This city of 25,000 people in the western part of the Kunisaki Peninsula has undergone an unusual revival thanks to a special attraction that brings in more than 10 times its population in tourists a year.
Bungotakada's magnet is Showa Town, where about 100 stops line a street for 500 meters — a model community with a nostalgic theme that has turned the local economy around and drawn sightseers by the busload.
"I didn't expect to see so many people," store owner Katsumi Morikawa, 59, said as he looked out on the crowded street. "I am surprised myself."