Magome juku

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Originally uploaded by OmegaBlake.

Magome was a small rest stop on the Nakasendo, the trail through the mountains from Kyoto to Edo (now Tokyo). With the completion of the Chuo Highway and train line during the early 20th century, the town fell into obscurity.

In recent years it has become popular with tourists who want to hike the old cobble-stoned road through the mountains to Tsumago juku, a similarly preserved postal town. Both towns seem to be stuck in time, a mix of modern amenities in wooden buildings that wouldn't look out of place in the 1700s