Ota-juku

[ Walking guide ]

Ota-juku

Ota-juku was a post station which had Owari Domain Ota daikansho and Kawanami-bansho and Ota daikansho supervised from Ochiai-juku to Unuma-juku as the military, political and economic hub of the area along Kiso River. The remaining Ota-juku preserves the kaido as it was and the lifestyle of the people living there matches the old townscape. In this post station, there are “Honjin (we cannot see the whole thing now, but you can see the front main gate, which remains as it was)”, “Waki-honjin(Important Cultural Property designated by the national government)” and “Kokuzo-do (it is said that a writer, Shoyo Tsubouchi played there in his childhood,)”, which give us a feel for the atmosphere of ancient times. Around “Ota-no-Watashi” downstream of the Ota Bridge, one of the three hardest places along the Nakasendo, stone pavements along the river remind us of ancient times and give us feeling of nostalgia. The area around here is Kasekirin Park(PetrifiedWood Park)
◆From Ota-juku to Unuma-juku
Most of this portion of the course is occupied by Route 21 and only mountain paths just off Route 21 are there to remind us of ancient times. Around this area of approximately 1.5 kilometers from Kokuzo-do to the Omayaminato road sign, there is no Nakasendo left because of the levees of Kiso River. Apart from Route 21 around Iwayakannon, the Nakasendo leads to the approach. You can enjoy splendid views of Kiso River, known as the Japan Rhine, in front of you. The Nakasendo leads to the path toward Utou Pass under JR Takayama honsen with Kiso River behind. From here, you take unmapped mountain paths, though nowadays they are well-organized, on which there are “Utoutoge-no-Ichiri Zuka” left, and well-organized stone pavements, known as “Japan Rhine Umanu-no-mori.”

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