Architecture on Menoji-dori Street maintains its traditional style, with udatsu extending above the roof on both sides of each building unit. Left: A residence that was formerly a rice store. Right: This udatsu has a shape that is unusual even for this neighborhood.

Take a stroll along Menoji-dori Street near the city center and you will surely notice some unique roofs in this old, well-preserved district: above the tiled roofs of the row buildings are structures extending above the roofline at both ends of each unit. These fancy add-ons are called udatsu, which were originally built as firewalls dividing each unit, but over time merchants who became rich in the washi trade or other businesses constructed and decorated udatsu, as a sign of their wealth and perhaps to out-do their neighbors. Udatsu designs differ, depending partly on the time of construction and the depth of the original owners’ pockets. At any rate, it is fun to look up and compare. One roof, for a sake brewery built around 1773, has an arched shape and interesting udatsu. It will certainly draw your eyes.

The area around Menoji-dori Street has a number of old houses renovated to serve as tearooms, eating and drinking establishments, and shops selling washi products. Stroll through traditional architecture highlighted by ornate udatsu, and savor tastes of nature in the form of local Mino chicken, ayu fish and edible wild plants. If you are looking for souvenirs, you will find a wide selection. How about decorative washi to stick on glass for a restful mood, or a washi mobile, or socks and towels woven from washi thread? All of these, and others too, express the subtle charm of Japan’s own traditional paper.

Walk a little further, to the bank of the Nagara River, to see the suspension bridge with crimson railings, and the old-fashioned lighthouse with a stonewall foundation on the remains of a riverboat dock, reminding us of days long gone. Home to washi, Mino is a place of natural beauty and history that you will surely want to visit.