Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape
Good to know
- Best time to go
- November–March
- Budget
- $$$
- Coordinates
- Open in maps
In the 16th and 17th centuries a remarkable share of the silver circulating in East Asia came from the wooded mountains of Iwami Ginzan. Miners tunnelled by hand into the Shimane hills, smelting works and settlements grew around the shafts, and pack routes carried ore to the ports of Tomogaura, Okidomari and Yunotsu for shipment toward Korea and China. Now reclaimed by forest, the mining landscape gained UNESCO World Heritage status in 2007.
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