Head into the Edo Era through the Furusato-no-Gi interactive area
16 buildings have been constructed ranging from dining establishments including soba shops and other eateries to blacksmith shops, referring to the old avenues of Boso from the late Edo Era to the early Meiji Era. Inari shrines[G1] , jizo statues and watchtowers, regular structures on the old streets, are reconstructed here. It’s a place which feels as if you‘ve entered a scene of a historical drama. From time to time, it is actually used for filming as a location set for TV productions. Over the year here, there are 350 kinds of performances and interactive programs prepared. Very interesting programs involving painted candles, tatami coasters, papier-mâché painting, soba-making and making of futomaki sushi are provided. Even among these, a popular program is the trying on of armor and helmets. There is a profound feeling to this armor that is close to the real thing, and once you hold that katana, you become a proper solider.
The Fudoki-no-Oka area where you can feel the primitive, ancient and Middle Ages
The Fudoki-no-Oka area centers on the large and small burial mounds of Ryukaku-ji Temple that number well over 100. There are thatched-roofed farmhouses that were built in 1779 that haven’t changed since the olden days. Features such as the surrounding verandas, the earth floors and the shining floorboards bespeak of a history spanning 200 years. The former white-walled Gakushuin main hall in the middle of a wide grassy area has been made into a National Important Cultural Property. It is a structure built in 1899 that relates school architecture representing the Meiji Era. At the Fudoki-no-Oka museum, information regarding archeology behind the unearthing of relics from primitive, ancient and Middle Ages Japan is collected and displayed. You can view valuable historical exhibits such as the skeleton of an extinct elephant calf discovered from Inba Marsh and Jomon earthenware. You can also see Burial Mound 101 which has been recreated to its original appearance while surrounded by terra-cotta figures from around the 6th and 7th centuries, and get a close-up look at the Iwaya Burial Mound, the largest of its kind in eastern Japan with one side measuring 80m.