Nestled in a mountain valley in the central part of Iwate Prefecture lies the quiet hamlet of Tono City. Renown as the ‘City of Folklore,’ this peaceful rural enclave is home to some of Japan’s most famous legends, well-preserved traditions and architecture, Buddhist wonders, and delicious cuisine and craft beer.
Tono’s reputation as Japan’s “City of Folklore” is deeply rooted in its role as a living repository of myths, supernatural tales, and rural traditions passed down for centuries. Its isolated geography, long winters, and largely agriculture community of farmers set the perfect stage for oral legends to flourish. This heritage was famously preserved in Tōno Monogatari (“The Legends of Tono”), compiled in 1910 by folklorist Kunio Yanagita with the help of local storyteller Kizen Sasaki. Yanagita’s work captured these numerous myths and legends that were told verbally for generations into tangible records.
In 1910 pioneering Japanese folkorist Yanagita Kunia published a collection of folk legends, stories, and traditions. Yanagita’s “Tono Monogatari” shifted attention to rural northern folklore. The most famous local yokai from the stories they collected is the kappa. Kappa are frog-like malevolent spirits which drown unsuspecting children. Legend has it that the kappa can be defeated through the use of cucumbers and good manners, so you may happen upon some enterprising hunters fishing for kappa with cucumbers if you take a stroll to Kappabuchi pond. Why not join them yourself?
Tono is home to a wealth of archaeological sites from the Jomon period onwards. Farmers routinely discover pottery shards and arrowheads from earlier Emishi and later samurai inhabitants. Today, the city is home to three well-preserved folk villages from the Edo period. The largest of these, the Tono Furusato Village, contains a number of traditional Namba Magariya, L-shaped thatched homes. The folk villages here offer a number of hands-on experiences, from farming and fishing to weaving and storytelling. You can also see the remains of Nabekura castle in downtown Tonno, built to protect against the Date clan of Sendai.
Despite its distance from the seat of Buddhism in Japan, Tono is home to two of the most incredible Buddhist artworks in the country. At seventeen meters high, Fukusenji temples’ wooden Kannon statue is the largest in the country. A short hike in the southern mountains leads to another stunning sight: 380 granite carved kakan, or buddhist disciplines, lining the edges of a creek bed. These are said to be the remains of 500 such carvings made by a local monk to pay respects for the victims of a famine.
A visitor to Tono is guaranteed to eat well. Tono is known for its Genghis Khan, a lamb barbeque dish cooked on a helmet shaped pan right at the table, and for wheat dumplings called hitsumi. The town also produces some of the best wasabi in Japan, a fact that a local brewery has fully embraced. Why not give the local wasabi beer a try?
For those with a love of agriculture, multiple farming experiences are available. If you are interested, please reach out via our contact form. This village grows some of the best vegetables and mushrooms you will ever have, and the charming local farmers are ready and willing to chat about their hard work!
Tono is located approximately 4 hours via bullet train and local train from Tokyo. It is a good idea to have a rental car or a bus pass if you want to visit the further-flung sightseeing spots.
The Hidden Japan has traveled to Tono many times to help to capture the aura of mystery and charm of the local people here for photoshoots together with the Tono Travel Association. While we do not have any tours or programs for Tono yet, we would be more than happy to help arrange a visit to this region.
This is certainly a hidden gem that we hope to bring travelers to more in the future.
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