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Time seems to have stopped advancing and left this town behind
in another time. It looks as if men wearing topknots, kimonos
and straw sandals would suddenly appear from behind the forty
or so thatched roofed houses lining the street. This is the
impression visitors obtain when they first set foot in Ouchi-juku.
Ouchi-juku is a post station town established in the mountainous
area of the West Aizu Highway and flourished during the Edo
period. The highway connected Aizuwakamatsu, Nikko and Edo(Tokyo)
and was a busy and lively road frequently used by samurai warriors
from various Tohoku domains.
After national roads were laid out at the beginning of the Meiji
era, people stopped passing through Ouchi-juku. The town became
deserted. Ironically, this helped preserve the town's original
appearance up to the present.
Ouchi-juku has been designated a Traditional Architectural Preservation
District of Japan. Old houses were renovated into lodgings and
restaurants, and the special lodging once used by high-ranking
men has been reopened as the Ouchi-juku Cultural Museum and
displays the town's history. Ouchi-juku has thus been successfully
revived, this time attracting large numbers of tourists.
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Tourists to Ouchi-juku roam through the town, listening to the
pleasant sound of the streams running on both sides of the main
road. It is such a small town that ten minutes is enough to
walk from one end to the other. Thatched roofed souvenir shops
line the street, offering a wide variety of Japanese handicrafts
and local delicacies and pleasing the window-shoppers' eyes.
Buckwheat noodles are prepared and served right in front of
customers. Local housewives cook and serve simple yet homely
local dishes. Ouchi-juku stimulates the tourists' senses and
helps them absorb a truly leisurely pace of life. There are
several local inns, and tourists can spend the night in an Edo
period-like atmosphere. At night, they can grill mountain trout
around the irori fireplace with a glass of sake in hand, and
enjoy a pleasant conversation.
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Ouchi-juku is buried deep under the snow during winter. The
snow and its stillness, however, open the door to a totally
different world. Every year, on the second Saturday and Sunday
of February, the "Ouchi-juku Snow Festival" is held.
The highlight is the "fancy dress-up" parade during
which people dressed in Edo-style kimono fill the streets. Traditional
events such as "rice dumpling grilling" are held to
pray for good health and abundant harvest. After dark, snow-made
lanterns are lit.
Heavy snowfall brings people closer together. In the same way
that the town has remained unchanged in appearance, the warmth
of the townsfolk has also remained unchanged since the Edo period.
A visit to Ouchi-juku is sure to help its visitors gain or regain
a tranquil state of mind. |
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