Spa " Sante in Otari"
The Japanese- style hotel has a restaurant
accommodating forty guests. This new and
modern facility has seven differents kind
of baths such as laying bath, a hot water
jet and meridian concentration bath, and
so on. The main feature however of this spa
is a hot spring swimming pool.
Buno spa
Otari village Museum of history
Genchoji temple
It is a Soto-Shu sect Buddhist temple that stands along the
Salt Road.
It was first built in 1573 , then burnt down
twice and destroyed by strong wind once.
The temple you can see today was built in
1914.
At the foot of the stone steps leading to
the temple, 33 Buddha statues (Kannon) with
different expressions are standing in a line.
In June clusters of iris come into bloom
around here
Chikuni Suwa shrine
It stands on the north part of Chikuni cluster.
It is said that the origin was so old. In
the Shrine there is a "Nagigama" ( a kind of sickle) on which it was written
" made in 828 ".
The main sanctuary has detailed sculpture
and was built in 1790.
This shrine is famous for it's curious festival.
Some droll fellows with Sasara stick ( in the shape of penis) cheer up the
people on the road side. It is for the plentifully
of crops and the prosperity of descendant.
This festival is held on the and 15th every
September.
Chikuni-no-sho Historical Museum
The Chikuni cluster which gave the name to
Chikuni-Kaido flourished as a post town.
There was the Bansho barrier settled by the Matsumoto clan. The
Bansho functioned as an important traffic
point. The Bansho Levied taxes on salt and
marine products from the Japan Sea. It was
one of the most important tasks. Especially
spot salt was levied and there was an warehouse
for salt on the premises. The salt gathered
here was used for pickling bracken that was
supplied to the domain.
Bansho carrier; The Bansho and the warehouse
were rebuilt next to Chikuni-no-sho. There
,officials checked salt, products and tourists.
There are weapons that were prepared for
an emergency. In the warehouse, there are
jogs for bittern. The museum is closed on
Mondays. Admission fee is \200 for adult
and \150 for kid.
Cortina ski resort
Here you will find the very essence of an
European Alps resort. Not only perfect snow
conditions and home like atmosphere but also
the polite service you would expect from
grand hotel and rustic inns.
Mt. Hieda-yama's Grand -Land-Slide remain
Dynamic movements and the resulted face of
mother earth can be observed here in Otari.
Mt. Hieda-yama made one of the three biggest
slides in Japan. It was around 3 o'clock
midnight August 8th 1911. It destroyed Kuruma
cluster, one of three prosperous village
clusters overnight and Himekawa river was
dammed to make a new lake that reached south
to Kudarise cluster. When the dam was taken
off, the water flooded to damage paddy fields
on the river, In about 40 years time, medium
sized land slides continued and most villagers
in the area relocated. Idyllic day had gone
forever. At Kita-Otari you can see broad
river bed on the way, it was the place.
You can also drive to Mt, Hieda-yama and
see the still young-looking earth. Autumn
leaves are vivid . There stands on the once
flooded river Urakawa an epigraph by Aya
Kohda , authoress of Kuzure( The collapse). It reads [ It feels like
years and months are lost in the endless
stream of existence.......]
A local legend of Mt.Hieda's landslide has
it that,In those days Otari had five village
bosses and one of them was living in this
Kuruma area.
His wife was always quarreling with his mother
and on one New Year's day, she tried to give
the mother a cup of poisoned tea.
The mother, in her casula manner, handed
the tea to her son the boss.
He took the tea nonchalantly and went out
fou Johouji Temple to exchange New Year's
greetings.
It was when the chief priest was treating
him, he got an acute stomac pain and he rushed
home. Then he died soon.
His wife spred a rumor that the chief priest
had posoned him to death.
Eventually the priest was falsely accused
of muder of this case.
As a convicted felon he was on his way to
Matsumoto jail. When he came to Matsugamine
pine ridge he could not stop to shout in
a great anger.
"Mind out the murderer who played me
false into crime. Let the mountain as it
is if I should be guilty or let it fall down
if I am innocent!"
He stamped harshly on the ground with vexation.The
very moment he did this, his stick at hand
was swallowed into the earth and the sky
became dark.
Whole Mt.Hieda rocked and rumbled. The chief
priest's grudge was so deep that the land
slide of Mt. Hieda happend to damage Kuruma
villege so serously,they say. Village of
Kuruma thence forth kept a monument Kanayama-sama
to sooth and venerate the soul of the innocent
priest.
// an exerpt from [ The history of Otari
village ]