Japan Heritage story
Tomonoura: Japan's best-kept Edo-era port town
瀬戸の夕凪が包む 国内随一の近世港町
Tomonoura, in Fukuyama, was where ships in the middle of the Seto Inland Sea waited for the tide to turn. It is the only port town in Japan that still has its full set of Edo-era port works, from a great stone lantern to tidal stone steps, wrapped around a town of narrow lanes.
Key facts
- Theme
- Sea and waterside, Festivals and rituals, Food and sake
- Era
- Edo
- Region
- Chugoku
- Official name in Japanese
- 瀬戸の夕凪が包む 国内随一の近世港町
- Official subtitle in Japanese
- 〜セピア色の港町に日常が溶け込む鞆の浦〜
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 広島県(福山市)
The story
In the days of sail, ships rode the tides, and Tomonoura sits where the tides of the Seto Inland Sea flow in from east and west and then turn. Ships waited here for the tide, so the town became famous as a "tide-waiting" port, and trade, ideas and skills gathered with them.
The port's symbol is a stone lantern over 10 m tall that has guided ships for 160 years, one of the largest Edo-era port lanterns in Japan. Below it, the gangi stone steps, about 150 m long with up to 24 steps, let ships unload whatever the tide, which can rise and fall by about 4 m. With the curved stone breakwater, the ship guardhouse site and the old ship-repair yard, Tomonoura is the only port left with all five Edo-era port facilities.
What to see
- Joyato stone lantern and gangi steps: the harbour's lantern and the theatre-like stone steps that vanish and reappear with the tide.Google Maps 鞆の浦 常夜燈 (opens in a new tab)
- Old town lanes: merchant houses, sake breweries, chequered namako walls and walls made from old ship planks.
- Nunakuma Shrine: a shrine on the north side of town with a Noh stage that was built to be moved.Google Maps 沼名前神社 (opens in a new tab)
- The hillside view: climb a little to see the whole port wrapped by the sea.
Plan your trip with the Hiroshima prefecture guide and see more history and heritage.
Good to know
- Come at dusk when the stone lantern is lit against the evening sky.
- Sit on the gangi steps for a while and watch the steps appear or disappear with the tide.
- The lanes are narrow and maze-like, so explore on foot.
Questions travellers ask
Why was Tomonoura important?
It sits in the middle of the Seto Inland Sea where the tides meet and turn, so ships waited there for the tide, bringing trade and culture.
What are gangi?
Stone steps that run down into the harbour, so boats could load and unload at any tide.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
- Fukiya: the birthplace of Japan Red
- Iwami kagura: gods and demons dance the old myths
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- Onomichi: a hillside port town of temples and lanes
- The Murakami Kaizoku: sea lords of the Geiyo Islands
- Yokosuka, Kure, Sasebo and Maizuru: Japan's naval port cities
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.