The Bantan Throughway — 73 km of Historic Ruts
Gin no Bashamichi
Hatakawara, Kamikawa’s Yoshitomi Area — The Last Remaining Gin no Bashamichi Site
Ikuno — One of Japan’s Best Mining Towns
Ikuno Silver Mine — Japan’s First Publicly Owned Mine
Former Mikobata Mine — One of East Asia’s Large Processing Sites, Dubbed the “Nocturnal Castle”
Akenobe Mine Exploration Tunnel — 550 km of Discovery
The Bantan Throughway — 73 km of Historic Ruts
The Bantan region sits at the heart of Hyogo Prefecture.
The region is home to Gin no Bashamichi, the Old Silver Mine Carriage Road that runs from Himeji City’s Shikama Port in the south to Ikuno Silver Mine in the north.
The area is also home to Koseki no Michi (the Ore Road), which connects Akenobe Mine and Nakaze Mine. Covering 73 km in all, these roads (combining to form the Bantan Road) pass through mining towns and post towns where the Meiji Era can still be found today toward Japan’s most impressive group of mines, each with serene tunnels waiting to be explored.
Traveling along this road—considered Japan’s first steps toward modernization—toward the mine group that marks the terminus, travelers will experience the landscape and lives both past and present of iconic mining towns, culminating in an unforgettable look at Japan’s unique history of mineral resources.
