Iwami Ginzan

Est. 0Oda, Chugoku

Overview

UNESCO-listed Edo-era silver mining town with preserved merchant streets, mine shafts, and surrounding temples.

A UNESCO World Heritage site since 2007, Iwami Ginzan was Japan's largest silver producer through the Edo period and supplied roughly a third of the world's silver at its peak. The walking circuit runs from the World Heritage Center through Omori's preserved merchant district past the Kumagai House (the ringleader merchant's estate), then up into the hills to the Ryugenji Mabu mine shaft and the Rakan-ji temple's stone Buddhas. Allow most of a day; the elevation change between Omori town and the higher mine sites is real.

Local tips

Bicycle rentals at the Omori bus stop turn a 4-hour walking visit into a 2-hour ride. The Ryugenji mine shaft costs 410 yen and is the only mine open to the public — don't skip.

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