Narai-Juku (Kiso Valley)

Located in the southwestern part of Nagano prefecture, Narai-Juku was once a section of this historic Nakasendo Highway connecting Kyoto with Edo (presently known as Tokyo). Because of its strategic location between both cities, Narai-Juku quickly became one of the wealthiest towns in the Kiso Valley.
While similar in its historical role to Tsumago and Magome, two other famous towns on the Nakasendo Highway section of the Kiso Valley, Narai-Juku is today a gorgeous little town filled with many small shops and restaurants that will blow your mind!

Other interesting attractions around Narai-Juku include its many delightful little temples as well as its beautiful modern wooden bridge, Kisho Ohashi, that was build with 300 year old cypress. While it is beautiful both day and night, this bridge is unfortunately very close to one of the busiest national roads of Kiso Valley, and the sounds of the many trucks, even at night, tends to spoil the experience of enjoying the bridge.