• Masuda Kuranoeki-mae - Please make your way to the Masuda-kuranoeki (増田蔵の駅) bus stop by transferring at JR Jumonji station independently. Depending on your arrival time, you can take a bus or taxi from JR Jumonji station (JR十文字駅) to the Masuda-kuranoeki bus stop, so ensure you have cash for the fare. (Round trip fare for the bus: ¥500 per person, for a taxi: approximately ¥3,000 per car). Train services from JR Jumonji Station are limited, so it’s advisable to check your arrival and departure schedule in advance. Refer to the uploaded Viator photo for the timetable. If you inform us beforehand, we can assist with your transfer at JR Jumonji Station. Parking is available next to the “Hotaru - Masuda Tourist Information Center” for those arriving by car. This is a group tour, but if no other groups are scheduled at your chosen time, we can start the tour earlier if you notify us in advance. Small to medium-sized 100-yen-coin lockers are available at “Hotaru” or the “Community Lounge”. For large luggage, please contact us after booking.

• Masuda Storehouses - Discover Masuda town in Akita on a 2-hour walking tour, visiting several mansions with storehouses built by affluent merchants over 100 years ago as a testament to their financial prowess.

・Experience the townscape of a prosperous merchant’s town in the countryside.
・Explore “Uchigura or storehouse in mansion” with its distinctive black plastered walls.
・Gain insight into the lifestyle of merchants’ residents from over a century ago.

• Admission to up to 3 mansions

Take a tour with your guide through the quaint street lined with Japanese old houses!
Masuda Town has prospered as a merchant town since the Edo period.
Because this town has been the transportation hub, a variety of agricultural products gathered here. Merchants amassed wealth in their fields and created mansion towns.
Inside these mansions, “Kura’’ or a storehouse was built by wealthy merchants to store documents and household furniture.
This storehouse is still inhabited and rare even in Japan.
Feel the elegance in the detailed decorations such as white plaster, polished black plaster and lacquered interior.
The townscape is home to many historic buildings of this area.
Masuda town was designated as a National Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings in 2013.

Find the storehouses of each mansion with its unique structure and decoration.
In this guided tour, you will be able to visit two to three mansions with storehouse while receiving an explanation.

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.