Chizu-cho

Highlight

Ishitani Residence

The Ishitani Residence has a dignified appearance in Chizu-shuku, which prospered as the largest post-station town in Tottori Domain. This residence has been designated as an important cultural property of Japan. It is a wooden mansion with 40 rooms and has seven warehouses in the site area that is as large as approximately 3,000 tsubos (9,920 m2). Denshiro Ishitani, who was a member of the House of Peers, took approximately 10 years to rebuild this residence from 1919.

Data

General Incorporated Foundation Inaba Kaido Furusato Shinko Zaidan

Address: 396, Chizu, Chizu-cho, Yazu-gun, Tottori 689-1402

Tel.: 0858-75-3500

Access: 13-minute walk from Chizu Express Chizu Station (JR Chizu Station)

Official website: http://www.ifs.or.jp (in Japanese)

Suwa Shrine

Shinshu Suwa Taisha Shrine’s tutelary deity was divided and moved to Suwa Shrine. The divided tutelary deity has been deeply revered as a god of fire suppression. The fresh green and autumnal leaves in the precincts are beautiful throughout the year, where many tourists visit. Every 6 years, Chizu holds Hashira Matsuri for Suwa Shrine. It is a brave festival, in which local people cut down four cedar trees in the woods, bring the trees down from the mountains, parade with them all through the town, and dedicate them to the shrine.

Data

Location: Chizu, Chizu-cho, Yazu-gun, Tottori 689-1402

Tel.:0858-76-1111

Access: 15-minute walk from Chizu Express Chizu Station (JR Chizu Station)

Ashizu Valley

The Ashizu Valley will let you enjoy the scenery of the ravine and the flow and beauty of water, where spring fresh green and autumnal leaves in the virgin woods cover the whole mountain, and the nature of the four seasons shines on the lake surface. The superb view of the Ashizu Valley is reputed as one of the best views in western Japan, and visitors can enjoy hiking (on the Chugoku Nature Trail), masu trout fishing, and wild plant dishes.

«Vegetable Dish Restaurant MITAKIEN»

You can taste wild plant dishes using ingredients of the season in a thatched-roofed old Japanese-style house converted to a restaurant. There are woods and a waterfall nearby and you can enjoy the food while feeling the richness of nature. There are separate private dining rooms on the premises, which provides spaces that will let you forget the daily bustle.

Tel.: [Lunchtime] 0858-75-3665; [Dinnertime] 0858-75-3311 (A reservation is required.)

«Bird Cafe Quince»

Bird Cafe Quince is on the premises of Vegetable Dish Restaurant MITAKIEN. You can see the waterfall and trees from the long tables inside, where you can enjoy nature. The menu emphasizes the use of locally harvested ingredients.

Data

Location: Ashizu, Chizu-cho, Yazu-gun, Tottori 689-1412

Access: 20-minute taxi ride from Chizu Express Chizu Station (JR Chizu Station)

Bujoji Temple

Bujoji Temple is located in the mountains in the Niimi district, which is approximately 4 kilometers up the prefectural road along the Niimi River from the center of the town of Chizu. It is said that this temple was founded in the Kasho era of Japan (848 - 851) but was destroyed by fire in a battle during the Warring States period (1493 - 1573) of Japan, and the present building was built after the mid-Edo period. Bujoji Temple is well known for its many temple treasures, including a color portrait of Fuken Kannon painted on silk, designated as a national treasure; as well as a color portrait of Yoryu Kannon painted on silk and a wooden standing statue of Vaisravana, both of which have been designated as national important cultural properties.

The silk portrait of Fuken Kannon, as a national treasure, and a silk portrait of Yoryu Kannon, as a national important cultural property, have been deposited at the Tokyo National Museum.

Data

Location: 73 Niimi, Chizu-cho, Yazu-gun, Tottori 689-1463

Tel.: 0858-75-0194

Access: 5-minute taxi ride from Chizu Express Chizu Station (JR Chizu Station)

Saikoji Temple

It is said Gyoki, a high-ranking priest in the Nara period, built this historic temple and that Emperor Godaigo named the temple Saikoji and this village Ochi when he stayed in the village on his way back to the capital from Oki, where he had been exiled. The current main hall, where a statue of Yakushi Sanzonzo as the principal image of the temple is enshrined, was rebuilt in the middle of the Edo period. The precincts serve as the 21st Inaba Yakushi Pilgrimage site.

Data

Location: 1793 Ochi, Chizu-cho, Yazu-gun, Tottori 689-1421

Access: 3-minute walk from Chizu Express Koiyamagata Station

Koiyamagata Station

Koiyamagata Station is one of the four stations that include “koi” (which means love) in Japan.

Koiyamagata Station is one of the four stations that include “koi” (which means love) in Japan. *The four stations are Bokoi Station (JR Hokkaido), Koishihama Station (Sanriku Railway), Koigakubo Station (Seibu Railway), and Koiyamagata Station (Chizu Express).

As a unique initiative, Chizu Express has positioned Koiyamagata Station as “Love Station” with the aim of providing topics for the whole country and in pursuit of the further revitalization of the region. The station building was repainted in pink on June 9, 2013, for a renewal. The building is full of pink and heart-shaped objects, including a heart-shaped monument and pink mailbox.

Data

159-3 Ochi, Chizu-cho, Yazu-gun, Tottori 689-1421

Access: Chizu Express Koiyamagata Station


Eating

Suwa Shuzo

Chizu is a town that fostered the Tottori Sand Dunes. The underground water from the woods is pumped up from a well and used for sake brewing without filtration. Suwa Shuzo provides sake with a refreshing taste and sells sake by offering sake tasting. It sells local specialties as well.

Data

Suwa Shuzo Co., Ltd.

Location: 451 Chizu, Chizu-cho, Yazu-gun, Tottori 689-1402

Tel.: 0858-75-0618

Access: 15-minute walk from Chizu Express Chizu Station (JR Chizu Station)

Official website: http://suwaizumi.jp (in Japanese)

Talmary

A couple born in Tokyo opened this shop by renovating a nursery school. Talmary’s bread uses Chizu’s natural yeast with no commercially available yeast. The deep scent and rich flavor of the bread are delicious and reputed to be addictive once you eat. The shop has a variety of menu items that customers can enjoy, including house-made sweets as well as a lunch menu, hamburgers, and pizzas.

The translated version of a book entitled Inaka no Pan’ya ga Mitsuketa “Kusaru” Keizai (lit. Rotten Economy Discovered by a Country Baker) written by Itaru Watanabe, the chef and owner, became a bestseller in South Korea, and customers are visiting from home and abroad.

Data

Talmary

Location: 214-1 Ose, Chizu-cho, Yazu-gun, Tottori 689-1451

Tel.: 0858-71-0106

Access: 10-minute walk from JR Nagi Station


Experience

Forest Therapy®

Chizu, a town with the catchphrase “A town for evacuation where the green wind blows,” is surrounded by rich nature, and about 93% of its total area consists of mountains. Forest therapy is a step beyond forest bathing. This therapy is a medically-endorsed expansion of forest bathing, including walking in the woods, doing exercises, enjoying recreational activities, and more. (A reservation is required.)

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Chizu-cho Forest Therapy Promotion Conference (Chizu-cho Tourist Association)

Location: 2067-1 Chizu, Chizu-cho, Yazu-gun, Tottori 689-1402

Tel.: 0858-76-1111

Access: 1-minute walk from Chizu Express Chizu Station (JR Chizu Station)

Official website: http://www1.town.chizu.tottori.jp/therapy/

Sugitama

Sugitama balls are made from sprigs of Japanese cedar. When the color of the sprigs change from green to brown, it means that the freshly brewed sake (Japanese rice wine) has become delicious and ready to drink. Sugitama balls are hung under the eaves of shops in Chizushuku as a token of the hospitality of the shops. The round shape of Sugitama balls, specialty products representing the town of cedars, is said to settle everything peacefully and bring benefits. In addition to buying them, you can also experience the production of Sugitama balls.

*A production experience requires a reservation.

Data

Chizu-cho Tourist Association

Location: 2067-1 Chizu, Chizu-cho, Yazu-gun 689-1402

Tel.: 0858-76-1111

Access: 1-minute walk from Chizu Express Chizu Station (JR Chizu Station)

Seiryu-no-sato Shinden Ningyo Joruri no Yakata

You can appreciate the performance of ningyo joruri, a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater that has been performed since the early Meiji era. The puppet show expresses emotions with skilled exquisite movements. You can see the fascinating and lively stage with close proximity. Furthermore, you can learn about the form of traditional Japanese puppet theater handed down from generation to generation in the Shinden settlement, and experience moving a doll. In this valuable experience, you can touch the doll’s structure and rare costumes directly, and feel the fragrance of traditional culture through your skin.

Data

Location: 620-1 Nishidani, Chizu-cho, Yazu-gun, Tottori 689-1426

Tel.: 0858-75-1994

Access: 20-minute taxi ride from Chizu Express Chizu Station (JR Chizu Station)