TochigiLeisure

Furukawa Kakemizu Club

Flow of the course

Previous stop: Ride a trolley into the mine tunnel and trace mining history from the Edo era to the Showa era through mannequin displays

About 15 min from the previous stop

About 40 min here

About 15 min to the next stop

Next stop: The red iron bridge that supported the copper mine's peak years, beautifully contrasting with the gorge

About this spot

Built in 1899 as the guesthouse of Furukawa Mining, this Western-style building tells the story of how the Ashio Copper Mine was once one of Japan's leading modern enterprises. The elegant exterior, complete with a veranda, brings a foreign atmosphere that seems to appear suddenly in this mountain town. While the interior is sometimes closed to the public, the exterior alone is worth seeing, and it's a spot where you can feel the history of modernization that Ashio walked alongside the copper mine. Other buildings connected to Furukawa Mining are also scattered around the area.

Tips

About a 5-minute drive from Ashio Copper Mine Tourism. Whether the interior is open to visitors varies by season, so it's reassuring to plan around viewing the exterior. The surrounding area is close to a residential neighborhood, so please visit quietly.