Ouchijuku

the famous spring onion soba was so famous. I had to wait 2 hours to get to eat one of the most famous soba places in that area. Although there are plenty of other soba places for you. And the water here was so clean and cold in summer.

Came down here on a Thursday, in the afternoon around 4pm, close to their closing time, naturally there weren’t much people and it was also slightly drizzling with rain. There’s hints of Shirakawa vibes and it’s definitely geared towards tourism and a significant cultural asset of Japan to experience and learn. There are free umbrellas to borrow from the parking entrance, which is nice as there’s no real rain shelter in this cultural town. Spent roughly 30mins as most shops were closed but it was a relaxing and enjoyable stroll. We stop by here as we drove up from Utsunomiya to Aizuwakamatsu and this is a great little stop for scenes and the vibes.

We visited this place in early summer. The buildings are well maintained, and nearly every house has been converted into a shop selling souvenirs, drinks, or food. The village has a simple layout, with one main road leading from the entrance to a scenic viewpoint at the far end. It’s also exceptionally clean and tidy, making it a pleasure to walk through. However, the village is a bit out of the way if you don’t drive. For those with a car, I highly recommend a visit. I think it would be even more beautiful in winter, covered in snow.

Random day in April. No event on & snow has basically all melted. It was interesting and cool to see but total time needed is maybe 15-20 minutes. We spent 45 minutes there because we ate soba & mochi. If you don’t have a car & not nearby I don’t think it’s worth coming all the way unless there’s a special events Perhaps it looks more beautiful and magical in the snow?

Great place to visit if you are around the area. The view point of the village from Top down is very nice. It reminds me of Shirakawago but a smaller scale with different roof design. There are also many shops that sells local famous dishes and produce.

Went here to see the winter festival at the start of February and it was awesome. They had hot soba eating contests and an enthralling Taiko drum performance to name a few. In the town itself they had an amazing soba place at the top of the hill as well as various shops stocking local hand made products and local sake breweries.

An old village that’s a bit hard to get too. Interesting sights but turned very touristy with not that much to look at tbh. Theres a museum with history for a few hundred yen that I didn’t check out which could be interesting.

Visited today (13/2) and it was absolutely breathtaking. It is currently winter in Japan so if coming around February, make sure you are dressed ready for the snow. There is a 500yen parking fee however it is free entry. It is quite of a drive but well worth it.

Ōuchi-juku 大內宿 was a very interesting place. It was an important post town during the Edo Period for hundreds of years. It served as shops, inns and restaurants for travelers in and out between Aizu and Nikko . There's unpaved main street. At street-sides, there's thick thatched roof buildings, which house stores, eateries and minshuku (民宿居, small traditional Japanese inns).