The Miyashiro No. 1 power plant, which houses the country's oldest working hydraulic generator, is attracting public attention after it started offering guided tours last spring.

In operation for 111 years, the plant, in Azumino, Nagano Prefecture, has contributed to the nation's industrial progress but has only begun gaining recognition — some 30 years after it was confirmed as the oldest such generator in Japan.

In a small building near a prefectural road that leads to the hiking trail of Mount Tsubakuro in the Northern Alps, one can hear the water wheel and generator churning furiously.