●What is the Salt Road? (Shionomichi)
The Salt Road was an ancient highway (Chikuni-kaido) that connected the castle city of Matsumoto with Itoigawa on the Japan Sea coast. Many kinds of goods were transported along this treacherous mountain route. In landlocked Nagano (then known as Shinshu), salt was the most-prized among these commodities. For this reason the route was named the ‘Salt Road’. On the stretch between Hakuba and Otari reminders of the past can still be seen standing roadside, including a number of stone Buddhist statues.
Walking the Salt Road as part of a festival re-enactment.
●Kazakiri Jizo
With the winds that blow down from Hakuba’s peaks, Kazakiri Jizo, a guardian deity of travellers, is said to protect crops from pests and drive away evil spirits that bring about sickness and disease.
●Hakuba History and Folklore Museum
This museum provides a record of the lives and wisdom of the villagers who managed to survive deep in the valley of heavy snowfall - ‘Hakuba’. Included on display are some of their farm implements and household items. Adjacent to the museum is a reconstructed house complete with fireplace and stables where you can get a real sense of what the villager’s lives were like.
●Located within Hakuba’s Green Sports Park.
●Opening hours: 9am-4:30pm (Closed from Nov 6-March 31).
●Admission is free. ●Closed during winter.
●Contact Hakuba Village Promotion Corp. TEL：0261-72-2279
History and Folklore Museum TEL：0261-72-4838
●Kirikubosuwa Shrine
The Kirikubosuwa Shrine is best known for one of its treasures, the Shichidou no Men (The Seven Masks). One of these masks, that of a female demon, is said to have given rise to a tragic local legend, ‘Okaru no Ana’.
●Choukokuji Temple
Choukokuji is a famous temple situated on the Salt Road. The enormous roof of the 300 year old main hall of the temple remains to this day supported by the original beams. The temple path, lined by stone Buddhist statues, as well as the more than 500 years old Japanese Cedars standing by the gate give you a real sense of Hakuba’s history.
●TEL： 0261-75-2028
●Kannon-bara
With 33 statues from western Japan, 33 from the Kanto area, and 34 from the Chichibu area, Kannon-bara field contains 100 stone Buddhist statues. An additional 87 Batou Kannon make the total number 187, all arranged in a quad around the field.
●Sanosaka Saigoku, the 33rd Kannon
Lying at the feet of pine and Japanese Cedar are such statues as Senju Kannon (thousand-armed Goddess of Mercy) and Juichimen Kannon (eleven-faced Goddess of Mercy), said to have been created by a noble Buddhist sculptor. Such vestiges of the past remain all along the Salt Road from Sano via Lake Aoki to Sanosaka.