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West of Tono the main valley narrows, funnelling the road and railway along beside the Sarukaishi-gawa. The wooded southern hillside hides some unusual shrines and an appealing group of Buddha images, which make one of the best short trips out of Tono. Further up the valley, an imposing magariya farmhouse attracts a lot of attention, but it's better to save your energy for more accessible examples on the east side of town. Heading out of Tono on the south side of the river (on the old Route 283), look out after 2.5km for a stone staircase on the left. At the bottom of the steps, past the house, you'll find a tree festooned with red and white ribbons and, behind it, Unedori-jinja . This little shrine is dedicated to the god in charge of matrimonial affairs; if you want to get married, tie a red ribbon onto the tree with your left hand. Having wowed the god with your skill, go back and climb the stone steps, cross a lane and follow the path into a narrow, wooded valley filled with mossy stones. Keep looking closely at these stones; at first you won't see anything, but gradually faint outlines appear, then full faces and rounded bodies, until you're seeing little figures everywhere. Known as the Gohyaku Rakan , there are supposed to be five hundred of these Buddhist "disciples", which were carved by a local monk in the late eighteenth century to commemorate victims of a terrible famine in 1754. Before heading back down to the main road, turn right (east) along the lane and continue for 700m until you come to a torii on the right and a steep path leading up through the pine woods. At the top of a short, stiff climb there's a larger shrine building (usually locked) and two small shrines with a collection of phallic and female symbols made of stone or wood. Though rather dilapidated nowdays, this is one of the few remaining shrines dedicated to Konsei-sama , the local God of Fertility, and an interesting vestige of an ancient cult. The thatch-roofed Chiba Family Magariya (daily: April-Oct 8.30am-5pm; Jan-March, Nov & Decam-4pm; Y350) stands high above the valley some 11km west of Tono, north of the main valley up a steep sideroad. This two-hundred-year-old farmhouse was selected for restoration as an important example of a magariya , an L-shaped building with the stables in the shorter wing. It once housed the Chiba family plus fifteen labourers and twenty horses, but today it's rather empty and neglected. If you do venture out this way, take a look at the Tsuzuki Stone , 500m before the farmhouse and set back in the woods. Though it's said to be natural, the enormous, rounded boulder balanced on a smaller stone looks like a dolmen.
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