Kuncho Sake Brewery & Museum

Sake 酒

Just about every town in Japan, large or small, has at least one sake brewery.

In Hita the biggest, Kuncho Shuzo Sake Brewery is located on the edge of Mamedamachi, the historic preservation district of the old town.

To get to the brewery's museum you walk through the front part of the brewery past the huge pots that cook the rice for the sake.

The "museum" is actually just the huge attic space filled with old barrels and assorted , mostly wooden, tools and equipment, some of which is labeled

It's quite a big space, filled with stuff, and would eprhaps be interesting to some.

They have a big shop with a wide range of sakes and masu cups available. Unfortunately, I am not a fan of sake, nor of most alcohol, so I can't comment on its quality.

Wild Japan

Hina Doll Museum in Hita

Hina

This is claimed to be the largest tiered display of Hina Dolls in Japan.

It is part of the Hina Doll Museum in the historic town of Hita in Oita.

Ten rooms display more than 4,000 Hina dolls, that have been collected by a local soy sauce magnate. The museum also sells plenty of his companies wares.

Many of the dolls onj display are from the Edo period, the time that Hina dolls took on the form and function they have nowadays.

Examples of unique styles of Hina dolls from different parts of Japan are also on display.

Entry is only 300 yen, so if you are in the area it is worth a visit. If you have a particular interest in Hina dolls then it would be worth making a trip to Hita.

The Nagashibina Doll Museum in Tottori delves into the origin of the Hina dolls.

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Hita Gion Matsuri Museum

Hita Gion Matsuri Museum

Hita, the historic town in the mountains of Oita, is one of many towns throughout Japan with their own Gion Matsuri, the festival that originated in Gion, Kyoto.

The festival takes place at the end of July, but for those who visit at other times there is a museum that displays the large festival floats throughout the year.

Like many matsuri, the Gion Matsuri involves a series of floats, and they are called Yamaboko because of how tall they are.

Hita has six different yamaboko, each one pulled by a different district of the town, and they are 8 meters tall and very colorfully decorated.

As well as the floats the museum also displays other things from the festival culture,  like masks

I arrived at the museum just after it closed but a gentleman from city hall nagged the old lady in charge to let me in for my own private viewing.

Hitotsumatsu Residence in Kitsuki

Hitotsumatsu Residence in Kitsuki

Sadayoshi Hitotsumatsu was a Japanese politician who served as a cabinet minister in several of the first post-war cabinets of the government.

In 1929 he built a mansion in the castle town of Kitsuki in Oita. It was built in a combination of traditional and western styles.

While mostly appearing traditional, it does have a lot of glass which enable great views of the castle and sea as well as back over the old town.

It's built on the high point of the southern escarpment, of the two pieces of high ground that were occupied by the samurai, with the lower classes sandwiched between on the low ground.

Being a little closer to the castle, Minami-dai was the district for the highest-ranked samurai. Nearby is the former Nakane residence and garden, as well as the towns museum.

The other samurai quarter retains more of the original samurai residences and many are open to the public

Kitsuki is one of my favorite towns and is less visited by tourists, mainly due to the closest station being some distance from the town. A few more of my Kitsuki posts....

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Hita Preservation District

Hita

Hita is a small town in Oita, close to the border with Fukuoka, and on the Mikuma River, which runs into the Chikugo River.

The old part of town is called Mamedamachi, and is a Preservation District with streets of old buildings from various times in the Edo Period.

Due in large part to its location in the middle of northern Kyushu, with well established roads and river transport routes radiating out to other parts of Kyushu, it was pretty much the political and economic capital of Kyushu for several hundred years.

First it was directly controlled by Hideyoshi, and then his successor, Tokugawa Ieyasu. Following him it was controlled by the Bakufu, and as such was known as a tenryo town.

Certain sections of the old town are very tourist-oriented with lots of gifts shops etc, though there are a few small museums and some temples.

I will be posting about various sites in the town over the next few weeks.

I was here on day 53 of my walk along the Kyushu Pilgrimage.

Koinobori

Kitsuki Samurai Residence Interiors.

 

The small, castle town of Kitsuki in Oita is home to a preservation district of former samura homes from the Edo Period, several of which are open to the public.

Previously I have posted on the Samurai District, the Exteriors of some of the residences, and the gardens of the residences. This time I show some of the interiors.

Unusually, in one of the houses they had a fire going in the traditional kitchen stove, and you could experience just how smoky such places were without the technology of chimneys.

Traditional Japanese houses are known for having little furniture, but in some of the rooms there were some as well as some artworks and such.

Being close to the castle, these residences were occupied by the higher ranking samurai of the domain. Kitsuki is one of my favorite small, castle towns and has yet to be spoilt by mass tourism.

Many more posts on Kitsuki can be found by clicking the tags below ths post.

Saiki Castle

Saiki Castle

Saiki, on the coast of southern Oita Prefecture was a castle town in the Edo Period. Built in 1606 by Mori Takamasa, Tsuruya Castle, now known as Saiki Castle, was built on top of  Mount Hachiman.

Most of the castle burnt down in a fire just 11 years later, and was not rebuilt as Mori relocated his headquarters to the base of the mountain, where the main gate of the castle, built in 1637, is the only structure still standing.

After quite a climb up the mountain you can still see a lot of the original stonework . It was not a big castle but had a three storey keep.

It is worth the climb for the expansive views down on the town, across to Shikoku, and across the banjo River.

Kabosu Juice From Oita Prefecture

An Oita Shopping Arcade

On my way out of town to walk upriver to Bungo Ono I passed through one of Oita's covered arcades.

This one had a huge model of what I believe is a Portuguese sailing ship. commemorating the city's historical connection with Portuguese trade as well as Christianity.

Arcades are a pleasant way to walk across a city without having to deal with traffic too much

Though during the daytime they can be crowded with pedestrians and bicycles