Townscape of Unomachi in Uwacho

The traditional town of Unomachi once prospered as a post station under the Uwajima Clan. The streets are lined with white-walled buildings with lattice windows dating from the mid-Edo to the early Showa periods and now designated as “Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings”. The passage of time can be seen in the combination of western-style buildings such as houses with arched windows and a red-roofed church among the more traditional Japanese buildings. Visitors can get a feel for the town as it used to be while strolling along streets where long-established hotels, sake breweries and soy sauce shops from the Edo and the Meiji periods are still in business today, full of both local customers and tourists.