The town of Kiragawa is one of the jewels of Muroto. Its streets are lined with houses built in the Meiji and Taisho periods, around the turn of the last century.

The houses are made to withstand the strong wind and rain of the typhoons that sometimes lash the area from late summer to autumn. Small tiles are laid into the walls in rows, which cause the rain to run off the walls instead of seeping into the plaster.

The houses are enclosed in thick stone walls, built in a unique style not found in other regions.