I have always wanted to visit Ouchi Juku ever since I saw it at certain articles that it's a preserved village from Edo period. It is a former post town that served travelers who were traveling to Edo (old name for Tokyo) and it feels like the town is coming out of a movie. But wait, those movies are inspired by this village instead, so this is the real deal! I am not going to talk about the history behind this amazing village, because you can get it from Wikipedia, but I am going to share how I reached this place, including my review about this dreamy village
HOW TO GET HERE
Ouchi Juku is located in Minamiizu Fukushima Prefecture, deeply hidden among dozens of mountains. If you can drive or get a car to reach Ouchi Juku, from Tokyo to Ouchi Juku will take you 3 hours and 10 mins away.
Meanwhile for public transportation, it's pretty tricky
There are 2 ways to reach Ouchi Juku with public transportation
FIRST
TRAIN AND TAXI
Tokyo Station to Koriyama Station with Tohoku Shinkansen (1 hour 20 mins, 8200 yen)
Koriyama Station to Aizu Wakamatsu Station with JR Ban Etsu-Nishi (1 hour 10 mins, 1140 yen)
Aizu Wakamatsu Station to Yunokami Onsen (40 mins, 1030 yen)
Yunokami Onsen to Ouchi Juku by Taxi (6km, 15 mins, around 2000 yen)
Total cost is 12.370 yen one way
Total time is 3.5 hours one way to reach this village
If you use JR Pass or JR Tohoku Pass, your train is free without charge from Tokyo Station to Aizu Wakamatsu. The ride from Aizu Wakamatsu to Yunokami Onsen is not covered, so the total if you use the pass would be 1030 yen for the train, and 2000 yen for taxi, ONE WAY
So for RETURN would cost you 6000 yen if you use JR PASS if you do the solo trip
If you come with at least one friend, you can share the taxi, and the cost would be 4060 yen
SECOND
TRAIN AND BUS
This is my option because I don't want to take train and taxi from Aizu Wakamatsu Station
I chose to ride a BUS TOUR from Japan Bus Tour
From Aizu Wakamatsu Station,, you will visit Tsuruga Castle and Ouchi Juku, all for 5000 yen, it's included lunch, admission fees to the castle, and tour guide!
It's basically cheaper than the first option but with more limitation of time since I only had 1.5 hour in Ouchi Juku. So it felt kinda rushed. You can RSVP the bus, or just come to Aizu Wakamatsu Bus Station and purchase your ticket on the spot (if there are still available seats, lucky me I got it even though the online reservation has been closed)
If you use the first route, you can adjust your own schedule better
BUT, if you can split taxi with your friends, I think the price would be more or less around the same or maybe cheaper. But for a solo traveler, or for people who don't want to handle the hassle doing the itinerary, it's way easier to just join a bus tour
I know it sounds pretty complicated, and pretty far, but there's no other way to visit Ouchi Juku in a simple way from Tokyo. Therefore a lot of tourists prefer to visit Ouchi Juku when they're traveling and staying in Tohoku area since it would be easier for them to visit this hidden village
WHAT TO EAT
In Ouchi Juku, it's of course NEGI SOBA (Soba with Leek)
It's their most popular food, soba with a big chunk of japanese negi that can be used in exchange for chopstick and spoon lol and yes you can eat it altogether as well
I got mochi and pickles as well before my soba meal!
The soba can be eaten both cold and hot, just order tsumetai soba for cold soba, and atatakai soba for hot soba. It comes with grated daikon radish and some bonito flakes. The dashi used for the soba soup is really flavourful and the portion is pretty big :D
HOW TO TAKE THE PICTURE OF THE VILLAGE
To have this view, you have to climb all the way up to the hill behind the village. Just go straight to the hill area, it should be easy to locate it because there will be tons of tourists already standing at the same area. It's pretty difficult hike during winter, and honestly kinda scary, but the view is all worth it!
the happy me~
BEST TIME TO VISIT OUCHI JUKU
I would personally prefer to visit Ouchi Juku during winter season. Winter in Ouchi Juku is from end of December - end of March, but they have Ouchi Juku Snow Festival that's held every second weekend of February. In 2019, they are going to hold it on 9th and 10th February. The winter and snow will be at their peak as well, but it's going to be really full of tourists for a good reason
I visited it on the second week of January and the snow was already thick, but I'm sure during February it would be much more beautiful!
just my vain happy face
The town itself was pretty quiet and not many tourists on that day. Which I like!! Because I can enjoy the serene atmosphere and I can take pictures easier :D Also, it was snowing on that day!
There were also tons of shops and tea shops or street foods. The town is in fact pretty small and probably Harajuku Takeshita Dori is longer lol The pathway is only one straight street like Takeshita Dori, but with lesser but bigger shops, traditional feeling, and preserved history
I would say 3-4 hours is more than enough if you visit this town by yourself
Hopefully this post is useful if you want to visit Ouchi Juku next time
Talk to you guys again on my next post
