Obama Nishigumi
licensed photographAsturio Cantabrio / CC BY-SA 4.0

Wakasa · ObamaNo.1311★★Open in map →

Obama Nishigumi

— Old teahouse lane and merchant houses in Obama

historyOff the trail — and worth it

The western quarter of Obama's old castle town, preserved for its merchant houses and its former teahouse lane. In Sanchomachi, houses and ryotei restaurants stand behind red bengara lattices, within walking distance of Obama Station.

  1. FromObama Station (JR Obama Line)
  2. ~15 min walkJR Obama Line, then on foot
  3. Obama Nishigumi
Directions ↗

The sweet spot

This is a nationally designated district that the city promotes, so it is not a hidden spot. It is also a neighbourhood of townhouses, restaurants and temples rather than a museum, and its lanes are best walked as the ordinary streets they are.

Where it is

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What to look for — in walking order

HotoroAsturio Cantabrio / CC BY-SA 4.0
  1. The merchant townhousesstreet fronts with gattari fold-down shop shelves, and well marks by the doors of houses whose wells served for firefighting
  2. Kuin-ji templefamily temple of the Sakai lords of Obama, with a cave tied to the legend of the nun Yao Bikuni
  3. Sanchomachithe former teahouse lane, its houses and ryotei fronted with red bengara lattices
  4. Hotoroa former ryotei in Sanchomachi, its rooms opened to visitors on set days

How to actually get there

  1. Obama Station (JR Obama Line) → walk west into Obama Nishigumi.
  2. Walk the merchant streets and stop in at Kuin-ji temple on the way.
  3. Continue west to Sanchomachi, about 15 min on foot from the station in all.
  4. On a weekend or public holiday, finish inside Hotoro, the former ryotei.
JR Obama Line to Obama Station, then walk
Take the JR Obama Line to Obama Station. From the station, walk west through the town to Sanchomachi; the city's tourism site puts the walk at about 15 minutes.
Walk back to Obama Station
Retrace the route east to Obama Station. Both the JR Obama Line and the JR bus toward Omi-Imazu leave from the station, so read the departure times before you set off into the district.
Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

Obama Nishigumi is the western part of Obama's old castle town. It runs along the old Tango Kaido road and mixes a merchant quarter with a teahouse quarter. The protected area covers about 19.1 hectares. The two quarters look different from each other. Sanchomachi, the former teahouse lane toward the western side, is lined with houses and ryotei restaurants behind red bengara lattices. Temples sit among the streets as well, so the district reads as a working part of town rather than a single sight.

How to enjoy it

Walk out from the station and take the district from east to west, so the merchant streets come first and Sanchomachi last. The details here sit at eye level — lattices, fold-down shelves, small well marks — so slow down rather than cover ground. If you come on a weekend or public holiday, end the walk at Hotoro while its rooms are open.

Background & history

The Takeda clan, governors of Wakasa, built a castle on Mount Nochise in 1522. Kyogoku Takatsugu later built Obama Castle, and the castle town grew around it. In time the townspeople's quarter was divided into east, middle and west districts, and Nishigumi is the western one. Most buildings standing today went up after a great fire in 1888. Hotoro, a ryotei built in the Meiji era, still stands in Sanchomachi. The district was selected as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in 2008, and in 2015 it became part of a Japan Heritage story on Wakasa and the mackerel road.

Before you go

Cash
There is no charge to walk the district's streets. Kuin-ji temple lists its own admission fee, so check the current price on site.
Before you go
The lanes are public streets with no gate or ticket. Hotoro, the former ryotei, is listed by the city's tourism site as open for viewing on weekends and public holidays only, so confirm before you go.
Another way
From the Kyoto and Osaka side, the JR bus Wakae Line runs from Omi-Imazu Station on the Kosei Line to Obama Station. By car, the city and prefectural tourism sites give about 10 minutes from the Obama interchange, but the district has no parking of its own.
After you get off
From Obama Station, walk west through the town for about 15 minutes. The merchant streets come first; Sanchomachi lies beyond Kuin-ji temple, toward the western side of the district.