Narai Post Town

Narai Post Town is located at the foot of Torii Pass, where it flourished as a Post Town being referred to as "Narai of 1000 buildings" having a length twice as long as Niekawa Post Town.
Narai Post Town was separated from the national road network when the national roads were upgraded in the Meiji period; but this served to preserve this Post Town exactly as it had existed, and in 1978, it was designated as a "Traditional Buildings Preservation District". Traditional inns for ordinary travelers and daimyo from the 'Edo period' stand exactly as they were. And the Daimler's inn is presently being used as a community center. The house of the Tezuka family who ran a wholesale business is open to the public as a museum. The old buildings of Narai Post Town resurrect the scenes of olden days. Stone-paved sections of the path extending to Torii Pass are a precise reproduction of the original stone-paved road of the Nakasendo, which is now used and maintained as a walking trail.

Nearest station：Narai Station on the JR Tokai Chuo line
Location：Narai, Shiojiri City, Nagano

Attraction 1 : Narai Kiso Bridge

Kiso Bridge is a large bridge built only with cypress trees over 300 years ago. It is an arched bridge spanning the Narai River. The re-construction of it began in 1989, and took three years to complete. The total expense was 303 million yen. Its main beam is 33 meters in length, 6.5 meters in width, and 7 meters in height from the surface of water at the center of the bridge. It features the largest span for a pier-less wooden bridge in Japan. You can see the meticulous craftsmanship in the timber work and structure of the bridge. You will be overwhelmed by this dynamic structure while feeling the warmth of the wood. You can take impressive pictures here.