For us who have lived in the metropolis for a long time, the town always has a special charm.It allows us to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city and get some rest from our busy daily life.

而谈到那些值得一去的小镇时，便不能不提日本的那些如诗般美丽的各色小镇，它们或是

When we walk through these small towns and look at the various streets and buildings with unique historical, geographical, and human backgrounds, we will feel a different style from tourist destinations such as Tokyo and Osaka.

Gifu Prefecture

Shirakawa Shirakawa-gō

With five mountains are shared income

Shirakawa-go is a collective name for the entire Shogawa watershed in northwestern Gifu Prefecture, including the village of Shogawa (now known as the town of Shogawa, Takayama City), located upstream of Shirakawa Village.Ogi Town is located in the center of Shirakawa-go, and the flat land is nourished by the surrounding watershed, and there are many houses built together.

so-called

Cut the wife and make the wife in

In contrast to the typical thatched dwellings, the size of the dwellings is considerable, some as high as two to four storeys, the root of the house (the space between the ceiling and the roof) is very large.

In the root of the dwelling house

In the harsh environment of the local people make the extended family as the basic principle of survival, so the house needs more space to accommodate a large number of family members.

同时，屋根里也为此地的基础产业——

These considerations are the reasons for building houses on a large scale.

和田家住宅是荻町最大的合掌造民居，属于日本国家重要文化遗产。

和田家住宅

The gassho-zuku houses in Shirakawa-go are built along the valley with the Tsuma side facing north and south, so that the roof receives the same amount of sunlight, so that the snow melts in step and avoids uneven snow thickness throughout the roof.

对于沿着山谷吹来的风，为将风力对房屋的破坏力降到最低，人们在建筑结构上也进行了不少考量。积雪越厚，对屋顶造成的压力越大，因此

Thatched roofs need to be replaced every 30 to 40 years, and replacing large roofs requires more labor than ordinary roofs.At this time, the people of Shirakawa-go unite to form a mutual aid organization called "Yuki".When spring arrives, all the villagers go out to help the houses that need to replace the roof.

Bruno Tautt, a German architect who visited Japan during the Showa era, praised the beauty of the structure of the gassho-zo house in his book "Rediscovering the Beauty of Japan".

The kitchens (right) of Mingshan temple were built at the end of the Edo period. The main hall (left) and bell tower built into the mother house are thatched roofs.

However, the construction of dams in the Zhuangchuan River basin and the collective relocation of small settlements have led to a sharp decline in the number of gassho buildings.

In the thirteenth year of Taisho (1924), there were still 300 gassho buildings, and by the thirty-sixth year of Showa (1961), only 190 remained.Under this situation, the indigenous people of Ogi Town have sprung up

In addition, uninhabited houses in Shirakawa have been relocated to the settlements on both sides of the Shōkawa River to be preserved as a field museum to “Co-create residential gardens”.

Hokkaido

Hakodate // Motomachi Suehiro Town

Six years after the signing of the Treaty of Amity between Japan and the United States (1859) ,

明治四十二年（1909年），经历过一场火灾之后重建的金森红砖仓库

As has been since ancient times

White-walled, green-roofed Hajj Eastern Orthodox Church

Built in the Meiji to early Showa historical buildings, and the combination of colorful each other, along the ramp and the coast, creating a strong exotic streetscape.

福岛县

南会津町 // 前泽

Nestled deep in the mountains of Minamiaizu, stands a Maesawa settlement.

Fifteen of the existing thatched houses here were destroyed in a fire in the 40th year of Meiji (1907), but have since been restored or rebuilt by the same carpenters and returned to history.

The shape of the house can be divided into two types.One is

Middle door made

Zhongmen houses are characterized by high building heights and the use of wooden components such as beams, shu pillars, and flat beams to decorate the walls.

In the past, people would build stables in the protruding part of the curve house, and live a life of cows, horses and people. It also makes it easier for people to order horses or feed grass in the dead of winter.

People living in the cold zone have brought wisdom and life experience together in each house and still benefit the residents here.

The Maezawa Koya Museum exhibits the shapes, interior layouts, and utensils such as "hearths" of traditional kojiya from the Tohoku region of Japan, where visitors can experience the life of local residents in kojiya.

Yamagata Prefecture

Obanazawa // Ginzan Onsen

Ginzan Onsen is located in the flat area of a valley deep in the streets of Oshu, and after the middle of the 18th century, it developed into a hot spring resort.

Hotels line the banks of yinshanchuan. Each hotel retains the three-or four-story wooden structures that were popular in the early days of Showa

Although the Great Ginzan River Flood that broke out in the second year of Taisho (1913) wiped out almost all the inns, in the first year of Showa (1926), through geological drilling of the springs, a large number of hot springs gushed out, and the former grandeur was quickly restored.In the early days of Showa, it was already on the scale it is today.

Can board the hotel. The name of the founder is marked in the center of the decorative pattern of Phoenix and Phoenix tree.

At that time, every hotel was rebuilt with three- or four-story buildings along the banks of the Yinshan River.Based on Japanese design, elements of Western architecture (such as terraces, etc.) are incorporated to form a unique style.

In addition, the windows or walls are decorated with ornate paintings of business names or landscapes

The front of the house in the Furuzankaku is decorated with trowels depicting ceremonial events throughout the year

The historic street is protected by the Silverhill Hot Spring Housing Preservation Ordinance and is complemented by antique gas lamps

京都府

Kyoto

The mountains that surround the eastern part of the Kyoto Basin are collectively known as Higashiyama.At the western foot are ancient shrines and famous temples such as Chion-in, Yasaka Shrine, and Kiyomizu-dera Temple, which were built before the Heian period.

The Saninizaka area, which is now part of the Kenken area, is located between these shrines and the To-Oji Pass.

The main attractions in the area are

The five-fold pagoda of Faguan Temple, seen from the direction of babasaka, is the well-known“Pagoda of Babasaka”.

Walking from north to south, you will first see the area from Maruyama Park with Yasaka Shrine to the main entrance of Kodaiji Temple.

Lined up along the road, the former is built using the same method as a teahouse building, using bamboo and cedar maruta (barked cedar logs) to decorate the earthen walls, while the latter is a black-tiled wooden bungalow or two-story building with gates and walls.

From the main entrance of Kodaiji Temple, you can see various buildings such as Japanese houses, shrines, and temples built between the Yasaka Tower and Nienzaka of Hokanji Temple.

Most of the townhouse shops along the street sell Kyoto specialties, and the curtains under the eaves, lattices, and windows decorate the facades.

The area from Ninazaka to Saninizaka is the center of the pre-construction area, and a large number of Honji town-house houses have been built next to the road, as well as middle-level second-order town-house houses with shops on the first floor.

Dubbed the“Bed of eels,” the elongated houses have wide openings that fill the street-facing side of the property, with few gaps between them and their neighbors' homes.

The large number of lattice on the front of the house is also a major feature of the Kyomachi house.In particular, the "legged" lattice sticking out to the side of the road is particularly eye-catching because of its large size.The openings of the house are designed in a variety of ways, including worm cage windows, half-moon windows in the style of several houses, windows with railings and hanging curtains, etc.

The Kyoto lanterns that adorn the roof of the first floor decorate the street with the half-moon-shaped Sujiya windows.

Some houses have bamboo “Dog yailai”(bamboo fences) on their external walls to prevent muddy water or rain running from the eaves, while others have Zhong Kui statues placed on their roofs or on the eaves to ward off evil spirits, these ingenious designs make the streets more diverse.

The grayish white of the small stones, the brown of the benshi lattice or the dark gray of the tiles, the contrasts of the various colors are sharp but harmonious as a whole,

Although it was later reclassified as a Chuanjian area, it was only along the secluded stone wall path that runs from the north gate of Kōdai-ji through Xiaheyuan. The area was centrally developed by an entrepreneur between the late Meiji and Taisheng periods.

Paved stone alleys, with the stone walls or slate walls of the wind residential, the formation of a unified harmony of the human landscape. And the small winding, one can not see through the road ahead of the path, is full of mystery.

Stone Road. The narrow roadside rows of peace-style houses, with slate or stone walls, for the production of Ningban area to create a very elegant, quiet atmosphere.

Many of the traditional buildings that remain in Sannei-zaka are used as local specialty shops and restaurants, preserving both tradition and function.

The old streets now exude the vitality of youth, men and women, Young and old, to meet and send, which may be a major feature of this place bar.

Ishikawa Prefecture

Kanazawa

The one million, twenty thousand stones in your name

The town of Shokei is adjacent to Higashiyama "East" along the Asano River, and during the Edo period, many important ministers of the clan built their residences here, which made it relatively early to realize the transformation of the land to the town.

Although there was no formal permit, the town gradually grew

etc., are the characteristics of the same tea house architecture as "Higashi".

The heyday of the town was from the late Meiji period to before World War II.At that time, houses were built or remodeled here, reflecting the characteristics of the era, such as

On the other hand, the backstreets still retain buildings with stone slabs and gently sloping roofs, giving the town a diverse landscape.

Travel to the most beautiful town in Japan

The Society for the study of beautiful small towns

June 2020

有书至美-华中科技大学出版社

Collection

☾了解日本文化的新视角

本书独具匠心，从日本的美丽小镇出发，透视其背后的地理、历史与文化，为所有对日本感兴趣的读者提供了一个全新的认知视角。

A must-read for Japanese architecture

The magnificent medicine door shows the luxury and majesty of the samurai mansion; the simple thatched roof reveals the simplicity and warmth of ordinary folk houses; there are also unique and distinctive decorations, and the ornate trowel painting (sculpture art) is the finishing touch. Antique gas lamps create a romantic atmosphere... The book presents 700 exquisite high-definition photos of the beautiful scenery and architectural features of 119 local towns in Japan, take you

☾ A unique guide to Japan

The beautiful town in the book,

Read on

Craftsmanship, the beauty of traditional Japanese craftsmanship

Japanese joint-stock company FG Musashi

April 2020

There are books to the United states-huazhong University of Science and Technology Press

In the Edo period, when many traditional handicrafts competed with each other, many exquisite handicrafts were produced. The Japanese believe that,

A katana made of steel, a wind chime known as a "summer poem", a glass pen with beautiful appearance... These handicrafts with "use" as their basic function but with a beautiful appearance, no matter what

This book takes you through the old shops of Nihonbashi, Tokyo, the starting point of Japan's road network, and the charming crafts of Edo.Author interview