Enjoy Kyoto (Part 2) — Take a tour of Sumiya, the only remaining ageya building in Japan

In Part One of our series of articles on some original ways to enjoy the ancient city of Kyoto, I described what it was like to stay in a restored traditional machiya house during my recent trip to the city. Now, in the second article of the series, I’d like to introduce a tourist spot I visited which may not be at the top of people’s list of places to visit in Kyoto but nonetheless is both historically and architecturally interesting. The building, known as Sumiya, is literally one of a kind, as it is the only “ageya-style” structure that remains in Japan today. So, let’s take a look at this unique ageya building with a fascinating history over three-and-a-half centuries old.

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