- Historic Site Sado Kinzan Gold Mine
Historic Site Sado Kinzan Gold Mine
Facility Basic Information
- Address
- 1305 Shimoaikawa, Sado, Niigata 952-1501
- TEL
- 0259-74-2389
- Official site
- WEB
- Payment Methods
- Other Datcha coin (local currency)
- Transport Access
- Ryotsu Port Approx 50 minutes by car
- Nearest bus stop
- Sado Kinzanmae [Sado Gold Mine] (Honsen [Main Line], Nanaura Kaigansen Line) Approx. 0 minutes on foot from bus stop
- Parking
- Cars:500 Buses:23
- Note
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[Opening Times] April - October: 8:00 - 17:30 / November - March: 8:30-17:00 No-booking required, except for guided courses.
- Admissions
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・道遊坑(近代コース)大人1,000円、中学生500円
・宗太夫坑(江戸時代コース)大人1,000円、中学生500円
・宗太夫坑・道遊坑見学共通券大人1,500円、中学生750円
- Booking
- Not required
Nearby Spots
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Gold and Silver Mines Heritage and Relics
Doyu no Warito
Doyu no Warito is a relic of opencast mining from the Edo Period (1603-1867), which is said to be a pit in the early stages of the development of Sado's gold and silver mines. As the digging went deeper and deeper to extract more gold ore, the mountaintop was split into a V-shape. The crack on the summit reaches approximately thirty metres in width and seventy-four metres in depth. The mountain with the crack holds a mother lode of gold, stretching about ten metres wide, called the Doyu Vein, and after the Meiji Period (1868-1912), large-scale development was carried out under the Warito.
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Gold and Silver Mines Heritage and Relics
Odate Tateko (Grand Shaft)
Odate Tateko is the oldest Western-style shaft in Japan. German engineers and others started excavation of the Odate Tateko shaft in 1875, and it was sunk in 1877. Odate Tateko is vertical haulage with a lift. It is about 5.7 metres by 3.3 metres rectangular , and the final depth reaches 352 metres. The hoist was first operated by horse power, and later powered by, first steam, and then electric motors. Until it shut down in 1989, it had been the focal point for mining activities.
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Gold and Silver Mines Heritage and Relics
Graveyard for Mushukunin (drifters)
Inscribed with birthplace, posthumous Buddhist names, names and ages of twenty-eight mushukuknin, who worked as a drainage labourer and deceased underground in 1853, a gravestone stands in the middle of mountains. In the Edo Period, to secure labour at the gold mine, 1,800-some mushukunin were forced to come and work in a mine from Edo (present-day Tokyo), and Osaka and Nagasaki, both of which were under direct control of the Edo Shogunate. Mushukunin is people who do not have fixed address arrested under the Shogunate's public security measures. Due to the hard labour, mushukunin is said to have lived a short life.
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Heritage and Relics
Former Aikawa Detention Center
Up the hill on Kyomachi Street in Aikawa, you will see an ivy-covered three-metre high concrete wall. Former Aikawa Detention Center was opened as a branch of Niigata Prison in 1954, and was in use until 1972 when it was relocated in the Sawata area. Designated as Japan's Tangible Cultural Property, this is a wooden detention house still in existence, which is rarely found in Japan. Former Aikawa Detention Center is open to the public and free of charge, so you can take a look around.
Stores where you can eat and drink nearby
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Casual Eatery Tea House/Coffee Shop Set menus/Rice bowls/Kamameshi(hot pot rice) Soba (buckwheat) and Udon Noodles Japanese-style Curry with Rice Chinese Ramen Noodles
Kinzanjaya
Kinzanjaya is an eatery located in the third car park of the historic site "Sado Gold Mine". You can enjoy lunch made from fresh seafood. Kinzan Soba (buckwheat noodles) topped with chewy mekabu seaweed, shrimp tempura and iwanori seaweed and gold dust is highly recommended. In addition, "Kinzan Curry" served in a shape of Doyu no Wareto (split mountain top of the gold mine), and "Special Kaisendon", are popular menu items among others.
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Italian Cuisine Casual Eatery Soba (buckwheat) and Udon Noodles
Soba Restaurant Yozaemon
This relaxing, tranquil restaurant was converted from the home of a mine captain on Aikawa's Kyomachi Street. Highlights include hand-kneaded soba noodles made from home-grown-and-ground buckwheat, soba croquettes, and soba shiruko (sweet red bean soup with soba dumplings). This restaurant is open on Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays only.
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Townscape Other Tea House/Coffee Shop
Gashima Cinema
Gashima Cinema is located on historical Kyomachi Street, which connects Sado Gold and Silver Mine with the Sado Commissioner's Office. This former residence of the Sado Gold Mine captain, built about 80 years ago, has been converted into a café while maintaining the ambiance of the olden days. A monthly featured film is shown daily, and a monthly book corner provides movie-related books. An old carbon arc film projector, which was once used at an actual movie theatre, is on display. This spot is perfect for a break on a stroll through history, in the old mining town of Aikawa.
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Tea House/Coffee Shop Steak and Burger steak
Kitazawa Terrace
Located in the Kitazawa Floating Ore Dressing Plant, a historic site, the restaurant offers a spectacular view of the ore dressing plant as well as the 50-meter thickener. The restaurant offers Western-style cuisine, mainly featuring Sado Island Kurobuta pork, which is raised by Ryokan Urashima. We also offer drinks only, including original drinks supervised by Ryokan Urashima.