Travel back in time to the Edo period at Ouchijuku! [Fukushima Prefecture]

In the south of the Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture, there is a post town that has existed since the Edo period. Even now in the 2000s, this post town, lined with thatched-roof houses, seems as if time has stood still

The name of the town is "Ouchijuku .

In this article, we will report on our visit to Ouchijuku, a post town that supported the sankin-kotai system in the Tohoku region, and introduce the local specialty, Takato Soba

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What is Ouchijuku?

Ouchi-juku is a post town that still remains in Minamiaizu County, Fukushima Prefecture. It was called "half farming, half lodging" on the Shimotsuke Kaido (Aizu Nishi Kaido) road during the Edo period

Ouchi-juku was an important base for the sankin-kotai system, used not only by the Aizu clan, but also by the Murakami clan, Shonai clan, and Yonezawa clan in Yamagata, and even the Shibata clan in Niigata. It is said to have been built by the lord of the Aizu clan, Hoshina Masayuki, as a highway connecting the castle town of Aizu with Shimotsuke Province (present-day Nikko)

With the opening of the railway in the Meiji era, the area lost its value as a post town, but the road lined with thatched-roof houses continues to be beloved as a tourist destination, and in 1981 it was designated as an Important Preservation District for Traditional Buildings by the national government

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What's there to do in Ouchijuku?

Ouchi-juku is a tourist destination that still retains the scenery of an Edo post town. It is lined with souvenir shops, guesthouses, and soba restaurants where you can eat traditional Takato soba

The souvenir shops sell traditional Aizu crafts, warm-looking "monpe" (work pants), and handmade crepe crafts, so you might want to buy some as a memento of your visit to Ouchi-juku. The handmade crepe crafts, in particular, feature a wide selection of vegetables, from large, impressive, voluminous ones to cute, miniature ones, so it's fun to buy them as a set

By the way, the souvenir I bought was Aizu sesame miso rice crackers

In Ouchijuku, you can only get it at Tanuma Shoten, so if you want one, be sure to stop by!

The Shimogomachi Townscape Exhibition Hall is located at the site of the Ouchijuku Honjin, which stands in the center of the post town's road. Honjin is a house designated as a lodging for feudal lords when they were making alternate attendance to Edo. Because the drawings and records of the Ouchijuku Honjin were lost during the Boshin War, a reconstruction of the Ouchijuku Honjin has been built as an exhibition hall, based on the Itozawajuku and Kawashimajuku buildings, both of which are located on the Shimotsuke Kaido road

The Shimogomachi Town Exhibition Hall has recreated the facilities unique to an inn where a feudal lord's procession would stay, such as the nori-komi (a lord's private entrance) and the upper room. In addition, firewood is burned in the hearth inside the inn all year round to preserve the thatched roof

Why not imagine what life was like back then while watching the firewood burning in the hearth, something that is hard to see these days?

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A specialty! Takato soba is soba noodles eaten with green onions!

After a leisurely stroll along the road, it's finally time for a meal! Fill your stomach with delicious Takato soba noodles, a specialty of Ouchi-juku!

This time we visited Misawaya, located near the entrance to Ouchijuku!

The most distinctive feature of Takato soba is the way it is eaten

Amazingly, even though it's soba, it's eaten without chopsticks! How can you eat it without chopsticks? It's served with green onions!?

In fact, Takato soba is eaten with spring onions instead of chopsticks! The spring onions are used as chopsticks and also act as a condiment when bitten into. Although they have a slight spiciness, they are actually quite fruity! The sweetness of apples and the aroma of spring onions coexist, creating a unique condiment that you won't find anywhere else!

For those who can't eat the green onions, don't worry, they will also provide chopsticks!

The appeal of Takato soba isn't just the green onions. The soba noodles are thin country soba noodles. The rich flavor and smooth texture of the soba are a testament to Aizu, a soba region!

The soba soup is what brings together the flavor of the soba and the condiments. Misawaya's soba soup is made without water, using only the juice squeezed from grated daikon radish. The moderate spiciness creates a refreshing texture

Of course, the soba soup made with this soup was also delicious!

By the way, Takato Soba does not serve warm soba. When I asked the staff why, they said, "Because the spring onions get soft when it's warm." It may seem obvious, but strangely, it made sense to me (lol)

If you want to enjoy some warm soba noodles in Ouchi-juku, we recommend the negi soba noodles topped with chopped green onions! You can enjoy this at Daikokuya, located in the center of Ouchi-juku

INFORMATION

name	Ouchijuku
location	Ouchiyamamoto 8, Shimogo Town, Minamiaizu District, Fukushima Prefecture
telephone number	0241-68-2657
Official URL	http://ouchi-juku.com/
GOOGLE MAP

name	Misawaya
telephone number	0241-68-2927
Official URL	http://www.misawaya.jp/