Izumi Day Trip: Fumoto's Samurai Houses and the Winter Crane Grounds

This guide covers how to reach the Fumoto samurai district, what its preserved houses hold and when they can be visited, the Kyushu Olle course and rental bicycles, the wintering grounds of the cranes and the observation center, and the winter rules for entering the crane fields.

Izumi has a samurai district and a crane wintering ground in the same city. The Fumoto district keeps its lanes of stone walls and hedges, and the reclaimed farmland becomes the wintering ground of cranes. The sections below go through the district and its houses, then the crane grounds and the observation center, with practical details gathered in tables.

Getting to Izumi Fumoto from Izumi Station

Izumi Station is the starting point, and the Fumoto district is close enough to reach on foot. The table below gives the time for each way of getting there, plus the fare for the shuttle from the airport.

Item	Detail
Distance, Izumi Station to the Fumoto district	about 2 km
On foot, Izumi Station to the Fumoto district	about 25 minutes
By bicycle, Izumi Station to the Fumoto district	about 10 minutes
By taxi, Izumi Station to the Fumoto district	about 5 minutes
By car, Izumi Station to the Fumoto district	about 5 minutes
By the Fureai bus, Izumi Station to the Fumoto district	about 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the route
By car, Izumi Station to the Takezoe residence	about 5 minutes
By car, Izumi Station to the Saisho residence	about 5 minutes
Airport shuttle bus, Kagoshima Airport to Izumi Station	1,650 yen one way

A bicycle makes the same trip quicker than walking. By car or taxi it is a short ride. The Fureai bus also links the station with the district, and the ride length depends on which route the bus is running. Rental bicycles can be picked up at the general tourism station inside the Izumi Station tourist and local-products hall.

The Preserved Streets of Izumi Fumoto

The Fumoto district is a nationally designated Important Preservation District. The houses along its lanes were reconstructed, but the grid-like town layout, the river-stone walls and the green hedges have remained almost unchanged for centuries. The table below sums up the district's status and how much of it still stands.

Item	Detail
Status	a nationally designated Important Preservation District
Samurai houses that remain	about 150 houses
Houses you can enter	2, the Takezoe and Saisho residences

Inside the Takezoe and Saisho Residences

The Takezoe family moved to the Fumoto area in the Edo period and held hereditary posts. The residence was lost to a great fire at the end of the Edo shogunate and rebuilt between late Edo and Meiji. Its roof is tiled; Edo-period samurai residences were thatched. The main tatami room's wall is painted with bengara, a red pigment.

The Saisho family was ordered to move from Kaseda the year before the Battle of Sekigahara and held important posts in Izumi for generations. The residence keeps a rainy-weather archery practice area, a concealed room and a concealed passage from its era. An escape passage was dug so that a person at the hearth could get outside.

• 1637: the Takezoe family moved to the Fumoto area.
• Heisei 23: the Saisho residence opened to the public, 4 years after the city bought it.

Hours, Admission and Parking at the Samurai Houses

The history hall, the Takezoe residence and the Saisho residence share a combined admission fee. The times, the closing day of the hall and the shared ticket are set out in the table below, with the location and parking details under it.

Item	Detail
Fumoto history hall, hours	9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30)
Takezoe residence, hours	9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30)
Saisho residence, hours	9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30)
Fumoto history hall, closed	the third Wednesday of each month (the next day if that day is a holiday)
Admission for the three facilities including the VR experience, high school students and older	510 yen
Admission for the three facilities including the VR experience, elementary and junior high school students	300 yen
Group rate at the samurai houses	for groups of 20 or more people

• Address and phone of the Fumoto history hall: 10-39 Fumoto-cho, Izumi City, Kagoshima Prefecture; 0996-68-1390.
• Parking next to the Fumoto history hall (free): 12 passenger cars, 3 large buses and 2 spaces for visitors with disabilities.
• Parking in front of the Saisho residence: 32 standard cars, 4 kei cars and 1 space for visitors with disabilities.

On the Olle Course, by Bicycle and at the Table

The Kyushu Olle Izumi course ends in the old townscape of the Fumoto samurai residences, which still remains. It begins at Itsukushima Shrine in Okawachi. Its length and the fixed fares for walkers are set out in the table below, followed by the rates for the HIRARIN rental bicycles.

Item	Detail
Kyushu Olle Izumi course, from Itsukushima Shrine in Okawachi to the Fumoto district	13.8 km
Fixed taxi fare for Olle walkers, Izumi Station to Itsukushima Shrine	4,000 yen (4,300 yen normally)
Fixed taxi fare for Olle walkers, Fumoto history hall to Itsukushima Shrine	3,800 yen (4,100 yen normally)
Fixed taxi fare for Olle walkers, Fumoto history hall to Izumi Station	1,000 yen (1,100 yen normally)
Bus, the Izumi Honmachi bus stop to the Itsukushima-mae bus stop	200 yen

• Regular bicycle: 500 yen for 4 hours, plus 100 yen for each additional hour.
• City cycle: 500 yen for 4 hours, plus 100 yen for each additional hour.
• Cross bike: 1,000 yen for 4 hours, plus 200 yen for each additional hour.
• Pickup hours: 9:00 to 17:00 at the general tourism station inside the Izumi Station tourist and local-products hall.

At the table, the Izumi oyako steak rice set uses the Izumi brand chicken. It comes as chicken steak grilled on the spot, egg-on-rice made with Izumi eggs, chicken salad and egg soup.

The Wintering Grounds of the Cranes

The wetland area takes in the paddy fields of Arasaki, the eastern reclaimed land and the western reclaimed land, and part of the Takaono River estuary. It is mainly reclaimed land, with paddies that grow early-season and ordinary rice. The breeding grounds of East Asian cranes lie in Russia, Mongolia and China.

Item	Detail
Ramsar Convention wetland status	added in 2021
Reclamation	began in the Edo period and took about 300 years to reach its present form
Wild bird species with observation records in Izumi	about 300 species
Crane species with arrival records in Izumi	7 of the world's 15, plus 1 hybrid

The Crane Observation Center

The observation center stands directly in front of the reclaimed land where the cranes roost. Cranes can be watched from the upstairs observation room. The center opens only in the winter crane season. Its period, times, parking and phone number are in the table below.

Item	Detail
Opening period	November 1 to the second Sunday of March
Observation center hours	9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30)
Outdoor toilets	6:30 to 17:00 during the opening period
By car, Izumi Station to the observation center	about 20 minutes
Parking at the observation center	172 passenger cars and 3 large buses
Building	reinforced concrete, 2 stories
Observation center phone	0996-85-5151
Group rate at the observation center	applies to groups of 20 or more people

Winter Entry Rules and Contributions

During the wintering season, visitors to the crane grounds are asked to follow special guidelines designed to look after the cranes, other wildlife and the local community. The period, the times of day set for the wintering ground, the early entry to the center and the contribution for each way of arriving are in the table below.

Item	Detail
Winter visitor guidelines period	November 1, 2026 to March 14, 2027 (the winter season)
Hours during the use-adjustment period	6:30 to 16:30
Early access to the observation center for visitors who pay the conservation contribution	6:30 to 9:00
Contribution, passenger car, taxi or van (up to 10 seats)	1,000 yen per vehicle per day
Contribution, motorcycle or bicycle	1,000 yen per vehicle per day
Contribution, on foot	1,000 yen per person per day
Season pass for the car, motorcycle, bicycle and on-foot categories	3,000 yen
Contribution, minibus (11 to 29 seats)	3,000 yen per day
Contribution, large bus (30 or more seats)	5,000 yen per day

If you want to add an activity to the trip, look at tours and activities around Kagoshima.