(To start this series from the beginning with a night in a Japanese guest house, click here!) Magome (also called “Magome-juku”) is a preserved post town in the Japan alps which was once the last of the stations on the Kisoji, an ancient travel road that passed through the alps from north to south. Later, during the Edo period (1603-1868) Magome served as the 43rd station on the Nakasendo–the northern travel road connecting Edo (now Tokyo) with Kyoto. Today, Magome and neighboring Tsumago (the next post town to the north along the Kisoji and Nakasendo routes) have been preserved and restored to their Edo-period state, allowing
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A Visit to Magome, Japan
Last November I spent four nights in the preserved post town of Magome, which was one of the rest stations on the Kisoji and Nakasendo travel roads during Japan’s medieval era. Today, Magome (like neighboring Tsumago) offers Japanese and foreign tourists a chance to step back in time and see how people lived in samurai-era Japan. From Nakatsugawa, I took a bus to the “lower entrance” of Magome: Cars and buses are not allowed on the street; visitors who want to see Magome, or visit its shops and restaurants, must walk. This can be challenging for visitors staying in one of the local minshuku (family inns, smaller than ryokan,
Read moreThe Gardens of Magome
While visiting Magome-juku, a preserved post town in the Japan Alps (and formerly a post town on the Nakasendo and Kisoji travel roads), I appreciated the care the shopkeepers took with the tiny but manicured gardens located in front of many shops. The garden featured a decorative water wheel, hearkening back to the time when real water wheels provided power for the town. Unlike the more strictly manicured gardens found at shrines and temples, these were clearly decorative but personal gardens featuring local trees and flowers that the owners kept trimmed but allowed to grow in more natural, informal styles. Despite their
Read moreMagome: a Town From Japan’s Medieval Past
During my recent research trip to Japan I spent four days in Magome-juku, a preserved post town on the Nakasendo travel road that was once a popular northern travel route between Edo (now Tokyo) and Kyoto. Although not as famous as its southern counterpart, the Tōkaidō, the Nakasendo was the primary northern route for people and goods during the Edo period (1603-1868). The road had 69 stations, or post towns, where visitors could stop for the night (or for a meal). (I’ll blog more about Magomechaya in the days to come, but I recommend it highly for visitors wanting to spend a night in Magome or to
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