Because the Akasawa Area in Hayakawa Town is along the Minobe Okan road that connects Minobusan (Mount Minobu) Kuon-ji Temple, the head temple of Nichiren Sect, and sacred Mount Shichimen, it flourished as a Kochu-yado, an inn for worshippers. Its history began in the Edo Period (1602-1868). In the middle of the Edo Period, a ban prohibiting women from visiting Mount Shichimen was lifted after Oman-no-kata, a concubine of Tokugawa Ieyasu, pushed for its repeal, and it became popular to worship at Mount Minobu in groups called “Ko,” which encouraged worshippers to stay in Akasawa during their journey. According to documents, in the early Meiji Period (1868-1912), nine out of 34 households opened inns, and mountain carrier-guide services for worshippers and services for carrying luggage and goods increased. In and after 1955, along with the improvement of roads and transportation, the role as Kochu-yado ended. However, because the buildings and townscapes still evoke the atmosphere of the old days, the area is designated a Nationally-selected Preservation District for Groups of Historic Buildings.