Ohdairajuku Pt I: A Weekend in an Edo-period Outpost

One of the most memorable weekends I had during our summer in Iida was the weekend we spent in Ohdairajuku, a post town deep in the mountains to the north of the city. We left the city early on a Friday and weren't going to be coming back until late Sunday evening.  For three days and two nights we would be staying in buildings constructed in the Edo period more than 200 years ago. It served as a post town for travelers passing through the mountainside.

The night before we left, I met up with our professor, Martin Holman, to do the shopping for our trip. We would be cooking all our own meals in a small hearth in the cabin we would be staying in and without access to a refrigerator we had to buy non-perishable food. In total we spent upwards of 30,000 yen, roughly $300 dollars, on food and drinks. Although we didn't have a fridge, we were able to keep our drinks and fruit cold in a stream that ran through the town so deep in the mountains that the stream was ran cold enough to keep drinks and fruit cool. (Below [Top]: The stream we kept our drinks cool in. [Middle]: Our first night cooking in the hearth. Our sensei made a delicious chicken and dumpling soup. [Bottom] This cart was one of two filled with food that we brought for the weekend. Photos courtesy of Kelly Washatka).

Friday morning we met out front of the kominkan where three city employees met to load our luggage into vans that would take us into the mountains. However, halfway into the drive, we came across a roadblock. Apparently the area had experienced some heavy flooding recently and the block was up to allow for crews to clear the way. The road had been cleared, but due to a miscommunication with the city, no one had taken the block down. While we waited for someone to come let us through, we decided to do a little exploring and found a small shrine just off the side of the road, pictured below. (Photo courtesy of Kelly Washatka).

After we were finally able to get back on the road, it took us another 40 minutes until we reached the village. We found there were no other people staying in the village on that first night, so we had the place to ourselves. Once we moved all our luggage and food into our building the three men from the city drove back to Iida and we were left to our own devices. Once we got settled in, we were scheduled for a guided hike around the area. (Below is the house we stayed in for the weekend.)

Our guide met us at the entrance to the village and we started hiking up the mountain. During the hike our guide told us mainly about the different types of trees and animals that were in the area.  We were walking for close to two hours, culminating in a large set of stairs to a large shrine. (Below [Top]: The steps leading to the shrine [Bottom] at the end of our guided hike. Photo courtesy of Kelly Washatka).

After we had finished our hike, we set about starting cooking dinner. By we, I mainly mean our professor, as he was the one with the most culinary experience and none of the rest of us knew how to cook in a hearth. We helped where we could, cutting ingredients and tending the fire and after what turned out to be a rather long process, we were able to eat a hearty meal of chicken and dumplings.

By this time, night had fallen and given our location deep in the heart of the mountains, further exploring in the darkness wasn't really an option. Instead we sat around the fire, chatting and enjoying a few ice cold beers. With that, our first day at Ohdairajuku came to a close. Our rooms were in a tradition Japanese style with tatami floors. We each had our own futon, which despite their thinness, when combined with the tatami floor, were quite comfortable.

Useful phrase from this week's post:

Edo - えど - 江戸

Meaning: The former name of Tokyo. The Edo period lasted from 1603-1867 under the Tokugawa shogunate.