Regional discoveries | Value Village

MieHistoric Districts

Ise

Okage Yokocho

Before the gate of the Inner Shrine. The streets of the Edo and Meiji eras have been recreated.

MieHistoric Districts

Matsusaka

Matsusaka Beef

Only virgin Japanese Black cattle qualify. It is called the art of meat.

MieHistoric Districts

Toba

Ama Hut

Huts where the free-diving ama warm themselves. More ama remain here than anywhere in Japan.

ShigaHistoric Districts

Omihachiman

Hachimanbori

A canal that joined Lake Biwa to the castle town. White-walled merchant storehouses line it.

ShigaHistoric Districts

Omihachiman

Omi Beef

Held to be the oldest wagyu brand in Japan. The Hikone domain presented it to the shogun, cured in miso.

KyotoHistoric Districts

Kyoto

Gion

Teahouse buildings run the length of the street. It grew up as the gate town of Yasaka Jinja.

KyotoHistoric Districts

Kyoto

Nishiki Market

The kitchen of Kyoto. More than 130 shops along 400 metres.

KyotoHistoric Districts

Kyoto

Philosopher's Path

About 1.5 kilometres along the Lake Biwa Canal. Nishida Kitaro used to walk it.

OsakaHistoric Districts

Osaka

Dotonbori

An entertainment district that began with playhouses. The Glico sign is now in its sixth generation.

OsakaHistoric Districts

Osaka

Kuromon Market

The kitchen of Naniwa. Pufferfish and eel shops line the arcade.

HyogoHistoric Districts

Kobe

Kitano Ijinkan

The rise where foreigners lived after the port opened. The Weathercock House stands here.

NaraHistoric Districts

Around Sakurai

Yamanobe no Michi

Held to be the oldest road in Japan, running from Miwa to Nara and linking burial mounds and shrines.

WakayamaHistoric Districts

Minabe

Nanko Ume

Sixty percent of Japan's plums. Whole slopes turn white with blossom.

WakayamaHistoric Districts

Wakayama

Kuroshio Market

A tuna-cutting show three times a day.

TottoriHistoric Districts

Sakaiminato

Mizuki Shigeru Road

Yokai were originally the shapes people gave to what they could not explain. The culture on the reverse side of faith.

TottoriHistoric Districts

Around Sakaiminato

Matsuba Crab

The male snow crab. Landings here compete for first place in Japan.

ShimaneHistoric Districts

Oda

Omori

It became World Heritage because the silver was taken without wrecking the environment.

ShimaneHistoric Districts

Matsue

Horikawa Cruise

You circle the castle moat by small boat. At the low bridges the roof comes down.

OkayamaHistoric Districts

Setouchi

Osafune

A great centre of Japanese swordmaking. It produced many National Treasure and Important Cultural Property blades.

OkayamaHistoric Districts

Kurashiki

Bikanchiku

Goods gathered here as a territory ruled directly by the shogunate. White-walled storehouses line the canal.

HiroshimaHistoric Districts

Onomichi

Twenty-five temples and narrow slopes. The setting of Ozu Yasujiro's Tokyo Story.

YamaguchiHistoric Districts

Hagi

The layout of the samurai quarter survives as it was in the Edo period. It produced the men of the Restoration.

YamaguchiHistoric Districts

Shimonoseki

Karato Market

Shimonoseki's fish market, combining wholesale and retail. At weekends sushi stalls line the hall.

YamaguchiHistoric Districts

Shimonoseki

Shimonoseki Fugu

Here fugu is called fuku. Ito Hirobumi is said to have lifted the ban on eating it.