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In 2007, Unesco awarded the Iwami Ginzan
silver mines and the surrounding landscape
World Heritage status. Omori, today a village
of just 400 people, is a part of the site.
Experts estimate the region used to be home
to 200,000 people. It’s hard to believe
looking at the town’s tiny rice fields (facing
page, left) and thick forests. The traditional
gardens (facing page, right) and the beautifully
restored houses, with their wood
facades and tile roofs, make visitors feel like
they’re back in the Edo period (1603-1868),
a time when Japanese culture also flourished.