Inland Tottori Guide 2026: Chizu-juku, Ishitani House & Mingei

Behind the dunes and the manga towns, inland Tottori keeps the quiet old Japan of the Inaba highway: post towns of dark-timbered houses, a vast merchant residence that is a masterpiece of carpentry, and the prefecture’s living tradition of mingei folk craft. It is a slow, cultured two days for travellers who have seen the headline sights and want the grain of the place. This guide explains how, and pairs with our inland Tottori, Chizu and crafts itinerary.

At a glance: Two days inland — the Inaba-highway post town of Chizu-juku and the forty-room Ishitani Residence, the preserved townscape of Wakasa, then Tottori City’s folk-craft museum, the Takumi craft shop and a Tottori-wagyu lunch. A car is the easiest way to link the inland towns. The Ishitani Residence closes on Wednesdays.

The Inaba road and Chizu-juku

Day one follows the Inaba Kaido, the historic road that linked the San’in coast over the mountains toward Kyoto and Himeji. Chizu sits where it met the mountain road and grew prosperous as a post station and a centre of the forestry that still cloaks its hills in cedar. Its old main street, Chizu-juku, keeps a run of dark-timbered inns, merchant houses and storehouses, with the atmosphere of a town the main highways later bypassed and so left intact. Walking the quiet street, with the smell of cedar and clear rivers running from the surrounding forest, sets the tone for a day on the old inland roads.

Its treasure is the Ishitani Residence, the great surprise of inland Tottori: an enormous house built up over the early twentieth century by a family grown wealthy from forestry and trade, with around forty rooms and seven storehouses spread across some three thousand square metres, now a National Important Cultural Property. Its glory is the carpentry — a soaring beamed entrance hall using whole massive cedar and zelkova timbers, fine joinery, and rooms opening onto carefully composed gardens you view from polished verandas. Visitors wander freely through the living quarters, tea rooms and gardens, and the house often stages seasonal art exhibitions among its rooms. It is among the finest traditional houses open to the public in western Japan; admission is about ¥600 (2026), and it closes on Wednesdays.

Wakasa: a preserved town beneath its castle

East of Chizu, the small town of Wakasa was another stop on the road toward Harima and the seat of a castle whose ruins crown the mountain above. After fires swept the town, it was rebuilt with fire-resistant white storehouses and deep eaves, and a stretch of that townscape is now a nationally designated preservation district. Its quiet streets keep the kura warehouses, a “storehouse street,” and a “roadside-stream street” where clear water runs along the house frontages; the energetic can climb to the castle ruins for a view over the valley. It is an uncrowded, genuinely lived-in old town that few foreign visitors reach — a fitting end to a day on the inland roads before settling in Tottori City for the night. (The city is the practical base, as Chizu and Wakasa have no confirmable traditional inn for an overnight stay.)

Day two: Tottori’s folk-craft tradition

The second day returns to Tottori City for the other great inland tradition: the mingei folk-craft movement, which took deep root here. Tottori became one of its strongholds through the local doctor and collector Shoya Yoshida, a disciple of the movement’s founder Soetsu Yanagi. The Tottori Folk Crafts Museum he established near the station holds his collection — everyday pottery, lacquer, woodwork, dyed and woven textiles and furniture, chosen for the unsigned beauty of well-made useful things, both from the San’in region and from Korea, China and the West. Housed in a handsome converted building, it is a quiet, thoughtful museum that explains the philosophy behind the local crafts.

Next door stands the Takumi craft shop, founded as part of the same revival to sell the work it championed and still trading today — a rare surviving mingei shop where the philosophy is put into practice over the counter. Its shelves hold regional crafts as living things to buy and use: Ushinotoya and other San’in pottery in their distinctive green-and-black glazes, dyed and woven cloth, woodwork, washi paper and lacquer. It is the place to take home a genuine piece of Tottori’s craft tradition rather than a generic souvenir.

Finish with lunch at Taiheimon, a long-established charcoal yakiniku house specialising in Tottori wagyu — a beef that has quietly won top national honours for its meat quality. Bought by the whole carcass, the cuts here rarely reach the table elsewhere; you grill the marbled beef yourself over charcoal, from premium loin to lean, deeply flavoured cuts. It is a satisfying, very local way to taste the prefecture’s signature beef, and a fitting close to a trip about the things Tottori does well and quietly — heritage, craft and food, far from the crowds of the famous cities to the east.

Practicalities for 2026

Inland Tottori is threaded by the JR Inbi Line and the local Wakasa Railway, and Chizu-juku and Wakasa can both be reached by train — but the old towns and the residence are spread out, so a car is the easiest way to link them in a day. Tottori City, the overnight base, is well served by rail and air and keeps the folk-craft sights clustered near the station within walking distance. The route is pleasant year-round, with cedar-green hills in summer and fine foliage in autumn; the one fixed constraint is the Ishitani Residence’s Wednesday closure. For the prefecture’s signature sight, pair this with our Tottori Sand Dunes guide.

FAQ

What is the Ishitani Residence? It is a vast early-twentieth-century merchant and forestry house in Chizu-juku, with around forty rooms and seven storehouses, now a National Important Cultural Property celebrated for its master carpentry and gardens. Visitors walk freely through the rooms, tea spaces and gardens; it is open most days but closes on Wednesdays.

What is Chizu-juku? Chizu-juku is the old post-town district of Chizu, a former station on the Inaba Kaido highway through the mountains. Its main street preserves dark-timbered inns, merchant houses and storehouses, and it is the gateway to the Ishitani Residence. It is free to stroll.

Why is Tottori known for folk crafts? Tottori became a stronghold of Japan’s mingei (folk-craft) movement through the collector Shoya Yoshida, a disciple of the movement’s founder. The Tottori Folk Crafts Museum holds his collection, and the adjoining Takumi shop still sells regional crafts such as Ushinotoya pottery, keeping the tradition alive.

Can I buy authentic Tottori crafts? Yes. The Takumi craft shop next to the Folk Crafts Museum near Tottori Station sells regional mingei pieces — San’in pottery, dyed and woven cloth, woodwork, washi and lacquer — chosen with the movement’s eye for honest, useful beauty. It is the best place for a genuine local craft rather than a generic souvenir.

Is inland Tottori doable without a car? Partly. Chizu and Wakasa are on the JR Inbi and Wakasa Railway lines, and Tottori City’s craft sights are walkable from the station. But the inland towns and the Ishitani Residence are spread out, so a rental car makes the first day far smoother and is the recommended option.

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