せとだんち・Setodanchi
Located on the east side of the Yoshino river along a small tributary, this hamlet was constructed to relocate residents formerly living further down this same road in 瀬戸, which is now uninhabited. The road was far away and prone to landslides and it is said that they preferred to live closer to civilization without the worry of their road being cut off by fallen trees and boulders.
The name of the tributary that this road runs along is the Nakaoku river. The further you go up this road, the purer the water becomes. Some of the best places to swim and fish are here and on weekends in the warmer months you’ll find dozens of people from Osaka and other cities hanging out along the river here. If you decide to join their ranks, please clean up any mess that you create and take your trash home with you so that others can enjoy this purity as well.
This is a fantastic road to jog along. Between here and Sogio right along the road you will see some of the oldest trees in the village–many well over 200 years old. This is an example of a swath of what a plantation cedar forest should look like: well-kept and evenly spaced trees so that undergrowth can form to support a diverse ecosystem. These trees are beautiful and are frequently photographed by professional photographers visiting the village.
