Fukui · Minami-EchizenNo.1306★★Open in map →
Imajo-juku
— Snow-country post town on the old Hokuriku road
A preserved post town on the old Hokuriku road, set in the snowy mountains of Fukui. Its townhouses follow one winding street a few minutes from Imajo Station, whose building now doubles as the town's history hall.
- FromTsuruga Station
- ~15 minHapi-Line local, 1–2 an hour
- Get off atImajo Station (Hapi-Line Fukui Line)
- On foot
- Imajo-juku
The sweet spot
It is a protected district with signs and a tourism office, so it is not a hidden spot. It stays calm mostly because of where it sits on the line: limited express trains do not stop at Imajo, so getting here means changing to a local train at Tsuruga or Fukui.
Where it is
28 more notes in Fukui · open the map →What to look for — in walking order
- Imajo Machinami Information Halla hall inside the station building that presents the town as post town, railway town and transport hub, with a model of the old station
- Former Showa Kaikanan early-Showa, three-storey concrete hall built on the old waki-honjin site and now a registered cultural property
- The old Hokuriku roadthe winding street of townhouses, with udatsu firewalls and, in winter, snow screens under the eaves
- Former Wakasaya innan old inn saved from demolition by local residents and now used for concerts and rakugo
How to actually get there
- Tsuruga Station → Imajo Station (Hapi-Line Fukui Line, local toward Fukui, about 15 min).
- Imajo Station → Imajo Machinami Information Hall (inside the station building).
- Station → the old Hokuriku road (a few minutes' walk west).
- Walk the old road at an easy pace, then return to the station for a train toward Tsuruga or Fukui.
- Hapi-Line Fukui local from Tsuruga
- Tsuruga Station →(Hapi-Line Fukui Line, local toward Fukui)→ Imajo Station, about 15 minutes on the timetable checked for this guide. The train reaches Imajo through the Hokuriku Tunnel rather than over the old mountain route. Limited expresses do not stop here, so change to a local at Tsuruga.
- Return from Imajo Station
- Take a Hapi-Line Fukui local back toward Tsuruga, or carry on north toward Fukui. Through most of the day there are one or two trains an hour in each direction, with fewer late in the evening, so check the times posted at the station before you set off along the street.
About the place
Imajo sits in the snowy mountains of Fukui, on the old Hokuriku road that linked Kyoto with the provinces to the north. Its street is lined with townhouses built over a long span, from the late Edo period into the 1950s and 60s. Raised firewalls called udatsu stand between some of the roofs. In winter the house fronts are fitted with snow screens, a sign that this is heavy-snow country. The protected district covers about 9.2 hectares. The railway later gave the town a second role, and the station building, refitted by the town, now explains both.
How to enjoy it
Start in the information hall so the street makes sense before you walk it; its listed hours are 9:00 to 16:00. Then head west to the old road and take it slowly, looking up at the firewalls between the roofs. In winter, the snow screens on the house fronts are part of what you came to see.
Background & history
Imajo took shape as a post town on the Hokuriku road in the early 17th century and became one of Echizen's leading stops in the Edo period. The railway arrived in 1896, and for decades the station was a working base for the steep line over the mountains to Tsuruga. That role ended in 1962, when the Hokuriku Tunnel replaced the old route. In 2020 the town became part of a Japan Heritage story built around that railway, and in 2021 the street was named an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings.
Before you go
- Cash
- Walking the street costs nothing. Imajo Station is unstaffed, but it has a ticket machine and IC-card gates. Whether a historic building charges for entry is not covered here; ask at the tourism association in the station building.
- Before you go
- This is heavy-snow country: in winter expect snow on the street and snow screens on the house fronts. Historic buildings that open to visitors keep their own days and seasons, so if you have one in mind, check at the information hall before planning around it.
- Another way
- From Fukui Station, take a Hapi-Line Fukui local toward Tsuruga and get off at Imajo, about 40 minutes on the timetable checked for this guide.
- After you get off
- The information hall is inside the Imajo Station building. From the station, walk a few minutes west to reach the old road, which runs north to south through the district.