Traditional townscape and crafts:
Tsuyama

The castle town of Tsuyama (津山) in Okayama Prefecture in western Japan is not typically on the itinerary of foreign tourists, nor visited that much by Japanese tourists either – with the exception of cherry blossom season, when the castle grounds are awash with the flowering trees. The local tourism board would like to change that. At the same time, it hopes to contribute to alleviate the pressures of overtourism which have been increasingly plaguing Japan in the past two years. From 18 to 20 December 2024, I was invited by the regional tourism board to participate in a so-called monitor tour to assess what Tsuyama has to offer, how to market existing tourism options, and how to develop tourism there further.

On the first day, we visited what remains of Tsuyama Castle, which is a so-called hilltop castle. It used to be quite big, but was demolished in the early Meiji Era, like many others in Japan. The park – Shurakuen Garden – is not far from the castle and makes for a nice stroll. Entrance is free and there is a tea shop on the premises.

With the advent of buddhism in Japan in the 7th century, meat consumption was limited to certain meats and to certain times of the year. This practice continued beyond the middle of the 19th century, which means that Japan has one of the shortest histories of meat consumption among Asian countries. Of course, people found ways around it. They hid meat dishes by using metaphorical names like „sakura“ (cherry blossom), which contained horse meat, or „botan“ (winter peony), which stood for beef. However, there were two places in Japan, where people were officially allowed to eat meat: Hikone City in Shiga Prefecture, governed by the then-mighty Hikone clan, and Tsuyama City in Okayama Prefecture. Tsuyama was a designated place of convalescence from illness, and eating meat was part of the medical treatment.

During the tour, I got to test out various „taiken,“ i.e. hands-on experiences learning a traditional arts and crafts. They included making tofu, making and decorating „washi“ paper, making bamboo cutlery, making yarn from cotton, and weaving. When I travel on my own, I often seek out such „taiken“ myself, as they not only offer a glimpse into traditional crafts, but also offer an opportunity to talk with the locals, to learn more about the respective crafts, but also about what kind of issues people might face.

For tofu makers, for example, securing good soybeans presents a challenge. The devaluation of the Yen has made it difficult for producers to source soybeans from abroad, but within Japan, many farmers are in their seventies and eighties, with few successors in sight. „This is really hard for us,“ Ryoko Hayase said. „We need to find a solution for this issue.“

Washi paper maker Mr Ueda explained that there were many households in Tsuyama who made a living making paper. Today, however, his family business is the only one left. His hand-made paper is suitable for the application of gold leaf, which is used for the restoration of artefacts. At present, he has no successor.

A local organization of women is working hard to preserve the tradition of weaving in Tsuyama. They organize courses for people interested in learning it. The preparation of the looms alone takes many, many hours. Everybody involved learns to do every step, from making yarn out of cotton by using traditional wooden utensils, to the process of setting up a loom, and the weaving itself. Last but not least, even just sitting on that loom presented a challenge for me, as they were clearly designed for shorter people…

During my three days in Tsuyama I was shown around the main districts in the center of town. In the Joto district, the townscape recalls the Edo era with traditional wooden houses, whereas in the Josai district, Western-looking buildings from the Meiji and Taisho and Meiji period remain, when Japan underwent a period of rapid modernization.

Tsuyama can be reached from Okayama train station, which is on the Shinkansen line, by taking a local train (90 minutes). I went to Tsuyama by using a shared taxi which only cost 3,500 Yen for a one-hour taxi ride from Okayama airport directly to Tsuyama station.

The city is off the beaten path for sure, but makes for a nice weekend excursion, especially if you want to beat the crowds. I enjoyed the hands-on experiences, and would have wanted to have more time to just wander around the Joto and Josai districts.

For music fans: Tsuyama is the home town of one of Japan’s most famous rock bands called B’z.

Disclaimer: This monitor tour was paid for by Tsuyama City.