There are several towns in Japan called Little Edo that give you a feel of the Edo period. Famous Little Edo cities are Kawagoe City and Tochigi City. Meanwhile, the famous Little Edo in Chiba Prefecture is Sawara. Sawara flourished as a water town, and canals still remain today. This time, we will introduce in detail the townscape of Hokuso’s Little Edo “Sawara”, a water village with a warehouse structure that retains the atmosphere of the Edo period.
①【Sawara】 A water source town where the atmosphere of Edo still remains‼︎
Sawara is a townscape in Katori City, Chiba Prefecture that retains the atmosphere of the Edo period. Sawara is also known as ″Little Edo of Hokuso” or ″Suigo Town.” The location is in the northwest of Katori City, Chiba Prefecture. It is located just 30 minutes from Narita Airport.
❶Why it was called the Little Edo of Hokuso.
Sawarais little EdoThe reason why this was said is as follows.
①Because it prospered through shipping with Edo
②There are still many warehouse-style townscapes that retain the Edo atmosphere.
③There are still float festivals that were influenced by the Edo Tenka Festival.
Edo Tenka Festival is a festival that was presented to the shogun during the Edo period, such as Sanno Festival (Hie Shrine), Kanda Myojin Shrine (Kanda Shrine), and Nezu Festival (Nezu Shrine).
❸Why it was called a water town.
There are two reasons why Sawara is called a water town. One reason is that Sawara was located in a low-lying wetland area from the lower reaches of the Tone River to Lake Kasumigaura. The other reason is that the Onogawa River, which divides Sawara into two, ran through the town of Sawara. As a result, waterways developed, and a system was completed for transporting goods from Tohoku and Hokkaido to Edo using Sawara as a relay point.
❹Sawara’s Edo-style townscape remains.
Today, in Sawara, there are still many warehouse-style merchant houses built from the late Edo period to the early Showa period, mainly along the Onogawa River. In particular, there are still soy sauce breweries at the docks known as “Dashi” that remain along the Onogawa River.
Many traditional buildings still exist today, creating a retro atmosphere, such as storehouse-style merchant houses, old Japanese-style private houses, earthen storehouses, and Western-style buildings. Sawara is the best scenic spot for those who like buildings that retain the Edo period atmosphere.
❺Great people born in Sawara.
Sawara is home to some great people whose names remain in Japanese history. That great man is “Inou tataka.” Tadataka Ino was the first person to complete a surveyed map of Japan during the Edo period. Tadataka Ino was adopted into the Ino family at the age of 17, and started rebuilding the Ino family’s business, which was in decline. At the age of 50, he retired, handed over the headship of the family, and went to Edo to study surveying. After that, he traveled all over the country from the age of 55 until his death at the age of 71, working hard to complete a map of Japan. Three years after Tadataka Ino passed away, the map of Japan was finally completed. The map of Japan created by Tadataka Ino has had a great influence on the current map of Japan.
➁【Sawara boat tour】Feel the atmosphere of Edo for 30 minutes‼︎
The Sawara Boat Tour is a course that takes you on a pleasure boat that takes you from the Onogawa River to the streets of Sawara. Currently, you can tour the streets of Sawara on the Koedo Sawara Boat Tour, which is operated by Sector 3.
❶Course content.
The contents of the Sawara boat tour course are as follows.
① Depart from the boat pier in front of Tadataka Ino’s former residence
②Go north on Onogawa
③Turn back before Kitanigi Bridge
④Go south on Onogawa
⑤ Return to the boat dock in front of Tadataka Ino’s former residence
The journey takes approximately 30 minutes.
The Sawara boat tour course is basically a U-turn from in front of Tadataka Ino’s former residence to just before the Kita-Nigi Bridge. It does not go all the way to the Tone River.
❷Feel the Edo atmosphere on the pleasure boat “Sappabune”
The pleasure boat used for Sawara boat tours is called a ″Sappa boat.” A sappa boat is a rowing boat that is rowed using a ″ro”. The Zappa boat is a ship that cannot be missed in Sawara, which was a water town area. You can feel the atmosphere of the Edo period by boarding the Zappa boat.
➁Access information to Sawara.
Here you will find detailed information about access to Sawara. The address of Tadataka Ino Memorial Museum in Sawara is 1722-1 I, Katori City, Chiba Prefecture.
❶Route by car from Katori City Hall to Ino Tadataka Memorial Museum
Katori City Hall (Ro2127, Katori City, Chiba Prefecture) ⇒ Prefectural Route 2 ⇒ Ginza Street ⇒ Prefectural Route 55 ⇒ Kawagishi Street ⇒ Hikoji ⇒ Tadataka Ino Memorial Museum
The total travel distance is approximately 1.2 km, and the travel time is approximately 5 minutes.
Summary of Little Edo 【Sawara】
This time, we introduced the small Edo period in Hokuso, ″Sawara”, a water village townscape built with storehouses that retains the atmosphere of the Edo period. Sawara is a scenic spot that retains the atmosphere of Little Edo, comparable to Kawagoe City and Tochigi City.
Particularly recommended is the ″Koedo Sawara Boat Tour,” which takes you by boat along the Onogawa River. Please take a ride on the Zappa boat and enjoy the townscape of Sawara that retains the atmosphere of the Edo period. When you visit Katori City in Chiba Prefecture, we recommend that you take a look at the townscape of Sawara.
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