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Stay at the Waki-Honjin Kumeya and experience the how the feudal lords in the Edo period traveled
Komoro Tourism Bureau
Waki-Honjin Kumeya Inn is located in Komoro-juku along the Hokkoku Kaido. Hokkoku Kaido was developed as the second-most important highway after the Gokaido, which opened in the early Edo period (1603-1867). Komoro-juku, an inn town along this highway, and Waki-Honjin Kumeya Inn still retain the atmosphere of the old days.
In the Edo period, the daimyo’s procession from the Hokuriku countries to Edo (now Tokyo) passed through Komoro-juku on the Hokkoku Kaido Highway. Komoro-juku, the main lodge, side lodges, and part of the townscape of the lodge town still remain as they were in those days.
Waki-Honjin is a building where senior retainers and court nobles who accompanied feudal lords on their daimyo's round trips used to stay overnight. It was built in the late Edo period and has a large flat-roofed structure. It retains its Edo period structure well, including the shikidai-style entrance to the left of the front of the building, and the beckoning roof with a protruding girder. In addition, there is a detached tatami room at the rear of the main building.This tatami room is a highly prestigious structure with a tokonoma (alcove), a tsuke-shoin with ranma carvings, and kawaridana shelves.
Currently, Waki-Honjin Kumeya Inn is registered as a Tangible Cultural Property and is used as a lodging and cafe facility called Kumeya. Visit Komoro-juku, which was once a bustling post town in the Edo period, and enjoy your stay in Kumeya, which mostly remains in its original state.
How to get there
From Tokyo Station, take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Karuizawa Station (about 1 hour 5 minutes). From there, take the Shinano Tetsudo Line to Komoro Station (about 25 minutes).
1-2-24 Ichi-machi, Komoro-shi, Nagano-ken
