Former Shibaya Residence

This late eighteenth-century merchant house on Mitarai's Tokiwa Street now serves as the town's local museum. Built for the Takahashi family, who served as village headmen for generations, the building carries the house name Shibaya, a custom used during the Edo period when commoners could not adopt formal surnames. Its wider-than-usual facade reflects the family's status. In 1806, cartographer Ino Tadataka stayed here for three days while surveying the coastline, and the detached study still holds copies of his charts. Utility poles have been placed underground to preserve the street's historic character.