Friday 17 April 2009

Tsumago Juku- old post town on the Nakasendo Road

Below are photos of the village known as Tsumago which lies on the old Kiso Kaido road (Nakasendo road) which was part of the inland route from Kyoto to Edo (Tokyo) used by traders and samurais over 400 years ago. The vilage is an old post town which was part of a series of post towns that provided travelers with accomodation, food and even had important Edo governmental post boards, or edict notification boards, which stated what was allowed and not allowed by the shogun.

Later I'll post my hike from Magome post town to Tsumago and detail the route. Tsumago was the destination of my hike and truly worth the visit as it was much like going back in time to see what it used to be like. Of course there are things like electricity and cars to be seen in the village, but it is still authentic looking.

The first views of the old street scene of Tsumago as one approaches from Magome after the hike.









The sign above is part of the old edict notice board which travellers had to read when travelling through a post town on the Nakasendo road.











You may see some people dressed like pilgrims or old style travelers with traditional hats and clothes on traveling the route.













No comments: