Asago

Only the stone walls remain, but nevertheless the ruins are impressive. It is located above the clouds, so if you view the ruins from a nearby mountain on a day that is cloudy, you can see the castle standing over the clouds. This view has given rise to its nickname "Castle in the Sky".

A large sculpture park and museum.

Open only during the wisteria season, typically the weeks around Golden Week (late April-early May), the park features a variety of wisteria trellises surrounding a central fountain. It bills itself as the "Best Wisteria in the San-in Region". Carp streamers are hung over the hill above the trellises to celebrate Children's Day.

The site was built to process what was mined from Ikuno Silver Mines. At its peak, it was the largest processing site in Asia. Like the mines, it is no longer in use, but the site has been preserved as a historic park.

The mines were originally operated by Tajima Province and it is said that Takeda Castle was built in part to maintain and protect ownership of the mines, and battles were fought from the castle over control of the mines. As the nation was being unified, Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi took great interest in the mines and sent their own government magistrates to oversee the mines. During this time the mines were built up to maximize their silver production. In 1868 with the establishment of the Meiji Government, the mines were put under complete control of the government. It was such an important mine that it was put under imperial control in 1889 and you can see the Imperial Chrysanthemum emblem of the emperor on the entryway gates. It was sold to Mitsubishi 6 years later and they operated the mines until they closed in 1973.
Today, you can walk through a section of the mines. There are mannequins scattered throughout the mines showing various steps in mining and techniques with explanations. While they may seem like ordinary mannequins, they have gained fame as the Ginzan Boyz, attractive miner idols who have even produced their own song "Gingira Ginzan Paradise" in 2018 and have since produced more. They even have a French version in honor of Jean-François Coignet, who was brought to help modernize the mines to maximize efficiency during its heyday. There is one space in the mine where they play Ginzan Boyz songs and visitors can get Ginzan Boyz souvenirs similar to those you can get for other boy bands in the souvenir shop.

Has information about the history of Ikuno Silver Mine and a large variety of rocks and minerals mined here.