tsumago magome, 妻籠と馬篭

on the May 3rd, i went to visit tsumago and magome for the first time. they both are shukuba, or old towns for travelors to stay over, in the middle of montains. they are nakasendou's 42nd and 43rd stops from tokyo, and most wellknown towns from edo period. tsumago has been on the list of the national cultural heritage of the cluster of important buildings since 1976. this is one of the first districts selected together with kyoto area. 

because the day was in golden week holidays, there were many tourists walking around in tsumago. so i couldnt really enjoy the atmosphere of old town. in terms of cultural heritage, tsumago has great amounts of valuable houses. ive learned that one side was burn down by some mistake and therefore restored, but the other half was preserved from long time ago. i actually couldnt tell the differences between the new and old by glance. their restoration quality was quite great unlike stupid concrete castles built after ww2. according to a tourist info old guy, the difference could be seen in the roofs. the new ones have tile roof and the old ones have that of wood.

i really enjoyed the distict, yet there were two things i disliked a lot. ive already written about it before in other topics, but even here, the street is covered by concrete. i truly understand that there are many tourists coming, including disable people and family with baby puch chairs, so the street of concrete is the most convenient thing for them. YET, there should be some other choices to build. i was really happy by the great buildings and surrounding montains, yet only the surface of the street was what i hated. the other thing i didnt like was that it was not totally pedestrian street. people can drive as they wish after 5pm and before 9am or so. from 9 to 5, it is a pedestrian street. again, i truly understand that there are people living and tourists coming to stay overnight, so it is more convenient for them that they drive cars to the front of their houses and hotels, yet .......!!!! 

and then, we moved to magome. it is located in the hilly area. this district was burnd totally in 1895 and 1915 except its stone paths.... stone paths!!!! YES! it has stone paths, not stupid concrete street!! great!!!! thats how old towns should be, at least i believe!! it made me super excited. and it was already kinda late when i arrived there, so theres only a few tourists walking around. i could hear the sound of stream. great atmosphere. although the buildings are relatively new, yet the stone paths and idea compensated enough. i think i like this area more than tsumago actually. as the picture shows, the stone paths is providing relatively convenient stone paths for wheel chairs. this is good idea of equal accessibility that tsumago can also think of, isnt it? other areas dont have to immitate it, but they should get inspired by.

but again, there is one thing i didnt like. whats the ugly vending machine doing there? be more modest!! no matter how much the residents and government tried to improve the quality and value of the area, one tiny thing can destroy it so easily. these might make the life more convenient, but consider its appearance!!