Bungotakada (Bungotakada City, Oita Pref.)

Showa Town was built with the aim of refurbishing and restoring the exterior facades of stores in this shopping district in order to evoke the halcyon days of the Showa Period (1926-1989). Rare tools and equipment handed down from generation to generation are also displayed in the stores.

The Showa Romantic Granary consists of a rice granary built around 1935. In the spirit of nostalgia suggested by its name, this site houses a museum dedicated to celebrating candy sold in mom-and-pop stores, a museum showcasing illustrated books from the Showa Period, the Shunsai Minamigura (Japanese restaurant), and the Showa no Yume 3-Chome Kan (3rd St. Showa Dream Hall), and other facilities filled with treasures of the Showa Period.

Horanenya is a traditional event that has been passed down since the middle of the Edo period (eighteenth century). It is held at the beginning of January and involves prayers that are invoked to ensure bountiful catches of fish and safe passage for ships, after which traditional horai boats sail upstream to mark the arrival of the New Year.

Related events that help to draw huge crowds of spectators are also held in shopping districts and elsewhere. The event has been designated by the Prefecture as an intangible ethnic cultural property.