Day 9: Walk around the street of old Kiragawa town (吉良川の町並み)

The road station Kira Messe Muroto

Rugged coastline around Muroto

I expected to eat lunch at the restaurant in the road station Kira Messe Muroto (the seafood must be very good), however, it was unfortunately still under construction (it will be open 2 – 3 days later…too bad). So I took lunch box which the landlady of guest house Shiina has kindly made for me (I was thinking about having it as afternoon refreshment, if I could have lunch at the restaurant here). It was good to have lunch with such a great view.

The Henro route now goes bit aside from the coastline

The view of the rugged coastline is really great, and the route 55 still continues along the ocean. However, somehow Henro route now leads me to a line of houses on the mountain side. As I walked along the path, I wondered if I could still see the sea, but then I started to see some old elegant houses.

Typical old style house in the Kiragawa town

It seems that these buildings are used as usual house

The Kiragawa town shows very unique atomospher

The Kiragawa town is designated as a national important traditional building preservation area and I see several interesting plaster-wall houses with small eaves. Also, the houses have a unique atmosphere with an amulet at the entrance.

The explanation about “Ishiguro”

The house surrounded by the stone wall – “Ishiguro”

There was also a house surrounded by a stone wall called “Ishiguro”. These were made by piling up round stones, like those found on the riverbanks, using a method called ”Nerizumi (練り積み)” . It was nice to see this beautiful town, which I never expected to see.