Fukiya Furusato Village

Fukiya is a town that sits quietly atop a 500-meter high plateau. It once flourished as a mining town known for copper and its red ocher, beloved by the elders who built the streetscapes in an eclectic red ocher wash during the years between the end of Edo and Meiji Periods. The elaborately decorated luxe merchant homes and estates were already a remarkable site, but the town’s use of a hired palace carpenter to design a unified look and feel for the entire area is considered especially avant garde for the times.

The red ochre mined in Fukiya is said to be the origin of the iconic “Japan Red” pigment used in temples and shrines across Japan, as well as iconic pottery brands like Kutani, Imari and Wajima ceramicwares.

In the town you’ll find trendy cafes and shops, as well as an eclectic streetscape that still keeps the look and feel of reddish brown walls and sekishu stone tiles. There’s also plenty of experiences like red ocher dyeing with handkercheifs and ecobags at Shitamachi Furatto inside the Fukiya Information Building, or historic buildings to stroll and explore like the Former Katayama Estate, Red Ocher Building, Folk Museum, and Former Hirokane Residence.