Kiso Valley: the Nakasendo route for Edo era postal towns | Japan | 4K 60fps | nomadraul

The Kiso Valley (木曽路, Kisoji) is located in Nagano Prefecture, and runs alongside the mountains of the Central Alps. An ancient 70 km trade route called the Kisoji was developed along the valley and served as a very important means of commerce in the area.

The Kisoji became even more important from the beginning of the Edo Period, when it was amalgamated with other routes in the formation of the 500 km long Nakasendo. The Nakasendo (“path through mountains”) was one of the two main routes that connected Edo and Kyoto. It contrasted with the other principal transportation route of the time, the Tokaido, which ran along the sea shore.

Because of restrictions by the shogunate, travelers were almost always forced to make their trips on foot. As a result, “post towns” developed every few kilometers to provide travelers with places to rest, eat and find nightly accommodation during their arduous journey.

Along the Kiso Valley, a few post towns, particularly Magome, Tsumago and Narai, have been preserved to look as they did when they served travelers of the Nakasendo. Visitors are able to enjoy the stone paths and wooden buildings of a bygone era.

00:00 Intro
00:06 Tsumago-juku
Tsumago-juku (妻籠宿, Tsumago-juku) was the forty-second of the sixty-nine post towns on the Nakasendō route between Kyoto and Edo. It is known today as one of the best preserved post towns in Japan. The town and its residents go to great lengths to recreate the ambience of the Edo Period.

06:35 Magome-juku
Magome-juku (馬籠宿, Magome-juku) was the forty-third of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō connecting Edo with Kyoto in Edo period Japan. The town has been beautifully restored with a broad stone walkway lined with wooden buildings and carefully tended foliage. Magome’s embellished preservation contrasts with the rugged authenticity of neighboring Tsumago.

11:01 Narai-juku
Narai-juku (奈良井宿, Narai-juku) was the thirty-fourth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō, as well as the second of eleven stations along the Kisoji. During the Edo Period, Narai marked the half way point between Kyoto and Edo to travelers along the Nakasendo Route. It was the most wealthy post town of the Kiso Valley, and was sometimes referred to as “Narai of a Thousand Houses”.

#kisovalley #tsumago #magome #narai #nakasendo #kisoriver #japan #4k #4k60fps #nomadraul

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