Nakatsugawa (中津川), A City With Hills

View of the city on hill from the Southwest.

One of the very first cities I spent time in (a little over three months) when I returned to Japan over two years ago is Nakatsugawa (中津川市-Nakatsugawa-shi). Situated in the mountainous Gifu Prefecture (岐阜県-Gifu-ken), Nakatsugawa is easily accessible from Nagoya (approximately an hour train ride). Other notable cities that can be accessed from here by train are the cities of Nagano and Matsumoto, both in the Nagano Prefecture. Nakatsugawa is known mainly for abundant chestnut harvesting during the Autumn months and the products that come out of it such as Kurikinton (栗きんとん). To make Kurikinton, you first boil, then mash the chestnuts. After mixing the chestnut mash with sugar, it can be reformed into a chestnut shape. The product can either be made in the comforts of home or purchased from a local market. Whether homemade or store-bought, Kurikinton is extremely popular for home consumption or as gifts.

The city is built into the foot of Mt. Ena, the tall mountain pictured on the right, making the city itself a hilly one.

Nakatsugawa served as one of 69 post towns during the Edo Period along the Nakasendō, one of five routes that served as major roads of the time connecting present-day Tokyo (formerly known as Edo during the time period) with Kyoto (former imperial capital of Japan).

As is a common sight practically anywhere in Japan, the main beauty is the rice farms especially when it's thriving during the wet season. It's pretty to see even in a residential neighborhood.

The present-day Nakatsugawa will see an enhancement of its transportation infrastructure in the future with the construction of the Chūō Shinkansen (a maglev train line) already in planning stages. This will grant the area with easy direct access to major cities such as Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka.