Okuizumo: The Rural Town Where Japan’s Swords Are Born

*This article was sponsored by the San'in Inbound Tourism Organization.

What Sort of Place Is Okuizumo?

Arriving in Okuizumo, it's easy to feel as though you've stepped into another era. Nestled between forested mountains and emerald rice fields in eastern Shimane Prefecture, Japan's second least-populated prefecture, the region is a collection of quiet villages where life unfolds at its own gentle pace.

Just an hour from Izumo Taisha, one of Japan's oldest and most important shrines, Okuizumo is steeped in Japanese mythology. According to legend, this is where Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the storm god and younger brother of the sun goddess Amaterasu, descended after being banished from heaven and defeated the fearsome eight-headed serpent, Yamata-no-Orochi.

Yet what surprised me most about Okuizumo wasn't its mythology, but its steel.

For centuries, the region has been one of Japan's most important centers of iron production. Using iron sand gathered from local rivers and mountains, craftsmen have long produced “tamahagane,” the traditional steel used to forge Japanese swords, through the labor-intensive “tatara” smelting process. Even today, all tamahagane used in traditionally forged Japanese swords is produced in Shimane Prefecture, and the only existing tatara furnace is in Okuizumo.

This heritage can still be found all throughout, from the sleepy ruins of historic ironworks to the busy workshops of master blacksmiths. Visitors can even forge their own knife from start to finish, a rare opportunity in Japan, where most hands-on forging offers only a part of the blade-making process.

Travel Agents: If you’d like to book any of the tours or experiences featured in this article, get in touch with tsunagu Japan Travel here.

Getting to Okuizumo

・Rental Car
A rental car is the best way to explore Okuizumo. Despite the remote location, roads are well maintained and traffic is generally light, making for a relaxed drive. Rental cars can be picked up at major gateways to the region, including Izumo Airport, Izumoshi Station, and Matsue Station, all about an hour away.

・Airplane
Izumo Airport has daily flights to Tokyo (Haneda Airport), Osaka (Itami Airport), Nagoya (Komaki Airport), and Fukuoka Airport, making it easy to fly into the region. From Izumo Airport, you can pick up a rental car, or catch the airport bus to Izumoshi Station or Matsue Station.

・Train
The best way to reach Shimane by public transport is aboard the limited express Yakumo, which departs from Okayama Station. The journey passes through the rural landscapes of Okayama and Tottori before arriving at Matsue Station (approx. 2.5 hrs) and then Izumoshi Station (approx. 3 hrs).

Those continuing on to Okuizumo by train can instead disembark at Shinji Station (2 hrs 50 mins from Okayama Station) and transfer to the Kisuki Line, after which you can get off at your preferred stop in the Okuizumo area. However, the destinations featured in this article are not easily accessible by public transport alone, so we still recommend arranging a driver in advance.

Recommended Okuizumo 1-Day Itinerary

Knife Making with a Master Artisan

Arriving at Okuizumo, we first took a moment to breathe in the fresh countryside air and admire the old estates scattered across the hillsides. Our guide soon appeared, a Sri Lankan who has long called Okuizumo home. His deep knowledge of the area, combined with his warm personality, made him a wonderful companion as we got to know this nook of Japan.

Before showing us the history behind Okuizumo’s blades, our guide first wanted us to see where the tradition continues today, leading us to a small, unassuming forge beside the main road. This is Unshu Yukimitsu Blades, where fifth-generation bladesmith Kiyonori Kusunoki upholds his family's craft. In stark contrast to the trim tourist facilities we had grown accustomed to, we had clearly stepped into the workshop of a real blacksmith. The dirt floor was coated in metal dust, tools lay scattered in every direction, and sparks flew through the air as Kusunoki hurried to finish his latest creation before coming out to greet us.

Kusunoki’s personality seemed to reflect the nature of his craft. Warm and welcoming, he nevertheless carried an intensity that I have often noticed among master artisans, the product of decades spent relentlessly pursuing a single skill. He specializes in handcrafted Japanese knives, forging each from scratch and often tailoring them to the specific needs of chefs and other professionals.

We watched in awe as Kusunoki demonstrated how his blades are forged. The process itself was deceptively simple: heat a chunk of steel in a charcoal forge, flatten it beneath a powerful antique belt hammer inherited from his grandfather, then refine its shape by hammer. Yet in Kusunoki's hands, each step was carried out with remarkable speed and precision that was almost a blur to our untrained eyes, and the nub of metal took the shape of a blade in less than an hour.

The final stage was hardening the steel. According to Kusunoki, the ideal temperature is around 800°C, yet he uses no instruments to measure it. Instead, he judges the heat entirely by eye through a skill honed over more than thirty years. Traditionally, this process is often carried out at night, when the steel's color is easier to assess, though he kindly demonstrated it for us during the day.

Kusunoki’s lineage in ironworking dates back to 1834, when his ancestor worked for one of the nine families licensed by the Matsue Domain to operate ironmaking facilities. At the time, the family worked with Okuizumo’s traditional tamahagane steel. Today, owing to the scarcity of tamahagane, Kusunoki uses Yasugi Steel, produced in nearby Yasugi City and regarded as one of Japan’s leading modern steels.

For hands-on experience, Kusunoki also runs knife-forging workshops for visitors. Rather than the brief demonstration we enjoyed, participants are guided through the full process of making a blade, from heating and hammering to shaping and finishing it under his supervision.

These sessions require an overnight stay, with visitors returning to the forge the next day to complete their work. The program also extends beyond the forge, with visits to sake breweries, hot springs, and historic sites across the region. It concludes with engraving your own name into the knife before taking it home, refined under Kusunoki’s guidance to ensure premium quality.

On our way back to the car, we passed another storybook-like scene: a traditional waterwheel on the riverbank. Our guide explained that it is used to separate iron sand through the flow of water and gravity. Rather than being a replica, it remains part of the wider tamahagane production process in Okuizumo, where only limited amounts of iron sand are gathered each year to protect the surrounding mountains and waterways.

Okuizumo Tatara Sword Museum

Having seen Okuizumo's blacksmithing tradition firsthand, we were keen to learn more about the history. For this, our guide took us to the Okuizumo Tatara Sword Museum, which explores the region's deep connection to ironmaking and blade forging. Before entering, our attention was drawn to a striking sculpture of Yamata-no-Orochi, the legendary eight-headed serpent defeated by Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the storm god. According to the myth, Susanoo discovered a great sword within the creature's tail after slaying it, a fitting tale for a region.

Iron production in the Izumo region dates back to the late Yayoi period (300 BC - 300 AD), developing further around the 6th century and reaching its peak during the Edo period (1603 - 1868). The museum traces this history in detail, placing Okuizumo's ironmaking heritage within the broader story of metalworking in Japan and the world.

The highlight for us was the life-sized tatara diorama, which demonstrates the sheer scale of the furnace and the intricate network of structures that supported its operation.

Made from clay, tatara furnaces evolved from ancient ironmaking technologies adapted to Japan's natural resources, where iron sand is far more abundant than iron ore. These enormous structures operated continuously for four days under the supervision of a master known as a “murage,” producing a massive block of crude iron called “kera.” These blocks were then broken apart, and tamahagane, the highest-quality steel, was shipped to swordsmiths across Japan.

The museum is packed with other exhibits, including a huge chunk of kera, where even to our untrained eyes the difference between high-quality tamahagane and lower-grade iron is clearly visible. We then admired the collection of locally made swords and tools, the gleaming finished pieces standing in stark contrast to the gruelling labor that shaped them.

The most fun exhibits are the working bellows. Stepping on them in turn, we were struck by how much air could be generated through such a simple mechanism. It brought to mind the scene in Princess Mononoke, in which women sing as they work the bellows, a sequence said to have been inspired by Okuizumo.

Our guide wrapped up by explaining how close the craft came to disappearing. During Japan’s rapid industrialization in the Meiji period (1868-1912), tatara ironmaking was largely replaced by modern steelmaking, and the tradition nearly vanished. Thankfully, passionate craftspeople revived it with the founding of the Nittoho Tatara forge in Okuizumo in 1977. As a brief detour, we drove past the forge itself, sitting quietly amid the surrounding rice fields. Although not open to the public, it remains the only forge in Japan producing tamahagane steel using traditional methods, with efforts underway to pass the craft on to future generations.

Other Things to Do in Okuizumo

If you have more time in Okuizumo, there are plenty of other places to visit, many also tied to local steelmaking traditions. Here are some of our recommendations:

The Estates of the Former Ironmaking Families

Scattered throughout the region are the beautifully preserved estates of the families once permitted to operate ironworks. The traditional architecture and meticulously maintained gardens reflect the wealth and prestige that ironmaking brought to the area.

The best of these include the Itohara Memorial Museum, where visitors can wander through an enormous mansion and its expansive gardens; the Sakurai Family Residence, whose grounds include the Kabeya Shuseikan Hall, home to a fantastic collection of artifacts and antiques; and the Tanabe Family Warehouses, where numerous traditional white-walled storehouses resemble a small village. There is also Bokura Garden, a beautiful Japanese garden that once belonged to the family that employed the ancestor of Kiyonori Kusunoki, featured earlier in this article.

Rice Terraces

Okuizumo is covered in rice terraces, and believe it or not, these too are connected to iron. To obtain the iron sand and charcoal needed for tatara steelmaking, entire mountainsides were once stripped of vegetation and excavated. Rather than leaving the land barren, however, it was reshaped into rice terraces, many of which now produce the highly prized Nitamai rice.

There are numerous viewpoints to admire these terraces, including the iconic Obara Shinden Rice Terraces, the Fukuyori Rice Terraces, and Kanna Zankyu. We visited the third, where we noticed a steep remnant of the original mountainside that remained untouched. Our guide explained that it had been left because it was a graveyard, a custom common throughout the region.

Accommodation: Tsukaru

Tsukaru is a small inn sitting on the banks of the Hii River, further upstream from Unshu Yukimitsu Blades. Run by a young family, the warmth and hospitality make it feel less like a hotel stay and more like being welcomed into someone’s home.

While our comfy beds were certainly calling, the surrounding streets were just as inviting. Quaint wooden buildings, thatched roofs, and weathered stone walls lined the lanes, giving the village an atmosphere that felt straight out of a Ghibli film. Our room was a natural extension of that charm, with a spacious layout, exposed wooden beams, and the comforting scent of aged timber lingering in the air.

The village was once a lively hot spring area along the route between Izumo and Hiroshima, but modern transportation shifted traffic away, leaving behind a peaceful corner of Japan filled with birdsong, chirping insects, and the gentle sound of flowing water. As a testament to the pristine environment, we were even able to spot fireflies glowing along the riverbank at night, an early summer sight that appears only in healthy ecosystems.

The innkeeper further welcomed us with free tickets to a nearby hot spring. After spending the day sweating it out in working forges and trekking between rice fields, soaking in the bath felt like the ultimate way to unwind.

The humble, timeworn wooden bathhouse, Shitsuni no Yu, sat on the same narrow laneway as Tsukaru and was mainly used by locals, staffed by a welcoming grandmother. Lacking showers, we washed ourselves using buckets before entering the bath, giving the whole experience an unmistakably old-fashioned Japanese atmosphere. Despite its simplicity, relaxing in the outdoor bath while looking out over the river felt like a million dollars. For those not used to public bathhouses, there is also a footbath where you can enjoy the scenery and waters without having to undress.

After the evening hot springs, we returned to Tsukaru more than ready to put its motto “a restaurant you can stay at” to the test. Tsukaru places its cuisine at the center of its hospitality, with each course decided by the innkeeper, who also serves as the chef, based on the season’s flavors and whatever local produce is available that day.

With ingredients sourced from farmers, hunters, breweries, and producers across the area, every dish felt like another introduction to Okuizumo. The standout was the boar meat, which was a first for us. Its gamey flavor was a sharp contrast to its elegant presentation, but it paired well with the deep madeira wine sauce and the local sake recommended by the innkeeper. Other highlights included crispy battered conger eel caught just off the coast and handmade pasta with local wheat and eggs finished with a bright lemon aroma, perfect for summer dining.

After a deep sleep and hearty Japanese breakfast the following day, we waved goodbye to the family and began the next leg of our journey to Matsue, Shimane Prefecture’s historic capital. Despite only staying for a single night, our later-than-expected departure suggested we had already slipped into the rhythm of Okuizumo, where time was not measured by schedules, but by long walks, unhurried meals, and lingering in the baths.

Travel Agents: If you’d like to book any of the tours or experiences featured in this article, get in touch with tsunagu Japan Travel here.