Japan Heritage story
Ako: the town that made Japan's finest salt
「日本第一」の塩を産したまち 播州赤穂
In the Edo period, Ako on the Seto Inland Sea perfected a way of making salt in tidal fields, and its salt became the most famous brand in Japan. The town still makes about a fifth of Japan's salt, and its port, merchant gardens, carpets and sweets all grew from it.
Key facts
- Theme
- Castles, Sea and waterside, Festivals and rituals, Food and sake
- Era
- Edo
- Region
- Kansai
- Official name in Japanese
- 「日本第一」の塩を産したまち 播州赤穂
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 兵庫県（赤穂市）
The story
Seawater is only about 3% salt, so Japanese salt-making has always been about concentrating it before boiling. At Ako, the Chikusa River built wide tidal flats of fine sand, and the calm, sunny Seto Inland Sea climate was ideal for irihama salt fields, which let seawater in through channels at any tide. From 1645 the lords of Ako opened ever larger fields, and the method spread across the Inland Sea and remained Japan's main way of making salt for about 300 years.
Ako made two salts: a coarser salt for eastern Japan on the east bank, and a fine, white, delicate salt for the Kyoto-Osaka region on the west bank. The painter Shiba Kokan called Ako salt the best in Japan, and it was so famous that fakes appeared. Salt merchants grew rich, salt ships sailed from the port of Sakoshi, and women of salt-working families wove Ako dantsu carpets on the side.
What to see
- Sakoshi: the old salt-shipping port, with shipping merchants' houses, temples and shrines along the shore.Google Maps 坂越 赤穂市 (opens in a new tab)
- Tabuchi family garden: a salt merchant's garden and tea houses that once looked over the salt fields.Google Maps 田淵氏庭園 (opens in a new tab)
- Former salt office buildings: a stylish Western-style office and a brick archive from 1905.Google Maps 旧赤穂塩務局 (opens in a new tab)
- Ako Misaki: the scenic cape that Edo-era writers came to see.Google Maps 赤穂御崎 (opens in a new tab)
Plan your trip with the Hyogo prefecture guide and see more history and heritage.
Good to know
- Try shioaji manju, Ako's sweet bean buns made less sweet with a pinch of salt.
- Come in October for village autumn festivals, held on different weekends across Ako.
- Look for Ako dantsu carpets, counted among Japan's three great carpets.
Questions travellers ask
Why is Ako salt famous?
Ako perfected the irihama tidal salt field in the Edo period, and its salt was praised as the best in Japan.
Does Ako still make salt?
Yes. Methods have changed, but Ako still produces about 20% of Japan's salt.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
- Awaji: the first island in Japan's creation myth
- Inaba and Tajima: landscapes made by the Sea of Japan wind
- Itami and Nada: the birthplace of Japan's clear sake
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage: Japan's 1,300-year journey of the heart
- Tamba-Sasayama: a castle town in a folk song
- The Kanmon Strait: retro ports on both shores
- The Silver Carriage Road: 73 km to Hyogo's mines
- The Six Ancient Kilns: pottery born and raised in Japan
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.