[Gold-Guide] Congratulations! Sado Gold Mine has been registered as Japan's 26th World Heritage Site!

This article is not an introduction to the tour!

As of July 2024, there are currently 1,223 World Heritage Sites, including 952 cultural heritage sites, 231 natural heritage sites, and 40 mixed heritage sites. Of these, Japan has a total of 26 World Heritage Sites registered, including 21 cultural heritage sites and 5 natural heritage sites, with the Sado Gold Mine being the new addition this year. The road to World Heritage registration was a long one, and it took a total of 27 years for the site to be registered since the registration movement began in 1997.

Sado Gold Mine is located on Sado Island, the largest island in the Sea of Japan. Sado has an oceanic climate with four distinct seasons, with hot and humid summers and cold winters, but due to the influence of the Tsushima Warm Current, snowfall is less than on the mainland. The population is about 51,000 (as of the end of March 2022), and the island is surrounded by sea on all sides, and agriculture and fishing are carried out taking advantage of the rich soil and climate. Rice is the main agricultural industry, with fruit cultivation such as Okesa persimmons, Le Lectier, and apples thriving. The island is also involved in livestock farming, including Sado beef, which has long been considered a mythical cow. In addition to the various types of seafood such as crabs, shrimp, squid, yellowtail, and tuna, the island is a treasure trove of seafood, including oysters grown in Lake Kamo and Mano Bay, and abalone, turban shells, and seaweed grown in the rough waves of the Sea of Japan.

The gold mine is said to have been founded in 1601 (Edo period) by three prospectors, and has a long history of 400 years until it closed in 1989. Most of the remains of the mine tunnels, mining facilities, smelting facilities, etc. scattered across the vast site have been designated as important cultural properties, historic sites, and modern industrial heritage sites by the country. It is an extremely valuable heritage site, unparalleled anywhere in the world, where you can see almost all of the work of our predecessors and the changes in mining technology and production systems over the past 400 years.

Sado's attractions are not limited to the gold mines. The area has a variety of tourist resources, including the tub boat experience, which is a must-try for tourists, townscapes that bring together the skills of shipwrights and are designated as Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings, and the habitat of the once extinct Japanese crested ibis, a natural monument.

Unfortunately, Sado Island is not yet an area that is covered by tours, but it is an area that is gaining more and more attention. Please look forward to future area expansion (^^)

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