Oouchi-juku post station [大内宿]
Oouchi-juku
Street of Oouchi-juku
Oouchi-juku is a small post station in the mountains, and is located about 20 km south of Aizu-Wakamatsu city.
(The word is often written as "Ouchi-juku" or "Ôuchi-juku".)
Post station was the small town with lodging facilities for travellers during Edo Prefecture (1603-1868).
Because there were no car and railway in the period, the post staion was the relay point of cargo handling for the carrier of men and horses.
Post station was put at the interval of about 10 km on the main routes in Japan.
Oouchi-juku was on the former road connecting Aizu-Wakamatsu and Nikko.
The current main national route and Aizu Railway Line run along a river, but former route runs about 5 km to the west of them.
This post station keeps the traditional landscape of the Edo period.
Many traditional thatched houses line along its 450-meter length of the main street.
Each house is a minshuku (Japanese-style inn) or a shop.
Shops in Oouchi-juku
Negi-soba
The unique food of this area is Negi-soba.
"Soba" is a popular Japanese buckwheat noodle.
And "negi" is long green onion, and it is commonly added to noodles as a condiment after chopping.
But as for Negi-soba, we eat the "soba" noodle with a raw "negi" instead of chopsticks.
Of course, we eat the negi together.
The main street is free of car.
There is a parking outside of the town.
Yunokami Onsen town
Photo by Shimogo-town Tourism Association
A foot bath by Yunokami-Onsen station
Photo by Fukushima Prefecture
In addition, there is Yunokami Onsen (湯野上温泉) around the branch point to Oouchi-juku on the current route.
Along the river, there are some ryokans and minshukus.
To visit Oouchi-juku, the route bus starts from the station of Yunokami Onsen.
How to get here
From Aizu-Wakamatsu to Yunokami-onsen, 36 minutes by local train of Aizu Railway Line.
From Yunokami-onsen station, route bus to Oouchi-juku is operated from April to November.
In other winter season, you use a taxi. It takes about 10 minutes.
In addition, express buses are operated from Aizu-Wakamatsu and Shirakawa cities on Saturaday, Sunday and the national holiday in Japan from April to November.
