Narai-juku | A Time Capsule of the Edo Period 🌿

🍃🌸You might have visited Nara, but have you heard of Narai-juku? 🌟 Narai-juku is one of the finest post towns (juku) along the Nakasendo (the Edo-period highway connecting Edo and Kyoto) in the Kiso Road, known as a "time capsule of the Edo period." 🌿 🌟 It is the best-preserved and longest post town (about 1 km) among the 69 post towns along the Nakasendo, and it is also called the "Thousand-Roof Post Town" due to its prosperous lacquerware trade. 🚞 Inconvenient Transportation Accessible by JR from Nagoya or Nagano, Narai-juku is a small station with limited train schedules, making transportation relatively inconvenient 🍃🌸 If you plan to visit only Narai-juku, it might not be worth the trip. However, if you start from Nagoya, visit Magome-juku and Tsumago-juku in the morning, and then take the 12:19 JR from Nakatsugawa, you can arrive in Narai-juku at 13:31. 🌿 🌟 After spending 2 hours exploring, you can catch the 15:50 JR to continue your journey to Matsumoto or Nagano. 🍃🌸This itinerary is quite cost-effective and efficient. 🚂 ⚓ From the JR station, head left and follow the long, ancient street as it stretches up the hillside. The entire street feels like a cabin in the woods. 🍃🌸 The street is lined with lacquerware shops, offering exquisite and eye-catching bowls, plates, and accessories. As you wander along, you can taste the local specialty—various flavors of goheimochi (grilled rice cakes). 🌿 🌟 The wooden houses and bustling crowds along the street evoke the prosperity of the past. 🌿 #Nara 🌇