Spot

The post town of Nakamura and Awagamachi served as a rest stop along the route leading from the northern mines to the port in Himeji. Holding over forty shops at its height, Nakamura and Awagamachi was one of the route’s largest post towns. Travel through the area was improved in the early Meiji Period (18687–1912) with the completion of the Silver Mine Carriage Road (the Ikuno Kozanryo Bashamichi, now known as the Gin no Bashamichi) in 1876.
Today, two buildings remain from the Edo Period (1603–1867): the Takeuchi residence and the former Nambashuzo sake brewery. A visitor’s center occupies a renovated home beside the former Awaga horse station (umaya), where travelers from the Bantan train line would change horse-drawn carriages.