The vestiges of pre-war Wakura──

Did the crown prince’s visit act as publicity for the onsen town? The onsen continued to grow in popularity each day. At that time, this was the main street of Wakura. If you look closely, you can see the vestiges of the old atmosphere of Wakura in the buildings.

Speaking of stories that can’t be seen, during this time there was a bridge called “Sayonara
Bridge” (Farewell Bridge) that used to lead to Kyu-kaido. In the present day, there is nothing left of the river that used to run here but a small vein running against the asphalt. Though there is barely a trace of this bridge now, we could imagine the hosts of the ryokan seeing their guests off at this very spot.

Then came the Showa era. Wakura didn’t face much damage during the war. However, the ryokan of Wakura came under the command of the military, and many of the ryokan became hospitals for the soldiers and their rooms were packed with injured soldiers.