Shimane Misato’s “みさとと。” site doesn’t behave like a municipal homepage—it behaves like a book you can wander through. Instead of flat info-dumping, it spins out mini-narratives: fishermen tracing the clear Gonokawa River, kagura dancers keeping firelit rituals alive, confectioners folding memory into sweets. Each piece feels less like a PR blurb and more like a vignette pulled from everyday life.
Designwise, it works like a diorama in motion. Scrolling isn’t passive; you drift from one scene to the next, illustrations and type leading you as if you’ve stepped into the town itself. The nonlinear structure makes it feel like exploring Misato’s streets—one moment you’re at a festival, the next you’re in a quiet shop, then suddenly you’re back by the river.
The charm is in the specificity. It doesn’t sell you on some generic idea of “rural Japan.” It says: here’s this place, these voices, these traditions, and the way they bend but don’t break with time. The result is a digital storybook that turns local culture into something you experience, not just something you read.
