Nakasendo Touring Day 6 | Real estate sales consulting for the wealthy is Glory Management K.K. @Tokyo | Travel Blog Fine Travel Read

Nakasendo Touring Day 6 (2024.6.21)

I wake up to the sound of swallows chirping under the eaves. Today is the last day of my Nakasendo tour.

After strolling around Narai in the morning, we plan to return to Shiojiri and visit the gardens of Shimo- Suwa-juku Honjin Iwanami-ke in Suwa, which has been open to the public since last year, before returning to Shonan in the evening.

Although the weather forecast had predicted sunny skies the day before, the clouds had been cloudy since the morning and it looked like rain was imminent.

When I stay overnight in a post town, it's my daily routine to take a stroll through the deserted streets early in the morning, and this morning I woke up at 5:30, changed into my casual clothes, and set out for a stroll at 6.

First, I took a photo of the Jog scooter parked on the porch.

Theme: "JOG standing in front of Iseya" (laughs)

After that, I took a walk around Naraijuku in the morning. It was a bit disappointing that it was cloudy...

It was cloudy so the photos were not that good, so here are just two photos from the first day at Narai.

We also visited the "BYAKU" project, which was jointly established by Takenaka Corporation and the Forestry Public Corporation. There were about five lodgings.

It was 7:30 so we went back to Iseya for breakfast.

Japanese-style room in the dining area

Photographing the courtyard from the corridor leading to the Iseya Annex

After breakfast, it started to rain a little, but instead of checking out, we borrowed an umbrella from the inn and visited two of Narai's important cultural property mansions.

Nakamura Residence (National Important Cultural Property)

Kamitoiya Historical Museum (Important Cultural Property)

The room where Emperor Meiji rested has been left untouched.

Dragon on the ceiling of Chosenji Temple

It is free to visit.

After strolling around the area, we returned to our lodgings and checked out of Iseya.

When the landlady saw us off, she was surprised to see our moped and asked, "Is this really what you came from Kanagawa?" (laughs)

They were very helpful and informed us about the inbound situation in Narai.

I will definitely stay here again when I come to Narai!!

It was raining heavily, but it wasn't a problem since we only had to go home later.

On the way back, I stopped by the Nihyaku Jizo statue located at the northernmost part of Narai-juku and the cedar avenue of the old Nakasendo road . I think I left Narai just after 11 o'clock.

By the time we arrived in Suwa the rain had stopped.

We arrived at our destination, Shimo-Suwa-juku Honjin Iwanami -ya, just after 1:30 pm.

Shimo-Suwa-juku was a key point where the Nakasendo and Koshu Kaido roads met , and it also had a hot spring called Wata no Yu that travelers could enter for free, so Shimo-Suwa-juku seems to have been a very bustling post town at the time.

I have been to the Suwa area many times, for camping at Kirigamine and touring the Venus Line, but I had never seen it from the perspective of the Nakasendo road. When I stopped by after touring the post towns of Tsumago, Magome, Narai, and others, I was impressed by the depth of the Edo highway, as it was connected all the way to here.

The Iwanami Family Home in Shimo-Suwa-juku was previously closed to the public, but will be reopened to the public in March 2023 following its designation as a Nagano Prefectural Treasure, and its beautiful garden has been selected as one of the "100 Best Gardens in Japan."

The entrance to the Iwanami residence at Shimo-Suwa

Once inside and I paid, the lovely woman at the reception desk gave me a tour of the mansion.

There is a hidden room suddenly near the entrance (↓).

As someone who had the privilege of being given a tour of the secret meeting room at the Wakihonjin Okuya in Tsumago, I naturally have a reaction to the words "hidden room"... (laughs)

There may also be a secret room behind the hidden room...

A hidden room in the Iwanami family residence at Shimo-Suwa

The customs seal displayed at the entrance

It is said that more than 400 customs slips are stored here, including those in the museum's collection.

Then you will be guided to the famous gardens.

Apparently, a tea ceremony was going to be held two days after my visit, and the gardener was tending to the garden...💦 It's a shame, but there's nothing we can do about it.

You can also use Canva to remove the gardener and ladder, but I will upload the photos as they are.

The Throne Room where Emperor Meiji rested

The garden of the Iwanami family at Honjin in Shimo-Suwa (one of Japan's 100 best gardens)

I bet it would be really beautiful if you visited during the autumn foliage season.

If you visit Suwa, be sure to stop by.

After touring the Iwanami family residence at Shimo-Suwa-juku Honjin, we visited the Post Road Museum (free of charge) at the recommendation of our guide.

< Nakasendo Altitude Information >

Since I've covered all the Kisoji post towns, this is a resource that I feel very close to (laughs).

It lists Magome Pass (795m) and Torii Pass (1212m), and it's amazing how many inbound tourists walk these two passes.

It's a completely different style of tourism from the Japanese style of simply visiting tourist spots by car.

Now, only the ruins remain of the restored model of "Watanoyu"

After seeing the restored model of Wata no Yu, I felt like taking a bath in a hot spring, so I stopped off at Yusen House Koyu, the hot spring closest to Wata no Yu.

I rediscovered that Shimo-Suwa-juku is a great place, with remnants of the old buildings and notice boards, as well as several hot springs.

We left the hot spring at 4pm. After that, we stopped by Miyasaka Sake Brewery in Masumi .

They were selling 48 liter barrels for just 3,850 yen!

After visiting Masumizo, we had no choice but to go home, so we headed straight for Shonan.

I got home at 11pm.

We were worried about rain as we were touring during the rainy season, but fortunately it didn't rain during our visit to the natural beauty of Atera Valley and Kakizore Valley , or during our trekking on Samurai Road and Yokawa Trail .

Thank you for reading to the end!!

Distance traveled on Day 6: 243km

Total distance traveled on the Nakasendo road: Approximately 1000km