Of these, it was the Nakasendo that connected Edo with Kyoto on an inland route, playing a key role in communications and trade between the cities. Back then, there were 69 juku, or staging posts ...

Narai-juku, nestled in Nagano Prefecture’s Kiso Valley, was the 34th of 69 post towns on the Nakasendo route during Japan’s Edo period (1603–1868). Known as “Narai of a Thousand Houses ...