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TSUMAGO |
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Just thirty years ago the now-thriving village of TSUMAGO , 80km
south of Matsumoto, was virtually a ghost town, with most of its
traditional Edo-era houses on the point of collapse. The concerted
efforts of the locals helped restore the wooden houses that now line the
long main street, earned the village protected status and helped spark
the idea of cultural preservation across Japan. Telegraph poles and TV
aerials have been banished from sight so that the scene that greets you
on the pedestrian-only street is probably very similar to that
encountered by lords and their samurai passing through the village
hundreds of years ago.
The highlight in Tsumago is the folk museum, Okuya Kyodokan (daily
9am-4.45pm; ¥600), inside a rambling mansion that was once one of the
village's designated post inns where the daimyo 's retinue rested.
Inside is a fine range of exhibits on the history of the Nakasendo and
the village, including photographs showing just how dilapidated Tsumago
once was. For an extra ¥100 you can also enter the Kyu-honjin on the
opposite side of the street - this was where the daimyo used to stay.
The front porch, when it's not thronged with day-trippers, is a fine
place to sit and soak up Tsumago's quiet atmosphere. For a bird's-eye
view of the village, head uphill to the former site of Tsumago castle,
destroyed sometime in the late sixteenth century. To get to the hill,
follow the path just outside the village on the hiking route to Nagiso .
The closest train station to Tsumago is at Nagiso, from where the
village is an hour's walk south or a ten-minute bus ride. There's a
tourist information booth beside Nagiso Station (tel 0264/57-2302),
where you can pick up a map of the area, and another booth in the centre
of Tsumago (daily except Wed 9am-5pm; tel 0264/57-3123), where you can
get help with accommodation and arrange to have your bag forwarded if
you're planning to hike to Magome. Two good places to stay are the
friendly minshuku Daikichi (tel 0264/57-2595; ¥10,000-15,000), at the
northern end of the village, where the rates include two meals of local
specialities, and the more upmarket, 140-year-old ryokan, Matsushiro-ya
(tel 0264/57-3022; ¥20,000-30,000), in the centre of Tsumago, with large
tatami rooms and a shared bathroom.
The area's only youth hostel , Kiso-Ryojoan (tel 0264/23-7716; under
¥3000), is nowhere near either Tsumago or Magome, but it's a gem worth
making a detour for. Twenty-five minutes by bus from Kiso-Fukushima
Station on the Chuo line between Narai and Nagiso, the hostel is in a
large traditional building in the peaceful mountain village of Ohara .
Excellent food, including nabe stews and sukiyaki (a succulent beef
dish), is served by very friendly staff, and frequent bus connections to
Kiso-Fukushima means you can use the hostel as a base from which to
explore the valley's post towns.
There's no shortage of lunchtime restaurants and cafés in Tsumago. Most
places serve sansai soba (buckwheat noodles topped with mountain
vegetables) and gohei-mochi (balls of pounded rice on a skewer coated
with a sweet nut sauce). A good place to sample these local specialities
is Enoki Zaka , a bustling café a few doors north of the Okuya Kyodokan
museum.
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