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Offered languages
- Japanese
- Japanese
- English
- English
Explore Hashitate, a seaside village in Kaga once known as Japan's richest village, on a private walking tour with a local guide from a shipowning family. From the 18th century to the late Meiji era, Hashitate was home to dozens of Kitamaebune shipowners whose merchant ships sailed between Osaka and Hokkaido. Today it is a preserved historic district and part of a Japan Heritage story.
Step inside Tadaya House, a National Important Cultural Property built in the early 1830s and normally closed to the public. Compare the black lacquer of the Edo period with the red lacquer of Meiji-era mansions, discover a temple with a dazzling golden altar funded by shipowners, and hear stories of the sailors, families and scholars who shaped this village.
As a private tour, the pace and focus can be tailored to your interests, from architecture and history to photography.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
Meet your guide at the main entrance of the Kitamaebune Museum, a large traditional wooden shipowner's house. Parking is available on site. Please arrive 10 minutes before the tour starts.
Itinerary
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1
The largest surviving shipowner house. Learn the layout of a shipowner home and see the summer and winter Buddhist altars, a custom unique to Hashitate.
30 minutes • Admission ticket included -
2
Pass by Izumi Shrine, where sailors and their families once said farewell before the ships set out each spring. Originally built by the shore, the shrine was moved here in 1872 after its site sank into the sea. Sailors offered paintings of their ships and stone lanterns here to pray for safe voyages.
5 minutes • Admission ticket free -
(Pass by)
Pass by Petit Hotel Hikobe, a small inn with a bistro located in the heart of the preserved shipowners' district. Your guide will explain how the village's historic buildings are being given new life as places to stay and dine.
Admission ticket free -
3
Visit Zorokuen, the former residence of the Sakaya Choichiro shipowning family and part of Hashitate's Japan Heritage story. Its main hall is finished entirely in red lacquer, a style typical of shipowner houses built after the Meiji era, when restrictions on lavish homes for merchants were lifted. Compare its vivid interior with the subdued black lacquer of the older Tadaya House later on the tour.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
4
Step inside Tadaya House, a National Important Cultural Property built in the early 1830s and believed to be the oldest surviving shipowner's residence in Ishikawa. Normally closed to the public, it can be visited on this tour. Look for the subdued black lacquer of the Edo period, smoke-darkened bamboo in the ceiling, and a lintel added after the family was granted samurai status. Hear stories in the large hall where sailors gathered in winter.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
5
Visit the Kimura Residence, a 1920 shipowner's house that preserves the look of a Taisho-era Hashitate home. Part of it is now a small memorial hall for two brothers from the Kimura family: philosopher Kimura Motomori and world-renowned willow scientist Kimura Arika. Your guide, a member of this family, will share how a shipowning family turned to scholarship. Take a break at Café Ryujo, named after the cotton-like seeds of the willow.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
6
Visit the Hashitate branch of Fukui Betsuin, a Jodo Shinshu temple rebuilt in 1879 with donations from local shipowners after a great fire. Its modest exterior hides a dazzling interior with a gold-leaf altar and finely carved transoms. Your guide will explain why faith mattered so much to sailors who faced fire on land and shipwreck at sea.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
7
Stop at the monument to Nishide Chofu (1885–1943), a poet from the Nishide shipowning family and a pioneer of tanka written in everyday spoken Japanese. From this spot, families once watched their ships sail out to sea.
5 minutes • Admission ticket free -
(Pass by)
The tour ends at MAGONDO, a restaurant and lodging in a restored house that once belonged to a family of ship captains who sailed for the Nishide shipowners. Feel free to stay for a meal or drink after the tour.
Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Tags
Cancellation Policy
All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
Cancellation Policy
This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
You will not receive a refund if you cancel.
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