Momen Kaido (Cotton Road)

Hirata town in Izumo City produces Unshu Cotton. From late Edo Period to early Meiji Period, the town prospered in commerce of cotton flowers and grew into a large market after Matsue. The neighborhood of Shinmachi, Katahara-cho and Miyano-cho was especially busy with merchants and it earned the name of Momen Kaido.

To this day, nearly 30 homes remain with Hirata Town’s unique architecture style, left-tongue tiles, Namako (tile and plaster) walls, windows with Izumo-style grid, and the entrance on the gable side. There are even a brewery, soy sauce store and ginger candy store with more than 100 years in business.

The canal, Unshu Hiratafuna River, which flows into Lake Shinji, was busy with commerce boats carrying all kinds of goods. Today, alleys and landing places still remind us of those golden days.

There are 14 kinds of hands-on tour “Momen Kaido Tanhocho Tour,” such as a walk through the town with a guide, cooking with soy sauce at a soy sauce brewery, test-tasting sake at a sake brewery, or making an original notebook with a paper creator.

At the western-most edge of Momen Kaido, Uｍi Jinja is known as a shrine for breaking relationships. Sickness, trouble, and bad relationships are believed to be removed here. Many visit here before they go to Izumo Taisha Shrine to make a wish for romance.