加古川宿(Kakogawa inn town): major part of inn town under the arcade street

 Kakogawa is not a tourist town, but it has a rich history. Just google and go on Kakogawa Tourism Association website, and you will find a bunch of historical sites. 

Anyway, let’s start out with the overview. JR Kakogawa station is the closest to Kakogawa Saigoku Kaido inn town. 

So I did not find detailed info about where Kakogawa inn town begins. So I just assumed by what looks like the old entry gate of Kaido routes in general. So I welcome any feedbacks and corrections of where it begins and where it ends. This is one of limits of online research. 

Later I found out that, the actual inn town appears to have began much closer to the JR station. So this part is not inside the inn town. 

One thing for all of us to know is that the original route goes on and off from a major national route or prefectural route. This is due to modernization and authorization of the society. The original routes tend not to be wide enough for two cars to drive by without slowing down. 

From how the street appears, this part might have already been inside the inn town. 

Passing by Ryusenji temple, established in 1274. According to Kobe Shinbun news article, the original temple building was in a different location, and  burned in 1911. It was rebuilt here. 

There is jizo statue with cut torso in half. The jiso’s trunk does not appear to be cut in half from the picture. The story is that, during Edo period, a man crossed in front of a lord’s march. His behavior was, whether by accident or not, considered as dishonoring and would be killed anyway. So a samurai from the lord’s march tried to cut this man’s trunk into half. But he was perfectly fine. Instead, they saw a jizo statue’s torso cut. And the jizo is standing here today. I’m 

This is right before Kakogawa Prince Hotel. 

We are entering an arcade street called 寺家町商店街(Jikemachi shotengai). This is the center of the inn town. 

The arcade roofs and structures can mask what old houses actually look like, but you can still see them. 

I can’t tell if the house in the left is an early-1900s building or older. 

The shape and the width of the house tell us a lot about what houses along old routes used to be. 

This used to be 陣屋(Jin’ya), an administrative office which has much higher level than Toiya or Toiyaba. Jin’ya was like a castle without military defense. 

Kakogawa inn town is close to the end. 

Just outside the inn town, there is a big river, Kako river, or literally Kakogawa. Apparently there used to be a boat service back in the old days. 

Plus, Kakogawa inn town is very close to Kakogawa castle which is on the red circle on the bottom of the map. 

References: 

Kakogawa Community Area Saigoku Kaido Romantic Course. Kakogawa Tourism Association. https://kako-navi.jp/course/19458.html# (Accessed in 5/19/2025)

3 dragons, laring at the 3-meter main hall transom Kakogawa, Ryusenji temple. Kobe Shimbun Next.(The original title: 「3頭の竜ぎろり　にらみ利かす　3メートルの本堂の欄間　加古川・龍泉寺」　神戸新聞NEXT)  https://www.kobe-np.co.jp/news/touban/202401/0017192125.shtml (Accessed in 5/19/2025. The original article in Japanese with automated AI translation)

Tourism spot information. Kakogawa Tourism Association. https://kako-navi.jp/spot/19061.html# (Accessed in 5/19/2025)

Walking in the wind of history - Introducing “Kakogawa Saigoku Kaido Romantic Course”. Masato Masuda. On My Place My Pleasure Kakoppi.(The original title: 歴史の風に吹かれて歩く、「加古川・西国街道浪漫コース」をご紹介します。増田真人著　まいぷれかこっピ) https://kakogawa.mypl.net/article/jimoneta_kakogawa/97198 (Accessed in 5/19/2025. In Japanese)