Yakage inn town is the only inn town in Japan of which both surviving honjin and wakihonjin from Edo period are registered as nationally designated Important Cultural Properties.
Yakage inn town itself has been certified as an Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings by the Agency of Cultural Affairs, Japan. Among all San’yodo/Saigoku Kaido highway inn towns, Yakage is certainly one of highlights.
Eastern edge of Yakage has a small free parking for tourists, on the right.
This part looks like you see anywhere else in Japan, but wait for the next street view.
Edo-time old houses stand in line. Yakage has many businesses like craft workshop, bakery, restaurants, souvenir shops, sweet shop etc.
Ichiruzuka distance marker used to be here. I am not sure if actual Yakage inn town begins right after Ichiruzuka or not. Or ichiruzuka just happened to be there.
These house house on the right is a newspaper delivery office.
These house on the right is Takakusa wakihonjin inn. When we were there, we did not enter as time was running. But it’s open as a museum.
This is Yakage visitor center. It was a Toiya(or sometimes Ton’ya) cargo/transportation/postal terminal. Today this is a community center and a museum.
The building on the left is a couple Crete building, but has been partially renovated in order to match up with surrounding houses.
Probably, among San’yodo/Saigoku Kaido route,
On the right, there is a big public bath, not an onsen natural hot spring. When we were there, the boiler was broken and we didn’t get in the tub.
Keep going straight…
When we visited(March 2025), the house on the left was Yakage-ya Inn and Suites. The contract of this company with Yakage town was just ended, and a new company is taking over the house, in order to renovate and open up again as an inn. According to the homepage of Yakage-ya Inn and Suites, Yakage-ya still owns a few warehouses and houses that are part of inns.
Getting close to honjin inn.
Ishii family honjin. 500 yen per adult(as of 6/2025) for entry, and they have an English leaflet. If you understand Japanese, volunteer guides are very happy to share everything they have.
There is a road sign of “Old San’yodo Yakage inn town”. This was made new, and you see. And there is an information board about brief history of Yakage inn town.
The inn town is close to the end here. Beyond this old house on the left, there is a snack shop.
There is a bridge over the crossing at the end of the inn town. And Saigoku Kaido/San’yodo continues.
The closest train station is Ibara railways Yakage station.
On the next article, I will post some of pictures we took in Yakage.
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