is a museum dedicated to the history and culture of the Nakasendō

Nakasendo

The , also called the , was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo to Kyoto in Japan. There were 69 stations between Edo and Kyoto, crossing through Musashi, Kōzuke, Shinano, Mino and Ōmi provinces...

's Ōta-juku

Ota-juku

was the fifty-first of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō during the Edo period. It is located in Minokamo, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It was located on one of the more difficult parts of the Nakasendō, but relics from its days as a post town still remain today...

 and is located in the city of Minokamo

Minokamo, Gifu

is a city located in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and was formed on April 1, 1954.As of July 2011, the city has an estimated population of 54,944. The total area is 74.81 km².-Rail:*JR Central:**Takayama Main Line: Mino-Ōta Station, Kobi Station...

, Gifu Prefecture

Gifu Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the Chūbu region of central Japan. Its capital is the city of Gifu.Located in the center of Japan, it has long played an important part as the crossroads of Japan, connecting the east to the west through such routes as the Nakasendō...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

Exhibits

The main focus of the exhibit is on the history and culture of Ōta-juku, one of the Nakasendō's shukuba

Shukuba

were post stations during the Edo period in Japan, generally located on one of the Edo Five Routes or one of its sub-routes. They were also called shukueki . These post stations were places where travelers could rest on their journey around the nation...

. The displays include pieces related to Kazu-no-Miya Chikako

Kazu-no-Miya Chikako

was the wife of 14th shogun Tokugawa Iemochi. She was renamed Lady Seikan'in no miya after she took the tonsure as a widow.She was the eighth and youngest daughter of Emperor Ninkō and his concubine, Hashimoto Tsuneko - renamed Kangyouin after she took the tonsure. She was the younger half-sister...

 who stayed at the shukuba while traveling the Nakasendō.

Part of the museum was built using materials from the house of Ippei Okamoto (岡本 一平 Okamota Ippei), a famous artist who resided in the area from 1946 until his death two years later. This structure is separate from the main building and is a replica of Okamoto's completed house.

Facilities information

• Hours of operation

9:00am to 5:00pm

• Holidays

Mondays (unless Monday is a national holiday)

Day after national holidays

Dec. 29 to Jan. 3.

• Entrance fee

Free

• Parking

50 spaces

Access

• Tōkai-Kanjō Expressway
  Tokai-Kanjo Expressway
  The is a toll road in the Tōkai region of Japan. It is owned and managed by Central Nippon Expressway Company.-Naming:Officially, the route is designated as National Route 475...
  
  's Minokamo Interchange: 10 min.
• JR Central
  Central Japan Railway Company
  The is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as . Its headquarters are located in the JR Central Towers in Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture.The company's operational hub is Nagoya Station...
  
   Taita Line
  Taita Line
  The is part of the Central Japan Railway Company network in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It operates from Tajimi Station in the city of Tajimi through Kani to Mino-Ōta Station in Minokamo...
  
  's Mino-Ōta Station: 10 min. walk