Hiraizumi Self-guided Walking Tour, Hiraizumi, Japan

You wouldn’t realise at first glance but the small, quiet town of Hiraizumi in northern Honshu was once the political and cultural focal point of northern Japan, rivalling Kyoto in size and importance. This was the home of the Northern Fujiwara dynasty, which ruled most of northern Japan at odds with the Kyoto court during the 1100s. Having been developed as a capital by the founder of the dynasty, Fujiwara no Kiyohira, the city prospered for almost a hundred years until it was destroyed in 1189 by the forces of Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate who took vengeance upon the Fujiwaras for sheltering his rebellious younger brother. Hiraizumi’s glory was lost and the city faded back into obscurity. Today, the few remnants of this brief boom period almost 1,000 years ago have earned UNESCO World Heritage status for Hiraizumi. Check out this self-guided walking tour of the sleepy town’s main sites!

Start and end at Hiraizumi train station, which is easily accessible on the Tohoku Line with direct trains from the Shinkansen hubs of Morioka or Ichinoseki. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).