Roadtrip Fukushima’s Ouchijuku
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May 19, 2014 - Roadtrip Fukushima's Ouchijuku
After Aizu-Wakamatsu, my friends and I drove to Ouchijuku, the preserved post town south of Aizu-Wakamatsu, to explore.
We arrived in Ouchijuku in mid-afternoon, giving us over an hour or so to explore before shops started closing up. At first glance, Ouchijuku is very a-typical not only because of the many thatched roofs and old-style buildings, but also the lack of power lines! You can see some banners flying of koi-no-bori, or carp streamers for Children's Day during Golden Week. Still coming out of winter, the trees are a bit bare, but it would be very beautiful when it is all green in summer I think!
We spent several minutes walking around each shop and snacking on senbei and flavors of ice cream, before heading up to the mountain to see the view.
There were several fun Fukushima souvenirs to buy, and each store's goods was different enough to warrant going in all of them! I bought two of these little cuties, one in blue and one in red, with a little carpet to put under them!
The temple for itself isn't worth visiting... there isn't even a place to get calligraphy or anything done (although that may be due to seasonality). But the view from the mountain is a nice one! The steps are a bit steep, but are the fastest way up. For those a bit scared of steep steps, around to the left of the steps is a windy road that curves up that you can walk up that is easier.
We went back down and on to the small museum. It is cheap to enter, but there isn't really anything to see... you are given a brochure in English that has some explanations, but nothing is in English inside. And it was very smokey inside due to the fireplace! A few minutes inside was enough for me.
Look for the torii gate on the main road and follow it to the small, quiet shrine located in a copse of trees off a quiet dirt road.
It too is too small for calligraphy or anything, but is a nice walk and cooler than the surrounding areas due to the trees. I liked it much better than the temple!
On the way back we saw this house which is getting a new roof... too bad we didn't catch anyone actually working on it!
Shops began closing at 5pm, although again that may be a seasonal thing. We finished up some shopping after getting back from the shrine, then headed back north towards Yamagata.
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