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Basho Memorial Museum Ogaki

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Researched and written by Hinato

BashoOku no HosomichiOgakispring waterhaiku

Photo: 円周率３パーセント / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · original

What Basho Memorial Museum Ogaki looked like originally and what it looks like now are two different stories — both worth knowing before you arrive.

Ogaki is where Oku no Hosomichi ends. Basho arrived here in 1689 after around 2,400 kilometres and five months on the road, met friends, and left by boat down the Suimon river with the closing verse about parting at Futami. The town has been the ending of the most famous travel book in Japanese literature ever since, and calls itself the place of the knot.

The museum on that spot has two halves: the Basho hall, which follows the whole journey with a film and displays, and a free tourist wing. Outside, a spring called Musubi-no-Izumi rises from a well 147 metres deep — Ogaki is built on artesian groundwater and is known as the city of water, with public springs around the streets. Admission to the Basho hall is ¥300 and the site by the old river landing is free to walk.

What to know before you go

When to go

Year-round | Early April for cherry blossom along the Suimon river

Opening hours

Basho and Senken halls 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Tourist and exchange wing 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM

Closed: Closed 29 December – 3 January | Occasional closures for exhibition changes

Time to allow

90 minutes

Fee

¥300 adults for the Basho and Senken halls | ¥150 groups of 20 or more | Free for under-18s | Tourist wing free

Finding your way there

Directions

Funamachi 2-26-1, Ogaki, at the old river landing. About a short walk from JR Ogaki Station. Closed 29 December – 3 January, with occasional closures for exhibition changes. The Musubi-no-Izumi spring outside draws from a well 147 m deep.

Beyond the guidebook

**This is the last page of the book.** Basho ended Oku no Hosomichi here and left by boat. Standing at the landing with the closing verse in mind is the whole reason to come. **The tourist wing is free and open until nine.** Which makes it a usable evening stop even when the Basho hall has closed at five. **Drink from Musubi-no-Izumi.** Artesian water from 147 metres, outside the building. Ogaki has public springs all over the centre and locals fill bottles at them. **Free for under-18s.** ¥300 otherwise. It is a small, well-made museum rather than a large one. **Walk the water route.** Shiki-no-Hiroba along the Suimon river, the springs and the old castle are all within twenty minutes on foot and are what the city is actually like.

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