![\"An](\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/21000859\/voyapon_chiba-nagareyama_city-20-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul>One of many historical Japanese buildings in Nagareyama<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Nagareyama is a charming city in Chiba<\/strong> that I was more than happy to walk through for several hours, and would have loved to linger in for even longer. On my walking tour, I was accompanied by two older gentlemen who served as volunteer guides and were incredibly informative about the city and its history. If the nearby city of Noda is known as \u201cthe city of soy sauce,\u201d<\/a> then Nagareyama is known as \u201cthe birthplace of white mirin.\u201d Mirin is a type of sweet Japanese sake typically used as seasoning for cooking<\/strong> (some ways to use it are found in this article<\/a>), but as I was told numerous times over the course of the tour, it used to be popular among the women of Nagareyama as a sweet alcoholic beverage. In fact, Nagareyama is where white mirin was first brewed in 1814.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Historical](\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/21000758\/voyapon_chiba-nagareyama_city-14-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li>![\"Mirin](\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/21000817\/voyapon_chiba-nagareyama_city-16-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThere is a map of the city right next to the Heiwadai train station<\/strong> that highlighted all of the prominent places that can be visited in Nagareyama on foot in a single tour. The city runs along the Edogawa river<\/strong> (which used to be used for transporting mirin and soy sauce), and was once joined with nearby cities Matsudo and Noda during the height of its industry. As we walked through the quiet of its streets, I felt a palpable sense of history. The weather was also ideal for walking: bright, clear, sunny, and clean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Decorative](\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/21000742\/voyapon_chiba-nagareyama_city-12-768x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li>![\"Japanese](\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/21000732\/voyapon_chiba-nagareyama_city-11-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/21000604\/voyapon_chiba-nagareyama_city-2-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul>Akagi Shrine in Nagareyama<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Buildings were in the same places they were over a hundred years ago. Signs showed pictures of past scenes at precise junctions along the route. There were graveyards along our route, statues of gods and goddesses, as well as shrines like Akagi Shrine<\/strong>, which legend says is named after a nearby mountain that drifted into place from Gunma Prefecture. There is also a large, hand-spun cord of rope hanging over the entrance<\/strong>, which my guides very proudly told me is not only one of the largest hand-spun rope in Japan<\/strong> but is respun every year by locals in the community. It symbolizes the connection that the community has not only with itself, but the past. At nearby Sengen Shrine,<\/strong> there is a small hill (about 8 meters tall) along the historical route made of lava rocks carried from Mt. Fuji. Visitors can climb this hill, just like Fuji itself, and pray at the top for luck, prosperity, health, or whatever else. We also stopped at Issa-Soju Memorial Hall, a house where a famous poet, Kobayashi Issa, visited his friend Akimoto Sanaemon, a 5th generation mirin brewer. Kobayashi often stayed to write and muse on nature, where a small shop waits for lovers of verse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Graveyard](\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/21000652\/voyapon_chiba-nagareyama_city-7-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li>![\"Statues](\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/21000701\/voyapon_chiba-nagareyama_city-8-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li>![\"A](\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/21000838\/voyapon_chiba-nagareyama_city-18-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul>An array of shrines, statues, and graveyards scattered across historical Nagareyama<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/21000920\/voyapon_chiba-nagareyama_city-22-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul>A hill made of lava rocks from Mt. Fuji waits for climbers to pray at the top <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n\nDietary Excellence at a Local Bistro<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/21000948\/voyapon_chiba-nagareyama_city-24-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul>The bright, pretty interior of Bistro EIZEN in Nagareyama<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
![\"Fish](\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/21001005\/voyapon_chiba-nagareyama_city-26-e1580221317792-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul>![\"A](\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/21000956\/voyapon_chiba-nagareyama_city-25-1024x768.jpg\")
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