Shimane · Iwami GinzanNo.807★★★Open in map →
Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine
A silver-mine shaft in the hills of western Shimane, at the heart of the Iwami Ginzan World Heritage landscape. Private cars are kept out of the valley, so the last stretch is walked or cycled — and the tunnel itself is walked end to end.
- FromOda-shi Station
- ~1 hr 20 minIwami Kotsu bus, then on foot
- Get off atIwami Ginzan World Heritage Centre (Iwami Kotsu bus)
- From there
- Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine
Where it is
14 more notes in Shimane · open the map →What to look for — in walking order
- Iwami Ginzan World Heritage Centrethe exhibition hall at the mouth of the valley, with a scale model of the whole site
- Omori townscapea preserved street of samurai residences and merchant houses where people still live
- Kumagai Residencethe leading merchant house of the town, an Important Cultural Property with storehouses behind
- Rakanji Gohyaku Rakanstone rakan figures in cliff grottoes across the river, reached over stone arch bridges
- Ryugenji Mabuinside the shaft, where a drainage well sunk 100 metres straight down can be seen
How to actually get there
- JR Oda-shi Station → Iwami Ginzan World Heritage Centre (Iwami Kotsu bus, about 30 min, 760 yen).
- See the site model and the exhibition, then take the local bus on to the Omori townscape.
- Walk the preserved street past the Kumagai Residence and the Rakanji grottoes.
- Continue about 40 minutes up the valley road to Ryugenji Mabu and walk the tunnel through.
- Iwami Kotsu bus from Oda-shi Station
- JR Oda-shi Station on the San'in Line is the gateway. Iwami Kotsu buses bound for Omori and Iwami Ginzan reach the World Heritage Centre in about 30 minutes, with the fare listed at 760 yen. Services are not frequent, so check the posted timetable before you set out.
- Return on the same line to Oda-shi Station
- Buses back to Oda-shi Station leave from the same stops, and the service thins out toward evening. Note the last departure when you arrive, so the walk down out of the valley is not rushed.
About the place
Ryugenji Mabu is a mine shaft set deep in the valley above the village of Omori, in Oda, Shimane. It was cut in the mid-Edo period as one of the shafts run directly by the shogunate's local magistrate. The tunnel measures about 600 metres in all, and the stretch opened to visitors is about 157 metres — a passage you walk from one end to the other rather than view from a rail. Chisel marks left by hand-cutting still stand out on the rock. Of all the shafts at Iwami Ginzan, this is the only one open to the public year round.
How to enjoy it
The shaft opens at 9:00 and closes at 17:00 from March to November, an hour earlier in winter, so an early bus out of Oda-shi Station leaves room for both the town and the valley. Allow around two and a half hours for the valley walk out and back. Inside the tunnel the air stays cool through summer and mild through winter.
Background & history
Silver was found at Iwami in 1527, and the mountain was worked for a long time afterwards. In 1533 the cupellation method known as haifuki reached the site, and it let the mine draw high-purity silver from ore in quantity. At its peak Japan is estimated to have produced about a third of the world's silver, much of it from here; the metal moved through trade with Ming China and into Portuguese hands, and it shaped the economy of the age. The shafts, roads, ports and the town that served them were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2007.
Before you go
- Cash
- The shaft and the World Heritage Centre exhibition are ticketed separately — at the time of writing the prefectural tourism site listed 500 yen for adults at the shaft and 400 yen at the Centre. Walking the town itself costs nothing. Carry cash for the bus and the ticket windows.
- Good to know
- The Centre's paid exhibition rooms are scheduled to close for renewal from October 2026 to March 2027, though guiding, tourist information and the toilets continue as usual. The Centre also closes on the last Tuesday of each month. The valley road has no lighting, so winter afternoons run short.
- Another way
- From Hiroshima the Iwami Ginzan-go express bus runs to Oda; from the Izumo direction it is roughly an hour by car. Drivers are asked to park at the World Heritage Centre and change to the local bus, since the valley is under traffic restriction.
- After you get off
- The bus stops stand on the Centre's own grounds, and the bay for Omori is the one on your right as you face the main building. Take the local bus on into the Omori townscape, then walk about 40 minutes up the valley road to the shaft.
Nearby notes
Distances are straight lines on the map, not travel times.