Seki-juku is about a ten-minute walk from JR Seki Station, and that short approach is the main reason this post town on the old Tokaido works as a day trip by rail. This guide covers the machiya street, the way in on foot and by car, the Hatago Tamaya and Seki Machinami museums, Seki-no-To and ibara-mochi, the volunteer guides and where to stay. Prices, days off and walking times are set out in tables and lists.
The Old Tokaido Street of Seki-juku
The townscape of Seki-juku runs for about one point eight kilometers, and about four hundred machiya townhouses line its main street, more than two hundred of them under preservation. As a post town it stretches from Higashi-oiwake at one end to Nishi-oiwake at the other, the span to keep in mind when deciding how far to walk.
For visitors arriving by car, Seki Jizo-in is about a three-minute walk from the Seki tourist parking lot.
Getting to Seki-juku on Foot or by Car
On foot, the approach from JR Seki Station to Seki-juku takes about ten minutes. By car, the times below are counted from the expressway interchange to Seki-juku rather than from any city center.
- It is about a 10-minute walk from JR Seki Station to Seki-juku.
- Michi-no-Eki Sekijuku is about a 1-minute walk from JR Seki Station.
- Fukawaya Sekinoto Honpo is about a 10-minute walk from JR Seki Station.
- By car, Seki-juku is about 10 minutes from the Meihan Expressway Seki IC.
- By car, Seki-juku is about 10 minutes from the Higashi-Meihan Expressway Kameyama IC.
- Seki Jizo-in is about a 3-minute walk from the Seki tourist parking lot.
Seki-juku also pairs with other towns in Mie for anyone spending longer in the prefecture. For another day, Iga-Ueno has its own guide on this site, written to the same pattern of walking times, prices and days off.
Where to stay
Places to stay near Kameyama, Mie, Japan →
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The Hatago Tamaya and Seki Machinami Museums
The Hatago Tamaya History Museum and the Seki Machinami Museum sell a shared ticket, so one admission covers both. Both keep the same opening hours, from nine in the morning to half past four in the afternoon. Both are closed on Mondays, or the following day when Monday is a public or substitute holiday, and over the year-end and New Year period.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Two-museum ticket (Hatago Tamaya History Museum and Seki Machinami Museum), adult | 300 yen |
| Two-museum ticket, students, pupils and children | 200 yen |
| Three-museum ticket (adds the Seki Float Hall), adult | 500 yen |
| The museums, opening hours | 9:00 to 16:30 |
| The museums, closed days | Mondays (the following day if Monday is a public holiday or substitute holiday) and December 29 to January 3 |
Adults who also want the Seki Float Hall can take the three-museum ticket instead of the two-museum one. The two-museum ticket also has a price for students, pupils and children, listed in the table.
Seki-no-To, Ibara-mochi and Other Sweets
Ibara-mochi is a steamed sweet of rice flour, sugar and bean paste wrapped in a smilax leaf, found across the whole of Mie Prefecture. In Kameyama the same sweet goes by the names dokkan-mochi and dokan-mochi. It is mainly a food for the May festival and the end of rice planting, but it has also been an everyday snack between farm work.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Fukawaya Sekinoto Honpo, Seki-no-To, box of 6 | 500 yen |
| Fukawaya Sekinoto Honpo, Seki-no-To, box of 10 | 850 yen |
| Fukawaya Sekinoto Honpo, Seki-no-To, box of 14 | 1,150 yen |
| Fukawaya Sekinoto Honpo, opening hours | 10:00 to 17:00 |
| Fukawaya Sekinoto Honpo, closed day | Thursdays |
| Michi-no-Eki Sekijuku, opening hours | 9:00 to 18:00 |
| Michi-no-Eki Sekijuku, parking lot and toilets | Usable 24 hours |
Fukawaya Sekinoto Honpo sells Seki-no-To in boxes of six, ten and fourteen pieces at the prices in the table above. Walking from JR Seki Station, Fukawaya Sekinoto Honpo is reached in about ten minutes. Fukawaya is closed on Thursdays, which is worth checking before building the day around the shop.
Planning the Day and Staying Nearby
Reception at the Seki-juku volunteer guides' office runs from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon. A walk with a guide takes about one to two hours as a guideline, which leaves the rest of the day for the museums and the sweet shop.
- The Seki-juku volunteer guides' office has reception hours of 9:00 to 17:00.
- The guided walk takes about 1 to 2 hours as a guideline.
Staying nearby lets the street be walked in the evening and again the next morning. For a castle town in the same prefecture, Matsusaka is covered in its own guide. If you would like more time in the area than a day allows, browse places to stay in Kameyama.