Cultural Snapshots

Tsumago: A Historic Town in Nagano

Travel

The well-preserved post town of Tsumago, in southwestern Nagano Prefecture, once provided a place of rest for weary highway travelers. Today it still maintains a historic atmosphere.
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Leisurely Hiking

Tsumago in Nagano was once a post town on the Nakasendō highway, which connected Edo (now Tokyo) and Kyoto through an inland route that ran through the Japanese Alps. Often referred to as Tsumago-juku, the district conjures up the atmosphere of its heyday in the Edo period (1603–1868) with a well-preserved main street of wooden buildings. Phone lines and other cables are kept out of sight.

Visitors can stay at local inns to enjoy the ambience when fewer people are around. There is also a section of highway along which hikers can make their leisurely way to the next post town of Magome, around 9 kilometers away, or a three-hour walk.

Tsumago, located in the current-day town of Nagiso, was a pioneering community in Japan’s townscape conservation movement, providing a model shared widely around the country.

(Originally written in English. Banner photo © Pixta.)

Nagano Edo period