Where Time Lingers | Southern Aizu③ · Maezawa, Fukushima | A hidden glimpse of old Japan

Maezawa, Fukushima — a hidden thatched village in rural Japan, where families once lived under one roof with their horses. A quiet 4K walk through Japan's snow country, with English subtitles. No narration. Tucked into the mountains of Minamiaizu, the hamlet of Maezawa keeps a rare piece of old rural Japan: magariya, L-shaped thatched farmhouses that join the family's home and the stable for their farm horses. After a great fire in 1907, carpenters from the area rebuilt the whole village in about a year — which is why its houses still share one uniform look. We follow a wooden flume past a water mill, step inside a magariya with an irori hearth, climb to a quiet shrine above the roofs, and make one last stop at Byōbu-iwa, a white cliff carved by the Ina River. ──────────────────────── 📍 ABOUT MAEZAWA • Tateiwa area, Minamiaizu Town, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan • A national Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings since 2011 • Magariya ("bent houses"), or chūmon-zukuri, join the living quarters and the stable for farm horses, which were cared for like family. Stove heat kept the horses warm, and an indoor stable meant less snow to shovel. 13 magariya remain • Unlike the steep A-frame gasshō-zukuri of Shirakawa-gō, magariya are the farmhouse style of Japan's northern snow country, from Akita and Yamagata to Niigata and Aizu • Snow piles up to around 1.5 m (5 ft) in winter, and most of the thatched houses are still lived in • The sound of the water mill and the battari (a water-powered grain pounder) is one of Fukushima's "30 Soundscapes" • By legend, the village began in the late 16th century, when a retainer of the fallen Yamanouchi clan settled here • In 1987, Tateiwa Village — Maezawa's municipality at the time — won the top prize in a national rural amenity contest, hailed as "the most livable village in Japan" • Also in the village: Yakushi Hall, its plaque reading "Ruriden" (Lapis Lazuli Hall), and Kashima Shrine, up stone steps through the trees 📍 ABOUT BYŌBU-IWA ("SCREEN ROCK") • A white cliff of welded tuff with columnar joints, shaped over long ages by the rapids of the Ina River • Along National Route 352 in the Ina area of Minamiaizu, just before Hinoemata Village. A walking trail runs beside the river; autumn colors peak in mid to late October ──────────────────────── 🚃 HOW TO VISIT • Maezawa: 337 Maezawa, Minamiaizu, Fukushima • Train: Aizu-Kōgen-Ozeguchi Station (reachable from Asakusa, Tokyo, via the Tobu and Aizu Kinugawa lines), then about 30 min by taxi • Car: about 90 min from Nasushiobara IC on the Tohoku Expressway; parking for 48 cars • Maezawa Magariya Museum: 8:30–16:30, open from around late April to November, closed in winter. Adults ¥300 / high school and younger ¥150 • A viewpoint about a 10-minute walk up a mountain path overlooks the village (we didn't make it this time) • Cherry blossoms in spring, irises in early summer, white buckwheat flowers and autumn leaves in autumn • Most of these houses are private homes — please walk quietly and respectfully ※ Please check the official sites for the latest information before visiting. ──────────────────────── ⏱ CHAPTERS 0:00 Opening 0:42 Where in Japan? Minamiaizu, Fukushima 1:02 Across the bridge — the village's story 1:54 The water mill and the battari 2:58 Along the wooden flume 3:57 Magariya — where people lived with horses 4:28 Inside the Maezawa Magariya Museum 6:37 A street of magariya 7:38 Yakushi Hall and Kashima Shrine 9:16 The view from the shrine steps 10:34 Leaving Maezawa 11:17 One last stop 12:17 Byōbu-iwa, "Screen Rock" 12:30 Welded tuff and columnar joints 14:05 Where the river falls like a waterfall 14:40 Journey's end 15:02 Ending ──────────────────────── 🎞 ABOUT THIS SERIES "Where Time Lingers" wanders through Tohoku, northern Japan — its flowers, old towns, and seasons. This is the final part of our three-part Southern Aizu journey, after the thatched post town of Ōuchi-juku and the Former Minamiaizu District Office, a Meiji-era Western-style building — all filmed on the same late-summer day. Filmed in 4K with no narration, made for quiet watching. If you enjoyed this walk, a like and a subscribe would mean a lot. ──────────────────────── 🎵 CREDITS Satellite imagery sequence created with Google Earth Studio. Imagery © Google. #fukushima #japan #ruraljapan #hiddenJapan #japantravel #thatchedroof #japanesevillage #tohoku #aizu #Minamiaizu #slowliving #4k #japanwalk