Ouchi-juku, designated as a National Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, flourished as a post town on the Aizu Nishi Kaido (also known as Shimotsuke Kaido or Shimoichi Kaido), an important road connecting Aizu-Wakamatsu and Nikko Imaichi during the Edo period.
Even today, thatched-roof houses line the road, just as they were in the past.
The Snow Festival is held every year on the second Saturday and Sunday of February. Handmade snow lanterns are lined up along the road in the post town, and are lit at night. This is one of the rituals of Takakura Shrine, the guardian shrine of Ouchi-juku. The highlight of the festival is the "Goshinka Taibi" ceremony, which takes place in the evening on the first day. After being purified in front of the shrine, men in loincloths receive a sacred fire from the altar and go around lighting each and every snow lantern erected in the post town, and the village is gently enveloped in the warmth of the divine fire. Then fireworks explode into the sky, and the flames of the snow lanterns brighten up the townscape, creating a fantastic atmosphere.
[Table of Contents | Chapter]
00:00 Opening
02:05 Late night on the rough road 289, Koshi Tunnel to Ouchijuku
06:05 Ouchijuku parking lot in a snowstorm
07:38 Early morning snow removal
12:46 Morning scenery in Ouchijuku, snow removal and festival preparation
17:16 Breakfast on the Defender (convenience store food)
23:05 Walking through snowy Ouchijuku (DJI Pocket3)
34:58 To Takakura Shrine
40:38 Return to the post town for lunch
42:30 Eat green onion soba at "Komeya"
48:48 Editing on the Defender until evening
50:32 Dusk, waiting for the start of the ritual
50:56 Sacred fire torch run
52:28 Fireworks
56:31 The next morning, foot bath (Oyako Jizo no Yu)
56:56 Yunokami Onsen Station
58:00 Ending