A town where the remains of a gold and silver mine remain / Sado Island Aikawa Futami

A town where the remains of a gold and silver mine remain / Walk around the island village Sea of Japan Sado Island Aikawa Futami (Niigata Prefecture)
It is the largest of Japan's remote islands and one of the Seven Kingdoms of Hokuriku. It is an island with the Osado Mountains to the north and the Kosado Hills to the south, with the Kuninaka Plain in the rift valley and river terraces along the coast. The Honma clan, the guardians of the Middle Ages, built Kawarada Shishi Castle and later Manodanfu Castle. From 1573 (Tensho 1) to 1598 (Keicho 3), the Uesugi clan ruled, and the Tokugawa clan controlled Sado Magistrate as Aikawa as a direct territory. He focused his efforts on the management of Aikawa Kanayama. It has also been an island where criminals were exiled since ancient times.
Aikawa
Aikawa is a town located on the north west coast of Sado Island. It is known for the Sado gold mine, which supported the finances of the Tokugawa shogunate, and for the folk song Sado Okesa. With the opening of the Sado Gold Mine in 1601, Aikawa became a fief under the direct control of the Shogunate, and the Sado Magistrate's Office was built in 1603. After that, Aikawa rose and fell as a mining town until modern times.
The town is clearly divided into upper and lower coastal terraces, connected by steep staircases. The town below is a merchant town that runs parallel to the coastline, with gabled streets. Particularly from Aikawa 2-chome to 3-chome, a unified townscape remains, and there are post offices and inns in the area that connects to the town on the hill. The town extends northward from there and ends at Kamiyacho, but further north there is the ruins of a red-light district called Suiganecho.
On the other hand, if you go up the stairs on a steep slope from the central area of the downtown area, you will arrive at the site where the Kamimachi Magistrate's Office was located. The former magistrate's office building has been restored here, and across the street is the Sado Print Museum, which is housed in a former wooden court building. Passing through the brick wall next to the museum and turning left in front of the bell tower, a straight ridge road stretches out, leading to Kyomachi, Daikucho, and the town in front of Kanayamamon Gate. You can remember the past in the town layout, but there are not many buildings to be seen. Entry beyond Daiku-cho is prohibited. In fact, from here to the gold mine, there is a rich heritage of modernized mining facilities.
Futami
Futami is a town facing Mano Bay in the southwest of Sado Island, and was the outer port of the Sado gold mine, Aikawa, which supported the finances of the Tokugawa shogunate. The townscape is lined with two-story gabled houses with neatly aligned eaves. A distinctive feature is that they have a common appearance, giving the impression that they are connected to the machiya town of Aikawa.
Futami had been a red light district since the early Meiji period. It is said that it has declined since 1909, but perhaps this form of townhouse is due to the fact that it was a red-light district.
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