Nakasendo Unuma-juku machiya-kan / Waki-honjin (Matsuo Basho haiku monument)
The Nakasendo is an old highway connecting Edo (Tokyo) to Kyoto and spanned a distance of about 530 km during the Edo period (from about 400 to 150 years ago).
Walking along the Nakasendo, visitors can enjoy the beauty of nature and the quaintness of old buildings.
Unuma-juku is an inn town along the Nakasendo, and the "Machiya-kan" located almost in the center of the town shows the characteristics of old machiya houses, such as lattice doors, earthen floors, and large doors.
Wakihonjin" are spare facilities for the main lodges established at inns during the Edo period.
The Unuma-juku Wakihonjin was reportedly destroyed by an earthquake during the Meiji period (1868-1912), but was restored to its original appearance in 2010 and is now open to the public.
In the "Wakihonjin", there is a monument displaying a haiku inscribed by the Japanese haiku poet Matsuo Basho, who is said to have visited Unuma-juku and composed haiku poems.
