Wakasa Kura Dori (Street)

These earthen storehouses with white walls stand in the National Preservation District for Groups of Historic Buildings. The area still carries the distinct image of the former prosperous post town.

Along Kura Street, temples on one side and 20 merchants’ storehouses on the other side line the roughly 300m with the side of buildings facing the street. After the great fire of the Meiji Period, storehouses were gathered here to protect temples against fire. You can see the graceful townscape with the entrance on the gable side, white walls, red roof tiles, and clapboards.

Kariya Street has a feature unique to the snowy region, Kariya eaves, which sticks out to the street by 1.2m. Until the early Showa Period, it worked as an arcade, allowing people to walk beneath on rainy/snowy days without an umbrella. The clean streams on either side of the street were used for household needs, removing snow, raising carp, etc.