Have you ever been on a guided tour before? I’m the type of traveller who does my own arrangements, so I’ve rarely been on guided tours (destination wise, I’ve only been on one which was in Antelope Canyon, U.S., a place you need to have a guide). But through my years in the travel industry, I’ve come to learn that guides play an essential role in not just getting around a place you’ve never visited, but to help in appreciating the culture and history, as both are difficult to understand with just your eyes.
One of the places in Japan that I’ve been to and personally feel local guides are a must is Tomioka, a small city in Gunma Prefecture, which is home to the World Heritage Site Tomioka Silk Mill and is rich in history that is beyond your sight.
Tomioka’s history dates back more than 400 years ago to the Edo Period when the center of government was moving from Kyoto to Edo (current Tokyo). Tomioka was designated by the government as a transportation hub to carry grindstones to Edo, and residents from nearby, moved to Tomioka to develop the area, bringing the temples and shrines they worshiped with them.
Flash forward to the mid 1800s, when Japan had just opened its doors to the world after a 215 year seclusion, and the government was eager to bring in Western technology. Tomioka was chosen as the site to construct the first ever government operated mill, the Tomioka Silk Mill, which played a key role in Japan’s industrialization by introducing high quality mass production and Western machinery, and led Japan to become one of the world’s leading raw silk producers of the time. Eventually, polyester was developed as a new and more affordable option, which resulted in the shrinking of the silk industry, and Tomioka Silk Mill ceased production in 1987 after 115 years of operations.
I didn’t know much about the city nor how important the silk mill was, so when I had the opportunity to visit Tomioka, I joined a guided tour of the city. My guide was a charming lady who had been living in Tomioka for nearly 60 years, and she knew everything about the city, from the newest crepe shop to the eateries the silk mill workers enjoyed back in the day.
The tour through the city was mostly seeing remnants of the past, as it has been about 100 years since the mill flourished. Only a few shops were open, so it would have been quite a lonely sight without my guide as she shared stories of the past and helped me to imagine how lively it once was with the merchants and mill workers going about their day. She introduced me to the eateries that the mill workers enjoyed back in the day that can still be enjoyed now, and she even treated me to some sembei Japanese rice crackers from a shop that has been in business for almost 100 years.
A distinctive feature of the city are its narrow alleys. One of them was once home to the largest community of geishas in Japan population ratio wise, and my guide described how lively it was at night, while people could hear the geishas practicing their shamisen during the day.
After I said goodbye to her, I joined the official public tour of the Tomioka Silk Mill which is currently only done in Japanese. The tour was very informative as I learned so much of its history! While bringing us around the mill, which comprises a collection of more than 100 buildings consisting of a plant, warehouses, dormitories etc., my guide explained how the mill operated and became a World Heritage Site. The most significant piece of information that really struck me was about Katakura Industries, a clothing textile company that owned the mill in the latter years of its operation. The company believed that the mill played an important role in Japanese history, so when they stopped operations, they decided to not sell nor rent the buildings to avoid the risk of it being renovated or taken down. It cost them approximately 100 million yen per year to keep the site preserved, but they kept to their decision and preserved it for 18 years, until it was donated to Tomioka City. The company was proved right, as UNESCO designated the mill alongside neighboring sites as a World Heritage Site in 2014. They had also helped in this, as one of the reasons why the mill was designated as a World Heritage Site was how well-preserved the buildings were.
A local guide can really add to your experience, sharing a perspective uniquely their own. A guide is a true storyteller, and I do hope to experience more guided tours to appreciate Japan in a way I never could on my own.
All images not owned by WaWo Japan Travel were obtained from the following source:
★ Tomioka City
[https://www.tomioka-silk.jp/]
Please hover over the images for specific credits.
<Links>
Official Website for Tomioka Tourist Information [https://www.tomioka-silk.jp.e.wv.hp.transer.com/?_ga=2.225321874.982551211.1744341009-519877980.1744341009]
Tomioka Silk Mill Official Website: [https://www.tomioka-silk.jp.e.wv.hp.transer.com/_tomioka-silk-mill/]
<Author>
Saori Futsukaichi
Travel Consultant at WaWo Japan Travel
