Osarizawa was the first northern Japanese town which was influenced by the Western civilization in the late 19th century. The streets and the ruin of the nation's largest ore processing facility, which could concentrate 100,000 tons of copper ores per month at its peak, are remnants of Osarizawa's past prosperity.
In 1982, Mine Land Osarizawa opened using a national-scale mine tunnel with 1200 years of history for tourism. In 2008, when Osarizawa mine marked the 1300th year after its opening, Mine Land Osarizawa was renamed Historic Site Osarizawa Mine, providing several tours. One such tour allows visitors to walk through Ishikirizawa tunnel, one of Japan's largest copper mine tunnels, to visit the local industrial heritage and to have on-site experience including discovering alluvial gold.
