Established in 1434 by the 12th Kiso lord Nobumichi, Kōzen-ji Temple, also known as Kozenji, is a Rinzai buddhist Myoshinji temple of the Kiso and Yamakura clans. Small in size, this temple comes with many little wonders in the form of four different gardens with the Syoryu Garden, Shyumisen Garden, Mansho Garden and Kanuntei Garden […]

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As a result of centuries of erosion cutting the granite bedrock it is only recently, and after the flow of the river had been lowered due to hydropower construction, that the gorgeous Nezame No Toko scenery was unveiled to us all! Located near the Agemmatsu village, Nezame No Toko is today a nationally designated scenic […]

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The third and last major post town alongside the Nakasendo Highway section of the Kiso Valley is Magome-Juku. Unlike Narai-Juku and Tsumago-Juku which are both located in Nagano , Magome-Juku is located in Gifu prefecture. It has also been completely restored to better accommodate tourists, but this makes Magome-Juku the least authentic post town of […]

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Like Narai-Juku, Tsumago is yet another famous post town alongside the Nakasendo Highway section of the Kiso Valley during the Edo period that linked Kyoto to Edo, known now as… Tokyo. Unlike Narai-Juku however, Tsumago-Juku is one of the best preserved post towns in Japan and its residents have gone to great lengths to protect […]

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Located in the southwestern part of Nagano prefecture, Narai-Juku was once a section of this historic Nakasendo Highway connecting Kyoto with Edo (presently known as Tokyo). Because of its strategic location between both cities, Narai-Juku quickly became one of the wealthiest towns in the Kiso Valley. While similar in its historical role to Tsumago and […]

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