For centuries, the seafood landed at the ports of Wakasa was carried on foot over the mountains to Kyoto. Mackerel was salted at the port and reached the capital in roughly a day and a night, by which time, it is said, it had come to just the right degree of saltiness. In time, this road came to be known as the Saba Kaidō, the Mackerel Road.
Kumagawa-juku was a post town on that road. Laid out in 1589 by Asano Nagamasa, the lord of Wakasa, it grew into a town of merchants, inns and shipping agents, prospering on the goods that moved between the sea and Kyoto. At its height, records suggest, some two hundred households stood along a single street about one kilometer long.
That street remains today. Wooden merchant houses line the road, and a stone-lined channel of running water known as the Maegawa flows through the town, unchanged from four hundred years ago. Kumagawa-juku is designated a Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, and forms part of the Japan Heritage story of Wakasa — the province that once supplied food to the imperial court.
It is a quiet town, and that quietness is its character. At the same time, a younger generation drawn to opening businesses here has begun to gather, and change is arriving. Walk it slowly from one end to the other, with the sound of water alongside you, and discover the appeal of Kumagawa-juku for yourself.
Kumagawa-juku sits in the mountains between Obama and Lake Biwa, closer to Kyoto than to Fukui City.
By car, it is about 15 minutes from the Wakasa-Kaminaka Interchange on the Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway, and roughly 25 minutes from central Obama. Coming from the Kansai region, it is a natural stop on the way to or from Obama.
Without a car, take the JR Obama Line to Kaminaka Station, then a local bus or taxi for the remaining few kilometers. Buses are infrequent, so check return times before you set out.
The town itself takes about an hour to walk. Combined with Obama’s temples and national treasures, it makes a comfortable full day.