Nakasendo Touring Day 4 (First Half) | Real estate sales consulting for the wealthy is Glory Management K.K. @Tokyo | Travel Blog Fine Travel Read

Nakasendo Touring Day 4 (2024.6.19)

I wake up at 4am. Today's schedule is as follows:

First, I strolled around Tsumago-juku in the morning when there was no one around, then took a photo of my beloved JOG with the camphor trees in the background. After checking out, I walked along the Yokawa Road, recommended by the owner of Nojiri-juku Old House Cafe. I parked my bike at JR Minami Kiso Station, and walked from there to Nojiri-juku, which was about a six-hour course. I visited the old houses in Nojiri-juku again, had coffee while waiting for the train, and then returned from Nojiri Station to Minami Kiso Station, where I got on my scooter and headed to my lodging for the night, Hotel Fuki no Mori.

First, I went for a morning walk and when I went outside at 4:30, the street lights were still on.

Unlike yesterday's heavy rain, it looks like it will be nice weather today.

I immediately went to pick up my JOG, which I had parked in the inn's private covered parking lot.

Oh, by the way, the roads within Tsumago-juku are closed between 10am and 4pm , so no commercial vehicles such as postal trucks or local residents' vehicles are allowed to enter.

Unlike other post towns such as Magome and Narai where trains come in one after the other, Tsumago-juku is thorough in this regard. Trains come into the post towns normally in Magome and Narai.

Also, while vending machines are common in Narai and Tsumago, there are none in Tsumago, which has helped to keep the scenery beautiful. There is a foundation called the Tsumago Lovers Association, which seems to be at the center of regulating the scenery in Tsumago. This is probably a big part of why people find Kagojuku so beautiful . It's no wonder that it was the first area in Japan to be designated as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings.

Personal bikes are allowed inside the post town until 10am, but I don't want to cause trouble when tourists start to show up, so I want to take photos early in the morning when there is no one around.

I immediately brought JOG over and took some photos. I'm a rider after all... lol

While walking around the inn, I discovered that there was a new, covered, free rest area that wasn't there 10 years ago. It was equipped with benches, chairs, and tables, and there was even a lawn at the back with a toilet next to it. It was a fairly well-equipped free rest area.

It was open when I took a walk there last night, and it was already open in the early morning. That means it must be a free rest area that is open 24 hours a day. And it's spacious enough.

As someone who used to go on camping trips, I immediately noticed that it was the best place. What's more, you can move to a place under the roof on rainy days. In a place like this, you should never use fire.

Please note that we have simply rated this place as having all the elements of a great location and are not recommending it.

During my walk, I decided to take some photos with the theme of "Old houses and flowers" (lol).

After walking around for a while, it became 7 o'clock so we decided to head back to the inn.

We had breakfast in the Japanese-style room, just like last night, from 7:30.

When I went down to the first floor to check out just after 8 o'clock, the owner asked me what my plans for the day were. I replied that I was going to walk along the Yokawa trail and thought it would be better to leave early. The owner seemed to know the trail well and advised me that I should avoid walking alone at the front because there might be bears . Usually it's the time when foreign groups walk around Tsumago-juku, so I looked around the window to see the street.

The window overlooking the street from the inn looks like this. Isn't it a lovely Japanese atmosphere? (laughs)

The owner of the inn advised me, "The old-style cafe next door opens at 8:30, so you can have a cup of coffee and relax, and the tourist information center opens at 9:00, so you can gather information there." I left my luggage at the entrance of the inn and decided to wait for the coffee shop to open.

The shop's name is "Koujitsu Coffee," but it wasn't there the last time I was there, so it must have opened in the last 10 years. When I went inside, I found it to be a stylish cafe that had been renovated from an old house. I immediately ordered a cup of coffee. When I explained that I had recently started a real estate agency in Tokyo that focuses on inbound tourists, and that I was here to observe the trends of inbound tourists, the owner replied with a straight face, "Would you like to start a real estate business in Minami Kiso?" It seems that there is not a single real estate agency in Minami Kiso, and the nearest real estate agencies are in Iida City (Nagano) or Nakatsugawa City (Gifu).

The owner is originally from the local area, but after working in Tokyo he returned to his hometown and started a cafe in a traditional Japanese house. He is also a member of the Tsumago City Council.

Moreover, his family home is a long-established inn called "Maruya" in nearby Otsumago, which also hosts many inbound tourists. So it's no wonder he knows the Tsumago and Minami Kiso areas very well.

I had originally planned to go to the tourist information center in about 30 minutes, but ended up talking with the owner for about an hour (lol). He told me a lot about the history of the Minami Kiso area, including Tsumago, the characteristics of the area, and the real estate situation. There is too much to list, but in the past, Tsumago had the most tourists among the post towns on the Nakasendo road, but 1) the Association for the Protection of Tsumago Foundation refused media coverage such as TV and magazines, and 2) Narai merged with Shiojiri City in Nagano Prefecture, and Magome merged with Nakatsugawa City in Gifu Prefecture, which created a strong tourism promotion system (※Tsumago did not merge), and now these two post towns are far behind. . He also told me who plans and sells inbound tourist tours. It's a once-in-a-lifetime encounter, and I'm grateful that I was able to gather valuable information during what was meant to be a morning cup of coffee <(_ _)>

At the same time, if I had not told him about my purpose for coming to Nakasendo instead of just drinking coffee, I would not have been able to get this information out of the bartender, so I was reminded once again of the importance of proactiveness.

I thanked the owner, saying that it was worth coming to Nakasendo just to meet him, and headed to the next tourist information center. I think it was past 9:30. After checking the situation at the tourist information center, I returned to Matsushiroya and checked out.

We left Tsumago-juku at 10 o'clock.

~To be continued~