Sep–NovThe best-preserved stop on the whole Mackerel Road: a kilometre of merchant houses along a fast, clear stone channel, halfway between Obama and Kyoto. Ten minutes away, a spring cold enough to split a melon.
Salted mackerel from Obama went south to Kyoto through here on the Wakasa-kaidō, the main branch of the Saba-kaidō. Kumagawa grew fast from the late 16th century as a post station, kept a checkpoint until the end of the Edo period, and became an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in 1996. The Maegawa channel still runs along the street; residents cool vegetables in it.
Allow 1h 30m for the street, plus 45 minutes for Uriwari.
Clay-walled merchant houses and latticed fronts line a stone channel with small steps down to the water (kawato). At the Kyoto end, the reconstructed Kumagawa Bansho checkpoint is where officials inspected travellers and their loads of fish.
The history of the post town and the Mackerel Road in one small building. Adults ¥200, middle school and under free.
Roadside station with parking, saba-zushi, Kumagawa kuzu arrowroot sweets and the Shikisaikan restaurant. The easiest lunch stop. Wakasa food →
Spring water that stays around 11–12°C all year, 4,500 tonnes a day of it, filtered through layers of rock. The story, written down as early as 1760: a melon left to cool in it one summer split from the cold. The stones in the stream are stained red by Hildenbrandia (ベニマダラ), a red alga that grows only in water this clean and cold.
One of Japan's Top 100 Waters since 1985, and 2nd for taste in the Ministry of the Environment's 2016 national vote. It is soft (hardness 47 mg/L, pH 7.8–8.1), which is why locals use it for tea, coffee and whisky. Walk 300 m (7 min) from the car park through the forest of Tentoku-ji (天徳寺), a Shingon temple founded by the monk Taichō, past a hillside of 88 stone Buddhas that recreate the Shikoku pilgrimage. Hydrangeas fill the garden in June.
The West JR Bus Wakae Line runs roughly hourly and accepts ICOCA and Suica.
| From | How | Time | Fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaminaka Station | Wakae Line bus to Wakasa Kumagawa | 11m–15m | about ¥390 |
| Ōmi-Imazu Station | Same bus towards Obama | 29m | ¥840 |
| Kyoto | Kosei Line to Ōmi-Imazu + bus | about 1h 30m | about ¥1,830 |
| Tsuruga | Obama Line to Kaminaka + bus | 1h 20m–1h 45m | |
| Kyoto by car | Route 367 via Ōhara and Kutsuki | 1h–1h 30m | |
| Tsuruga by car | Expressway + Route 303 | about 50m |
Half-day plan: Kaminaka Station, walk to Uriwari Falls (45 min there), back to Kaminaka, bus to Kumagawa-juku, lunch at the roadside station, then on to Ōmi-Imazu and the Kosei Line to Kyoto.
Things first-time visitors usually wish they'd known.
From Kaminaka Station on the JR Obama Line, take the West JR Bus Wakae Line to Wakasa Kumagawa (11–15 minutes), then walk 3 minutes. From Kyoto, the Kosei Line to Ōmi-Imazu plus the same bus takes about 1h 30m.
Yes, open access and free. A ¥300 cleaning contribution is asked if you fill bottles at the tap by the car park. It is 15 minutes' walk from JR Kaminaka Station, or 12 minutes by car from Wakasa-Kaminaka IC (car park for 50 cars).
1h 30m to 2 hours to walk the street, visit the museum and eat. Add 45 minutes for Uriwari Falls.
A restored merchant house on the Saba-kaidō. Stay the night and have the lantern-lit street to yourself after the day visitors leave.
Opened 2022 beside the Shinkansen terminus. The best rail base for day trips along the Obama Line, or a late arrival from Tokyo.
Small luxury inn on a calm bay: infinity bath over Wakasa Bay, guji in summer and farmed tiger fugu in winter. Free shuttle from Obama Station at 14:30.