Tsumago
Nagano Prefecture, Kiso District, Japan
http://www.tumago.jp/
To get to Tsumago from Tokyo, hop onto a Shinkansen to Nagoya Station and switch to a limited express train to Nagiso Station. The entire train journey will take you around 4 hours. There is a bus that will bring you to Tsumago from Nagiso Station.
We took the 0626hrs Shinkansen Hikari 501 from Tokyo Station.
Tsumago is located in Kiso Valley and serves as a post-town of the Nakasendo (Central Mountain Route) that connects Tokyo to Kyoto during the Edo period.
The locals have come together to ensure that the buildings are not for sale. They also do their best to restore and preserve them. Modern public utilities (such as electrical poles) along the main street have been relocated underground as part of the conservation effort.
Tsumago Castle
226 Azuma, Nagiso-machi, Kiso-gun, Nagano-ken 399-5302, Japan
The site of the demolished Tsumago castle is located on a hill between Tsumago’s main street and Nagiso Station. The site offers you an overview of the town below but it is not worth the 1km trek from Tsumago.
We stopped at one of the restaurants for lunch. We ordered two types of soba–soba served in hot dashi soup and cold soba with wild mushrooms.
We also ordered Gohei-mochi, or grilled pounded rice coated with some type of peanut sauce. Soba & Gohei-mochi is about the only type of food that you can find in Tsumago.
