The Nakasendo was one of five centrally administered highways during the Edo period (1603-1868), stretching roughly 534 kilometers through the mountainous interior of Honshu from Edo -- modern-day Tokyo -- to Kyoto. Unlike the coastal Tokaido, which hugged the Pacific shoreline, the Nakasendo cut through alpine valleys and mountain passes. Its sixty-nine rest stations provided food, lodging, and entertainment for an extraordinary cross-section of Japanese society: daimyo lords fulfilling mandatory alternate-year residency in the capital, samurai retinues, Buddhist monks on pilgrimage, merchants hauling goods, and poets like Matsuo Basho seeking inspiration in the mountain scenery. Narai thrived because of its position just before the Torii Pass, the second-highest point on the entire route.

Narai's wealth came from both passing travelers and local craft. The Kiso Valley's heavy forests and damp climate proved ideal for producing lacquerware, and the post town became a center for Kiso shikki -- lacquered combs, bowls, and trays that travelers purchased as souvenirs and practical goods. The neighboring settlement of Kiso-Hirasawa specialized in this craft, and its artisans still practice traditional lacquering techniques today. Walking through Narai-juku, the buildings themselves tell the story of a prosperous merchant town: two-story wooden structures with latticed facades, low eaves designed to shelter pedestrians from rain, and narrow alleys that once connected front shops to rear storehouses. Many buildings served dual purposes as both residences and inns.

What makes Narai-juku remarkable is not just its history but its preservation. Designated as one of Japan's Nationally Designated Architectural Preservation Sites, the town has been maintained much as it appeared during the Edo period. No neon signs, no concrete facades, no modern intrusions break the line of dark timber and white plaster. The Narai River runs alongside the main street, and side paths lead to small shrines and water fountains that have served travelers for centuries. The artist Keisai Eisen depicted Narai-juku in his famous woodblock print series "The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaido," and a visitor comparing the print to the modern streetscape would find the resemblance striking.

Narai-juku sits in the present-day city of Shiojiri in Nagano Prefecture, accessible by train on the JR Chuo Main Line. The station deposits visitors directly into the Edo-period streetscape with almost no transition. Some of the former merchant houses now operate as museums, craft shops, and ryokan-style guesthouses. Neighboring post towns of Niekawa-juku and Yabuhara-juku are connected by sections of the original Nakasendo trail, and hikers can walk between them on paths that have changed remarkably little since the highway's peak centuries of use. The atmosphere is quietest in early morning, when mist fills the valley and the wooden facades glow in diffused light -- a scene that samurai, merchants, and monks heading over the pass would have recognized instantly.