Traveling is also fun in winter, and some regions have a very special charm during the cold season. In addition, it is often very interesting to see how places and landscapes change throughout the year, especially if you visit and tour these places repeatedly.
Of course, it is a little easier and more pleasant to travel and move around the country in the warm and mild time of the year. That is also and especially true for the northern part of Japan, which is extremely snowy. In the mountains the snow can easily cause problems, as roads suddenly become impassable overnight and you can easily get snowed in yourself. Nevertheless, winter has a very special charm, and even a lot of snow can be extremely attractive and inviting. This is exactly what we discovered when we visited the Aizu region again and why we didn't want to limit ourselves to a quiet and relaxing bath in the onsen. Of course, we did that too, but we also wanted to see a bit of the country and its people.
And on one day we were out and about in the mountains and our destination was Ochijuku 大内宿, a former post station on the Aizu-Nishi Kaido, a trade route that connected Aizu with Nikko in the Edo period. Due to the restrictions imposed by the shogunate, ordinary travelers had to walk their long journeys, and so so-called juku had developed along the official travel routes. These were post stations that offered travelers food, accommodation and an opportunity to rest a little from the exertions of their journey.
Most juku disappeared in the course of Japan's modernization, but a few of them have survived the passage of time and have been preserved for posterity. This includes Ochijuku, where it still looks partly as it did in the Edo period. Unlike the rest of the country, the telephone and electricity cables are buried and the unpaved main street is lined with wooden houses with thick thatched roofs, which today house a variety of stores, restaurants and small traditional inns called minshuku.
As soon as you arrive, you are greeted by a hint of the past. At least if you ignore the cars parked behind you in the large central parking lot. The snow probably did the rest, which seemed to hide the modern era quite well in some places.
Here we were in the middle of the mountains, which was quite clear from the fact that the snow here was much higher than in the large plateau, where the largest city in the region, Aizu Wakamatsu, is located. Some of the roads up here were quite icy and in some places we had to be really careful to make sure we got to Ochijuku safe and sound.
But now we were here and felt like taking a little tour. We had been here a few years ago, but that was in late summer and it looked a little different back then. Above all, there was much less white to see.
The path to the "main street", which is the town's main attraction, slowly led us back into the past, even if you could of course find traces of modern times everywhere. But maybe it's also about connecting the two and preserving them for the future.
As mentioned, the "main street" is actually a shopping street, which it kinda was in the past as well. Back then, the houses here were mostly lodgings, guesthouses and inns, and today they also host quite a number of souvenir stores.
But in winter, there wasn't much evidence of this at first glance. The first houses were wrapped up warm to protect them from the cold weather. Anyone who knows a little about heating and Japan will immediately know why.
Some of the houses didn't appear to be quite as old as the others and the construction method also seemed to differ from that of the very old wooden houses. At first glance, I would estimate this building to be 100 years old, but you shouldn't place too much value on my amateurish opinion.
Most of the houses have a thick thatched roof, which was covered with a thick layer of snow that day. Often the houses cannot be heated properly from the inside, so the snow stays there all winter.
And where it melts, very long, brownish icicles form and you better be careful not to get one of them falling on your head. Especially towards the end of winter, that risk is likely to increase.
And now we are slowly approaching the first stores, which are waiting for customers at this time of year as well. And as we weren't the only ones here in Ochijuku, they probably didn't have to worry about finding visitors.
A whole host of things are on sale here, from the usual souvenirs that you can also buy in other tourist resorts to local products from the region.
But the packaging was something special here in Ochijuku. Most of the buildings here have been standing since the Edo period, probably since around 200 years ago, and are therefore witnesses to a very special kind of history.
It may have looked very similar here in earlier times, although the travelers who passed through back then probably spent a little longer here than today's visitors. Today, an hour is probably enough for many people to see everything and be on their way again.
We tried to take a little time to absorb and understand the atmosphere of this place. What we saw was extremely charming and it was really worth taking the opportunity to walk around and to have a closer look at everything.
And this also included the many small stores with their many products. Fortunately, a lot of them came from local production, such as handicrafts and local specialties.
As you would expect in Japan, there was also a shrine to visit, which of course we didn't miss out on. Most visitors probably just walk past this large toori, but as usual, there is always something to discover once you leave the main road.
The shrine was quite remote and you even had to enter the forest a bit to get there. But when if not now, and so we added an extra detour to our route. This allowed us to enjoy the white silence of the forest for a moment and recharge our batteries at the same time.
The sky was now a little brighter and the light from the sun put the small stores in the old houses with their snow-covered thatched roofs in an even better light. As the temperatures were also quite pleasant for a winter's day, it was really fun to walk around and have a look.
It was quite pleasant here in Ochijuku. Although from time to time we ran into a few larger groups of visitors, things are probably a little quieter and more relaxed here in winter than at other times of the year. You really don't have to feel rushed and can take things a little slower and enjoy yourself.
At the end of the main road, a small flight of steps leads up the hill. Although this was closed in winter, you could take a small detour and still reach the end of the path.
From up here you can see the old wooden houses from a completely different perspective, which also gives them a very charming appeal.
The view that you get from up here has probably made it onto many postcards and posters, and it is now also in my photo collection. And I got it from two different seasons, summer and winter. It's definitely worth coming here to Ochijuku and visiting this former post station in both seasons. Even though time hasn't stood still here, you can still get a sense of what it might have looked like in the past.
And by the way, here in the mountains you are also far away from the stress and hustle and bustle of everyday life, and we found it quite easy to relax a little during our walk and take our minds off things. Our winter stroll was really fun and as I am writing these lines now, at the beginning of summer, I would do it again in a heartbeat. And I already know who wants to join me.....
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