2018-04-18

Long time ago on Instagram I saw an image of Narai-juku. I fell in love with it straight away. I told myself that the place I would go for sure.

In this rainy day, I was finally standing on the main street and the only street in this quiet post-town.

In Edo Period, the was a Nakasendo road linking between Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo). With the nickname “ Samurai Trail”, the path was 550km long, and there were 67 juku (post towns). Located in Kiso Vally, Narai-juku was the 34th station. From Matsumoto to Nagoya, other 3 post-towns attracting tourists are Nakatsugawa, Magome & Tsumago. Narai-juku is the easiest one to approach. When you step out of the JR station, you are on the main street of this town. Again, this is one street town.

I was so nervous before I went there. I’ve heard some people missed the stop because they couldn’t figure out how to get off the train. So here is the trick. As Narai-juku is a small stop of JR Chuo Line, all passengers need to gather at the door behind the driver to get off the train. The driver will check your ticket when you get off.

I was struggling the take photos while holding an umbrella in the other hand. However I think the rain made the town more beautiful. I was wandering on the street without other people’s interference. The town stretches over one kilometer. It took me 2 hours to appreciate the beauty of the ancient architecture including the buildings along the side of the street and the shrine. Fire has been the main agent of damaging the wooden structures, so smoking is banned here.

How I got there:

It took around 50 minutes from Matsumoto to Narai-juku by catching JR Chuo Line for Nakatsugawa.