Morning in Narai, a historical Nakasendo post-town

27 May 2016

As usual, we did our morning walk around Narai and took a few photos of this historical Nakasendo post-town before breakfast. A feeling of relaxation, peace, free and easy feeling was inevitable as we strolled around this rustic, quiet town in the cool morning air, set against the greenery of the Kiso Valley in the background.

Looking towards the South of Narai from outside of Iseya Ryokan.

 

Looking towards the Nouth of Narai from outside of Iseya Ryokan.

 

Clouds coming in over the mountains into the Kiso Valley. Some rain was forecasted.

 

A purification well outside one of the shrines in Narai.

 

Our original plan was to do the short walk (about 1 hour) from Narai to the small town of Kiso-Hirasawa, famous for its lacquer ware, before boarding a train at Kiso-Hirasawa station for the journey to Matsumoto. We decided to skip this and proceed by train from Narai to Matsumoto instead.

It was drizzling slightly as we left Iseya Ryokan for the train station.

 

Goodbye to the Nakasendo as we waited for the 9.30 AM train to Matsumoto.

Narai marked the last post-town that we visited on this Nakasendo journey. The train ride from Narai to Matsumoto took about an hour and took us out from the Kiso Valley and into the modern city of Matsumoto.

Back to the future!