A Guide to the World Heritage Tomioka Silk Mill

The Machinaka sightseeing excursion bus makes the leisurely 20-minute trip between the parking lot near Jōshū Tomioka station and the Tomioka Silk Mill.

The East Cocoon Warehouse in the background is visible from the mill entrance. Audio guides for available for rent from the ticket booth on the left.

The buildings were constructed with bricks laid between wooden posts and beams in a style known as timber framing. The stone monument to the right commemorates a visit to the mill by Empress Shōken and Empress Dowager Eishō in 1873.

Guided tours start from the tent at the rear of the East Cocoon Warehouse. Tickets go on sale 30 minutes before the start of each tour.

The guided tours, which give a brief rundown of the history and significance of the mill, are a popular attraction.

At company residence 76, visitors can try their hand at hand-reeling silk thread using old-fashioned equipment.

A demonstration using a French-style silk reeling machine is staged in front of the Silk Gallery at the East Cocoon Warehouse from 10:00 am to 11:30 am and 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm on weekdays. On weekends and holidays, visitors can view and take part in a reeling demonstration.

The East Cocoon Warehouse has many windows, ensuring good ventilation and protecting the cocoons from mold.

The first-floor display area includes display panels describing the history of the mill and explaining the features of the buildings on the site. There is also a video viewing area here.

The second floor of the East Cocoon Warehouse is open to visitors for a limited period. This is where the cocoons used for silk reeling were stored.

Restoration work at the West Cocoon Warehouse is underway. The building is scheduled to open to the public in autumn 2020.

A small monitor roof sits atop the roof of the mill to provide ventilation.

The mill’s ceiling is held up by steel roof trusses to create a spacious, pillar-free interior.

Automated reeling machines, which first appeared in the 1930s, greatly reduced the number of workers needed for operations.

The size of mill director Brunat’s house is evident in this view of the building from the south. The lightning rod on the roof was unusual for the era.

The residence for French female instructors is an elegant timber-framed structure.

The Inspector’s House, closed to the public, is used as the office for the Tomioka Silk Mill site.

An excerpt from Tomioka Diary, a lively account of life at the mill written by one of the mill’s trainees, is copied onto this blackboard from the Haruna Dormitory, which was erected during the Taishō period.

The Myōgi Dormitory, built in 1940 when the mill was under private ownership.

This clinic, also built in 1940, was the third such facility erected since the mill’s opening.

A field of mulberry leaves, on which silkworms feed.

The Machinaka Sightseeing Information Center, a 5-minute walk from the mill, sells local specialties and goods featuring Otomi-chan, the mill’s mascot character modeled after a female mill worker.