Magome
Magome ( Japanese 馬 籠 , also Magome-juku 馬 籠 宿 ) was the 43rd of the 69 stations on the Nakasendō , an old highway that connected Kyoto and Edo in Japan . This well-preserved section is located in the area of the city of Nakatsugawa in Gifu Prefecture (until February 2005, Magome belonged to the village of Yamaguchi in the Kiso ( 木 曽 郡 , -gun ) district of Nagano Prefecture ).
history
In the Meiji period , Magome was one of the 11 post stations on the Nakasendō and as such a relatively wealthy and cosmopolitan city that lived off the travelers. However, with the completion of the Chūō Main Line , a railroad that passed Magome, it fell into poverty and oblivion. In recent decades, it has been restored according to its appearance as a Meiji period post office and is now a popular tourist attraction.
The main attraction is the restored row of houses along the former Poststrasse, which runs up a slope between the lower and upper ends of the town. Most of the houses were built for common people in the mid-1700s and contain shops and accommodations for those traveling on the Nakasendō. Part of the original road has been preserved (also restored) between Magome and Tsumago , the nearest post town.
Magome was the birthplace of the writer Shimazaki Tōson (1872-1943), who tells about the area around Kiso in his most famous story Before Dawn ( 夜 明 け 前 , Yoake mae ). He is buried in the town's small cemetery.
The town also offers a beautiful view of Mount Ena, 2190m high . Picturesque views of the surrounding mountains can be enjoyed from a vantage point above the parking lot at the upper end of Magome.
Web links
Coordinates: 35 ° 31 ′ 29 ″ N , 137 ° 33 ′ 30 ″ E