A limestone cave on a karst plateau in Niimi City, Okayama Prefecture designated a Natural Monument by Okayama Prefecture. Said to have been found by a hunter in the Edo period, the cave’s name, meaning “full of mysteries,” is derived from a poem written by married poets Tekkan and Akiko Yosano in 1929. The cave is around 450 meters long in total and 25 meters wide at its widest point, and its graceful spaces are filled with sights to see, including one of Japan’s best examples of a rimstone terrace formation; an underground lake named the “Palace of Dreams;” and countless soda straws, stalactites, and stalagmites.

• Raikyuji Temple

  4.0

  51 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."

• Bitchu Matsuyama Castle

  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”.

• Hirokane Residence

  4.0

  39 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)."

• Takahashi Nariwa Museum of Art

  4.5

  16 Reviews

  Okayama Pref. Takahashishi Nariwachoushimohara 1068-3

  Takahashi Nariwa Museum of Art is located along National Route 33 in Shimohara, Nariwa-cho in the city of Takahashi. It houses the works of Torajiro Kojima, a native of the area, known as one of Japan's principal Impressionist painters, along with Kojima's personal collection of some 500 items, mostly Egyptian relics. The museum also contains a collection of fossilized plants discovered in the Nariwa region.

• Takahashi City Local Museum

  3.5

  13 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.

• 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.