Former Site of Kinomoto-Juku Wholesale Market

The neoclassical building with Ionic columns at this spot replaced a traditional wooden wholesale market in 1935 and now operates as the Kinomoto Exchange Hall for cultural events. During the Edo period, travelers on the Hokkoku Kaido road stopped here to change horses and collect documents. The site also hosted the biannual Kinomoto Livestock Market from the Muromachi period through the early 20th century. Transactions there had a distinctive ritual: buyers indicated their price by squeezing or bending the seller's fingers inside their sleeve, and a deal was sealed with a clap of hands, forming a binding agreement.