Osakaya Inn
Osakaya is one of two inns still operating in the post town of Akasawa-Shuku (the other being Edoya). A two-story inn, it was one of the most popular in the village in the latter half of the nineteenth and early decades of the twentieth century.
Built in the period between 1830 and 1844 known as the Tenpo era, Osakaya is over 180 years old, and a stay at an inn this old is a rare experience. Osakaya was originally a single-story inn, but around 1883, it was remodeled and the second floor added. In its heyday, Osakaya’s first floor alone sometimes housed 100 guests. The entrance to the inn has a long earthen floor area for the convenience of the large number of guests coming and going who needed space to take off and put on footwear.
Guests can reserve a room by phone or through the inn’s website. It is important to note that the building has been preserved in its original form, and thus the rooms are in the traditional ryokan style with tatami mats and futon bedding. Thin sliding doors divide the rooms, and there are no locks. The lounge, bath, kitchen, and toilets are all shared, with no toilets or baths in individual guest rooms.
At Osakaya, guests can sleep in the same rooms that travelers once used during their pilgrimages nearly two centuries ago. In this way, Osakaya is living history.