Narai-juku (Juku=ancient road station)

During the Edo period, roads began to be built and 2 roads linked Nihonbashi bridge (Edo/Tokyo) and Sanjo-Ohashi bridge (Kyoto). One of those roads is Tokaido, that stands near the Pacific ocean and the other is Nakasendo, that crosses Nagano mountains. Next to the roads was developed stations as train stations that we know today, and was called “Shukuba”. Narai-Juku is one of the 69 “Shukuba” of Nakasendo road. It covers 1 kilometers from the north to the south and is the longest of the entire Japan. This station was named “Narai 1000 gen” (Gen means the unit that counted the numbers of buildings) its development was so important that it seemed made with thousands of mansions.

 
 
From Tokyo, travelers who headed for Kyoto had to cross the Torii mountain. Narai Juku facing the mountain ascent, many travelers came to it in order to rest and get ready to cross it.
Nowadays, the town preserves its ancient Edo and Meiji period appearance and it is registered on the list of national heritage of traditional buildings.