Udatsu Townscape

The Udatsu townscape lies in the Minamimachi area of Wakimachi in Mima and was designated a national Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in 1988. The street grew as the castle town of Wakijo and later prospered as a centre of the indigo trade, and about 85 traditional buildings from the mid-Edo period to the early Showa era survive along it. The name comes from the udatsu, raised firewall gables built up between adjacent houses; because they were costly, a prominent udatsu came to signal a family's success. Walking the street is free, though some individual merchant houses and museums charge admission. The nearest railway station is JR Anabuki, from which the townscape is a short taxi or bus ride, and free public parking is available.