【ひとり旅】とちぎ蔵の街の散策。生活に溶け込むレトロな建物と穏やかな空気を感じるVlog。【栃木観光】/ Japan travel, Walking in Traditional Kura Town.

【ひとり旅】とちぎ蔵の街の散策。生活に溶け込むレトロな建物と穏やかな空気を感じるVlog。【栃木観光】/ Japan travel, Walking in Traditional Kura Town.

This is a nostalgic town where traditional storehouses still remain. Please enjoy this video while fully embracing the retro atmosphere. Today, we’ve arrived in Tochigi City, Tochigi Prefecture. “Kura Town in Tochigi City” This area is famous for its storehouses, with charming buildings lining the street. I love how the vintage vibe comes through so well😌 Alongside shops and earthen storehouses, there are also brick buildings. Even the police station and post office are designed to resemble storehouses—they’re adorable😊 The streetlamps are a subdued green—totally my style. It’s around 9:00 a.m. now, but many clocks show different times, as if stopping time has helped preserve the retro townscape. Even the barbershop has old-school charm and looks lovely. There’s a river ahead—I’m going to check it out. “Kura Town Walkway” Stone-paved paths and willow trees along the river—it’s so calming😌 Looking into the river, I saw a mother duck with her ducklings swimming. It’s my first time seeing baby ducks—so fluffy and cute! Hope they grow strong despite the summer heat. As I walked along, I saw a boat floating on the river. Hand-rowed boats with straw hats—such an aesthetic scene. Even the fading hydrangeas have a certain elegance to them. We didn’t get much rain this rainy season, so the hydrangeas didn’t really flourish. I hope we get more rain next year. I’ve reached an area where storehouses line the streets. The storehouses with thick white walls are so powerful-looking😶 Tochigi City flourished from the late Edo period to the Meiji era, and during that time, storehouses were encouraged as a fire prevention measure, resulting in many being built. Places like this are overflowing with romance😌 Many of Tochigi’s storehouses are tucked away and not visible from the outside, but when viewed from above with a drone, their scale is impressive. I feel like that’s a bit of a disadvantage for tourism, but there’s a quiet beauty in that as well. A boat is just about to depart. Because the river is shallow, the boat moves by pushing the bottom with a pole. It’s my first time seeing a boat propelled like this. I’m going to hop on a boat too. The storehouse town looks wonderful from down here… We rarely get to see the town from this angle—it feels fresh. In May, koinobori carp streamers swim above this river, and I saw it once—the vibrancy was breathtaking. Real carp also swim in this river—lots of them. Each one is huge and full of presence. The boat guide said some even exceed one meter—kind of scary😇 The river has stone bridges spanning across—also very scenic. They look both old and new. I wonder when they were built. Rocking on the boat like this, you can’t help but reflect on the town’s history. One major reason Tochigi City prospered is because it was a hub of water transport connecting Edo and Kyoto with Nikko. In the past, goods were mostly transported by boat, and the Uzuma River played that role. Speaking of Nikko, it’s famous for the Nikko Toshogu Shrine, and this river was used to transport materials needed to build it. After leaving the boat, we continue exploring the town on foot. You’ll find old houses here and there—it’s a perfect path for a relaxing stroll. This town used to be filled with earthen storehouses everywhere, but after Japan’s period of rapid economic growth, many were torn down, and its distinctive scenery began to vanish. A turning point came in the later Showa era. To understand the situation in Tochigi City, a survey was conducted on the remaining storehouses, and it revealed nearly 400 storehouses remained—surpassing even the famous Kawagoe. That discovery sparked efforts to develop the town around its storehouse heritage. It’s not just storehouses—retro buildings with a Showa-era feel were preserved too, likely thanks to this style of town planning. “Yokoyama Local Culture Hall” We’ve arrived at a stately old residence. This place used to be the mansion of a wealthy merchant in the Meiji era. He ran a hemp wholesale business on the right side and a bank on the left. The traditional garden here is lovely… From the outside, you can see a spacious tatami room. I’d love to spend a summer break in a place like this. Inside, it’s an old bank—the colors are gorgeous. The desk is filled with account books and stamps. I wonder if they were really used back then. They’re well-preserved, but the wear and tear speaks to their age, and it feels like they’ve truly passed through time. I want a retro stamp like that too—maybe I’ll make one myself. The old-style hallway is made of long wooden planks with very few seams, and I bet it’s just as valuable now as it was back then. Everything exudes quiet elegance—you can sense the prosperity of that era. Leaving the old home, I head further north. “Kiemmon Town” Now arriving at a street lined with traditional buildings. Tochigi has a road called the Nikko Reiheishi Kaido, which was an important route between Kyoto and Nikko during the Edo period. This street is part of that historical route. This particular area was developed by Okada Kiemmon, and starting in the mid-Edo period, it laid the foundation for Tochigi City’s rise as a major trading hub in northern Kanto. Today, this district is designated as a Preservation Area for Important Traditional Buildings, and efforts are underway to protect and pass down its historic appearance. The townscape lacks bright colors—it’s all low-luminance, subdued tones. That kind of color palette is totally my thing. Everything looks calm and quiet, perfect for a tranquil stroll. I came on a weekday, so there aren’t many people around, but there are many restaurants inside the old houses, so I bet it’s lively on weekends. I’m getting hungry—time to find a place to eat. “Abuden Miso” I stepped into a charming old-style café. Ramune is the perfect drink for a hot summer day. Refreshing carbonation—pure luxury🫧 This shop is famous for its miso dengaku. I ordered tofu, konjac, and sweet potato. Each miso had a different flavor, making it fun to compare. The tofu dengaku was sweet and savory with a springy texture, the konjac was rich and juicy, and the sweet potato had a lighter miso, letting its natural flavor shine. It was absolutely delicious. Back in my hometown of Gunma Prefecture, we have a local dish called yaki-manju—steamed buns with miso sauce. The flavor was quite similar, and it made me feel nostalgic😌 Now that I’m full, I’ll visit one last spot before heading home. “Makabe Traditional Townscape” The row of streetlights in the shopping district is beautiful. This town flourished during the Edo, Meiji, and Taisho periods, and many storehouses and gates were built by prosperous merchants. The signs on the streetlights might be shop names. They’re very stylish and cohesive. Everywhere you look, there are retro buildings. Some areas haven’t been restored yet. Honestly, that raw look is pretty cool. Just east of this town lies a mountain, where a castle once stood to govern the area. It was built in 1172 and abandoned in the early Edo period, but the town’s prosperity as a merchant hub was likely due in part to its history as a castle town. It’s almost time to head home, so I’ll wrap up this journey. Today I explored two towns with preserved storehouses, and both were wonderful places full of nostalgic charm. The chic old buildings hint at past prosperity, and imagining what life was like back then made the walk even more enjoyable. I hope these townscapes continue to be preserved for future generations. That’s all for today. Bye-bye.

とちぎ蔵の街に行ってきました。
流石は重要伝統的建造物群保存地区を有する町、古さが見て取れる蔵が立ち並び、とても雰囲気がよかったです。

0:00 オープニング / Opening
1:49 蔵の街遊歩道 / Kura Town Walkway
4:15 手漕ぎ船 / Rowboat
9:27 喜右衛門町(重要伝統的建造物群保存地区) / Kiemon Town
11:23 油伝味噌 / Abuden Miso
13:01 真壁の町並み(重要伝統的建造物群保存地区) / Makabe Traditional Townscape

#栃木蔵の街 #とちぎ蔵の街 #栃木観光 #栃木 #蔵の街 #重伝建 #重要伝統的建造物群保存地区 #古い町並み #ひとり旅 #一人旅 #vlog