Walk, see, hear, taste. Enjoy the history and charm of Odawara with all five senses!

Go, see, and feel the world of art
File.27Odawara City Street Museum
Miyuki Inoue (Magcal Editorial Department)

Odawara developed as a castle town, and since the Edo period, various people, goods, and cultures have come and gone as a key point of transportation. If you walk casually, a building that looks like a cultural property suddenly appears, and it is a town full of amazing things, such as being “open” as usual.
The Town Corner Museum is a place where you can walk around and experience historical assets that do not fit in such a glass case. I took a leisurely walk with a guidebook issued by Odawara City.

First, head to Chinriu Main Store "Odawara Ekimae Umeboshi Museum", which is a 3-minute walk from the east exit of Odawara Station.
In 1871 (Meiji 4), the restaurant ``Chinryutei'' opened in Odawara City. It is a specialty store of pickled plums, which has been renamed to Riu Honten.

In the back of the store, there are pickles barrels used in the early Meiji period and a cash register from the 1900s. You can feel the weight of history.

The highlight is the umeboshi collection, which is lined up in a row. Surprisingly, the oldest one is said to be from Tenpo 5 (1834). I would like to find the “Birthyear Umeboshi” of the year I was born.

As a small event, a "Umeboshi Quiz" was prepared, so I tried it.
Smell and taste the umeboshi to determine how the umeboshi is made and how it changes over the years, but this is surprisingly difficult. It seems that one person who participates in the quiz will win a present every month, so please try it.

Chinriu Main Store 《Odawara Ekimae Umeboshi Museum》
[Address] 1-2-1 Sakaemachi, Odawara City
［TEL］0120-30-4951
[Opening hours] 9:00-18:00
[regular holiday] January 1
* Click here for the official website!

Next is Ejima "Wagami Chaho".
The first generation started business in Odawara in 1661. At first, it was said that he ran a salt manufacturing business on the coast. In response to the demands of the times, they began to sell Japanese paper, and it is said that tea became their main product when they brought back tea, a specialty product, from Suruga and Totomi, where they had visited as a paper peddler.
The current building was rebuilt by Heihachi Ejima, the 15th generation owner, after it was destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake. The "dashigeta-zukuri" style, in which the eaves protrude, is said to be a tradition of Odawara's merchant houses.

The interior of the store has been renovated for earthquake resistance, but the museum area is worth seeing. Exhibits include deerskin happi coats made to commemorate the reconstruction from the earthquake and the completion of the building, as well as tea pots used by the famous tea master Dono Masuda.

The main product is tea, but there are Japanese papers from all over the country in the Japanese craft corner, and it's fun just to look at them.

Ejima, Japanese Paper Tea Shop
[Address] 2-13-7 Sakaemachi, Odawara City
［TEL］0465-22-1611
[Opening hours] 9:30-18:30
[regular holiday] Wednesday
* Click here for the official website !

At noon, head to the daruma restaurant , Noren to Taste Museum.
Founded in 1893 (Meiji 26). The store at that time was destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake, but it was later rebuilt using the abundant funds obtained from the big catch of yellowtail. The Karahafu Irimoya style building is designated as a nationally registered tangible cultural property.

The cafeteria on the 1st floor can be used casually without a reservation, so try "appreciating" while eating. Using high-quality Japanese cypress, pine, and zelkova procured from local lumber dealers, the building was handcrafted by first-class craftsmen, and everything from the walls to the ceiling looks like a work of art.

Many people mention horse mackerel sushi when they talk about the specialty of a Daruma restaurant, but we also recommend the tempura bowl, which has been around since the establishment. The tentsuyu (tempura dipping sauce), which is not allowed outside the restaurant, is a gem that is typical of a long-established restaurant that has been replenished to preserve the taste.

One room, which is open to the public as the "Town Corner Museum", is open to the public. It has a stylish atmosphere that is a bit different from the dining room, and it is said that it is still used as a reception room for meetings.

In addition to photographs of the legendary yellowtail landing, the brazier used by writer Chotaro Kawasaki is also on display.

Daruma Restaurant 《Noren and Taste Museum》
[Address] 2-1-30 Honmachi, Odawara City
［TEL］0465-22-4128
[Opening hours] 11:00-20:00
[regular holiday] From January 1 to 3
* Click here for the official website!

Ishikawa Lacquerware "Utsuwa Gallery" is where you can experience Odawara Lacquerware, which was born in the Muromachi period.
Founded in 1887 by the Ishikawa family, who had worked as spear lacquers for the Odawara clan since the Edo period. We are particular about using domestic materials, and we are consistently working on everything from woodworking to painting.

In the store, there are also displays of spears and tools that were relics of the Okubo clan's spear lacquer.
The exterior of the store has been reborn as a building, but the long history seems to be alive inside the store.

Since lacquerware is a natural product, it can be damaged if used. On the other hand, Odawara lacquerware can be repainted as many times as you like, so please ask at the store about the maintenance of your precious ware.

Ishikawa Lacquerware "Lacquer and Vessel Gallery"
[Address] 1-19-16-102 Sakaemachi, Odawara City
［TEL］0465-22-5414
[Opening hours] 10:00-18:00
[regular holiday] Wednesday
* Click here for the official website!

I would like to take a peek at the Matsuzakiya pottery shop "Tosai Gallery".
From the outside, it looks like an ordinary pottery store, but because it is a long-established store that opened in 1887, the "product inventory" collected by successive store owners is not extraordinary.

When you go up to the second floor, you will find a row of ceramics and glassware from all over Japan. Among the samples for business negotiations are the “products” that the previous generation and the generation after that purchased and left behind without selling. Some of them are difficult to obtain nowadays, so it's a feast for the eyes.

This is a teacup with a lid made with the Kutani calligraphic brush technique. Using advanced technology that is said to be difficult to reproduce today, characters are written on the inside.
By the way, most of them can be purchased if you want because they are just "products". However, as for the price, there are a lot of zeros, so I couldn't tell how much it was, even if I just looked at it.

Glassware by Eizo Kagami, which is also in the collection of the National Museum of Modern Art.
I have seen a reproduced replica on a TV appraisal program, but I remember that it was still a good price. this is the original. It must have been purchased as a collection using a professional information network and purchasing route. Merchant of Odawara, for sure!

Matsuzakiya Pottery Shop 《Tosai Gallery》
[Address] 3-1-44 Hamacho, Odawara City
［TEL］0465-24-2479
[Opening hours] 10:00-18:30 *Shop open until 19:00
[regular holiday] Sunday
* Click here for the official website!

Lastly, the Kashiwagi Art Foundry Research Institute "Sahari Gallery Meimonokan". It is a casting workshop that inherits the tradition from the Muromachi period.
During the Edo period, Odawara was the largest foundry base in the Kanto region, with about 100 craftsmen living there. As the demand for pots and pots has decreased, the number of metal casting craftsmen has been steadily decreasing, but by specializing in "music", new value is being created here.

"Sunabari" in the name of the museum is a type of bronze, an alloy of copper and tin that has been used as a material for audio equipment since ancient times. At Kashiwagi Art Foundry Research Institute, we manufacture and sell musical instruments that allow you to enjoy a more beautiful and long-lasting reverberation by devising the composition and shape.
For example, one of the Buddhist altar fittings "Orin". Until now, I had lived a life without much connection to Buddhist altars, but I felt that if I could be surrounded by such beautiful sounds, it would be nice to put my hands together with my ancestors every day.

Speaking of musical instruments, we must not forget the wind chimes. Odawara Casting came into the limelight when this wind chime was used in Akira Kurosawa's movie "Red Beard".
At the workshop, you can purchase a combination of your favorite wind chimes and strips of paper, so it is recommended as a souvenir. When you actually play them, each one has a different timbre, so you can't decide whether to choose by sound or by design.

Kashiwagi Art Foundry Laboratory 《Sunabari Gallery Music Museum》
[Address] 3-1-22 Nakamachi, Odawara City
［TEL］0465-22-4328
[Opening hours] 9:00-17:00
[Closed] 2nd, 4th, 5th Saturdays, Sundays, holidays
* Click here for the official website!

On the corners of Odawara, there are stone pillars inscribed with the old town names and their origins. I would like to take a leisurely walk through the history of the town while thinking about the bustle of the past.

In Odawara, there are many other town corner museums open to the public. All facilities are operated by volunteers, so don't forget your manners when visiting.

*For details, please see the "Town Corner Museum Guide Map" !