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.

MieNature & Scenery

Shima

Ago Bay

Pearl rafts float on a rias coast. This is the sea where Mikimoto Kokichi first succeeded in culturing pearls.

MieNature & Scenery

Ise

Meoto Iwa

Around the summer solstice the sun rises between the two rocks.

MieGardens

Kuwana

Nabana no Sato

One of the largest illumination displays in Japan, with a begonia garden alongside.

MieMuseums

Iga

Iga Ninja Museum

A ninja house with revolving walls and hidden doors, moved here and rebuilt.

MieHistoric Districts

Matsusaka

Matsusaka Beef

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

MieCraft Experiences

Around Matsusaka

Ise Kaido

The road of the Ise pilgrimage. There was an age when several million people a year walked it.

MieFestivals

Kumano

Kumano Fireworks

Shells burst against the rock wall of Onigajo in what is called the sea self-detonation. It has run for 300 years.

MieHistoric Districts

Toba

Ama Hut

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

MieCraft Experiences

Suzuka

Suzuka Circuit

The first full-scale racing circuit in Japan, with a figure-of-eight course that crosses over itself.

MieCraft Experiences

Yokkaichi

Banko Ware

Purple-clay teapots. Most of the clay pots made in Japan come from here.

ShigaArchitecture

Hikone

Hikone-jo

A surviving keep, and a National Treasure. It is at its finest seen from Genkyuen below.

ShigaFestivals

Otsu

Sennichi Kaihogyo

About 40,000 kilometres walked over seven years. The rule was that anyone who stopped partway was to take his own life.

ShigaNature & Scenery

Around Otsu

Lake Biwa

The largest lake in Japan, taking up a sixth of the prefecture. An ancient lake, four million years old.

ShigaArchitecture

Hikone

Genkyuen

The daimyo garden of Hikone Castle. The keep is seen across the pond.

ShigaHistoric Districts

Omihachiman

Hachimanbori

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

ShigaArt & Crafts

Nagahama

Kurokabe Square

Built around a black-plastered former bank, the district was reborn as a town of glass.

ShigaCraft Experiences

Koka

Shigaraki

One of the six ancient kilns of Japan. Tanuki figures, and the remains of climbing kilns.

ShigaNature & Scenery

Takashima

Metasequoia Avenue

Five hundred trees along 2.4 kilometres. The colour changes completely with the seasons.

ShigaNature & Scenery

Otsu

Biwako Valley

Looking down on Lake Biwa from 1,100 metres.

ShigaFestivals

Nagahama

Nagahama Hikiyama

Children perform kabuki on the stage of the floats. UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

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.

ShigaArt & Crafts

Koka

Miho Museum

Designed by I. M. Pei. It appears at the far end of a tunnel and a suspension bridge.

KyotoFestivals

Kyoto

Gion Matsuri

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. The townspeople have kept it going for over a thousand years.