※This article was published at
September 2015.※
Hey, everyone! Today I’m going to be introducing a popular tourist spot with streets and houses that look like something straight out of an old movie! It was the first place in Japan to start a movement to preserve its streets like this, and it still retains its Edo-era inn town atmosphere today. I’m talking about Tsumago-juku in Nagano Prefecture, Japan’s first designated traditional architecture preservation area!
I’m going to be walking around the ever-popular streets of Tsumago-juku and introducing just what’s so charming about them! The traditional Japanese “folk house” cafe is really a must-see, and is the perfect place to take a break!
Quietly tucked away among the mountains, Tsumago-juku is an inn town situated on the Nakasendo highway—commonly known as the Kiso Highway—which connected Edo and Kyoto during the Edo era.
(A Chinese lantern plant adorning a house frontage—how picturesque!)
Tsumago-juku’s honjin, the house where Touson Shimazaki’s mother was born, which was later restored...
Okuya, the waki-honjin—a national Important Cultural Property—built using abundant amounts of hinoki cypress, and the Nagiso Museum of History... These three make for wonderful viewing together!
(Okuya, the waki-honjin.)
In the Terashita area, where the atmosphere of the old Tsumago-juku is even thicker, the Kamisagaya and Shimosagaya private houses—which are town-designated tangible cultural properties—have been made open to the public, letting you take a glimpse at how people lived back then.
(Kamisagaya)
(Shimosagaya)
When you’re ready to take a break from walking around, be sure to stop by at Minoseya, a “folk house” cafe in the Terashita area! It’s a wonderful coffee spot situated in a remodeled building that’s originally over 290 years old!
As if drawn in by the pleasant jazz tones seeping out from inside, I head through the noren curtain and into the café. Being inside really gives you a sense of history, and the coffee is blissful!
(The 8th generation owner is proficient in English, and the café is fully fitted with Wi-Fi!)
There are so many more amazing places in Tsumago-juku, I could never introduce them all—not least a great number of minshuku guesthouses and ryokan hotels! It’s possible to take a day-trip here, but I’d definitely recommend a longer trip to really get a feel for the place!
Information
- Tsumago-juku Tourism Association
- Minoseya
Opening Hours: 8:00 am - 8:00 pm (Monday-Sunday)
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