Noboritate-jaya Teahouse Remains

The Noboritate-jaya was the last teahouse on the Ogumotori-goe pilgrimage route before reaching Nachi, or the first stop after leaving it. It also served as a marketplace where fishing village residents from Nachi and merchants from the inland town of Tanabe met to trade. The teahouse was so woven into daily life that locals called it simply uma-tsunagi, or hitching post. Teahouses like this were common along the Kumano Kodo, providing rest and refreshment for pilgrims at key points along the route. Most closed in the late nineteenth century as pilgrim traffic declined; only the site and its story remain.