Sankyo Soko Rice Warehouses

The port city of Sakata grew rich shipping the rice of the fertile Shonai plain, and the most photogenic relic of that trade still stands: Sankyo Soko, a long row of black-walled wooden rice warehouses built in 1893 and in use for over a century.

Why It’s Interesting

The clever, beautiful detail is the screen of tall zelkova trees planted along the back of the warehouses — they shade the buildings from summer sun and buffer the winter wind, keeping the stored rice at an even temperature. The result is the town’s signature image: dark, dignified storehouses behind a curtain of green (or gold). The complex appeared in the beloved drama “Oshin,” which made it nationally famous, and today it holds a small history museum and shops. It’s a quick, pretty, easy stop.

Best Time to Visit

Year-round, with the zelkova trees lush in summer and golden in autumn.

Getting There

A short bus or taxi from Sakata Station, easy to pair with the city’s old merchant houses and the Mogami River mouth.