Old Routes of Japan: Tracking down Japan off the beaten path from the eyes of a Japanese native

木野川渡し(Konogawa watashi) was the river crossing site on Oze(Kono) river of San’yodo/Saigoku Kaido highway. And it was the boarder of the country of Suo(周防:today’s southwestern Yamaguchi prefecture) and the country of Aki(安芸: today’s Hiroshima prefecture).  I use Kono River here, but the river is actually called Oze River as well. This is because the river has different names by Hiroshima and Yamaguchi locals. In Hiroshima, it has been called Kono, while it is called Oze in Yamaguchi.   This is one of places not featured on regular guidebook. It looks that, many people who know this place visit because of San’yodo/Saigoku Kaido trail.  We are sort of derailing off from the trail. Konogawa boat ride site had a honjin inn, in case of high water level of Kono river. Tsuya honjin’s gate has been preserved here.  This is my discovery from Google map/street views. Near Tsuya honjin inn, there is a good number of old houses as if this was late Edo or early Meiji period(mid to...

The picture is 松代(Matsushiro inn town) in Nagano city,  taken by me in September 2023.  The name “Hokkoku Kaido”(北国街道) refers to several routes which includes: 1) Eastern Nagano-western Niigata prefecture route. 2) Eastern Shiga - Fukui route. 3) Eastern Shiga - Fukui - Toyama - Niigata - Akita route. 4) Shiojiri - Nagano route.  According to my research, there is a significant overlap between  Hokkoku Kaido route 1) and Zenkoji Kaido route, which leads travelers to Zenkoji temple in downtown Nagano city.  Here in my blog, I am taking the route 1), therefore I named this series as “Hokkoku Kaido/Zenkoji Kaido series” in order to avoid confusion with other routes with “Hokkoku Kaido” name.  Starting point of the east:  Oiwake  (追分) - today’s Karuizawa town. Komoro (小諸) - Komoro city Tanaka (田中) and Unno (海野) - today’s Tomi city. These two inn towns were considered as one big inn town. Unno is certified as a Preservation District for Groups of Tradi...

小方(Ogata) unofficial inn town is about 20 minutes walk south of JR Kuba station.  According to a couple of guide maps, there is very little information.  I watched one of YouTube channels and read guide maps. And it looks like series of old houses start here. So I am guessing this is the beginning of Ogata unofficial inn town.  Basically going southwestward.  Turning right here.  Then turn left.  I am not sure if this structure of the road was built on purpose or not. Normally, if this was an official inn town, I would say yes.  In Ogata, there are very few signs that explain about San’yodo/Saigoku Kaido.  Off from the main route, there is Sainenji temple, built in 1615. This temple became one of hot spots of 1866 Second Choshu Expedition(also called Choshu War). Choshu army stationed here as their base camp, and a Tokugawa’s battleship fired a canon at this temple. You will still see the scar from the canon ball.  Kamei castle ruins is only ...

Some international cyclists might already know 長崎街道(Nagasaki Kaido highway) as the “Sugar Road”.  Nagasaki Kaido highway was a major route that connected northeast Kyushu with western parts of Kyushu island. It was considered as a Wakikaido, a sub-ranked highway. This just means that Tokugawa government did not directly involve in development and maintenance. This was true in very early stage of Edo period. Edo shogunate eventually took over management of major wakikaido routes. Nagasaki Kaido, along with San’yodo/Saigoku Kaido, were examples.  Historically, Nagasaki Kaido was one of the most important highways in Japan, because merchants used this route for international businesses in Nagasaki. In Edo period, especially during “Sakoku” national policy of isolation(1639-1854), Nagasaki was the only open port of international businesses and diplomacy with Dutch empire and Chinese dynasties.(Note that Nagasaki was not the only port of international businesses) Sugars were import...

Kanaya inn town, on the west riverside of Oi River, has the same role in Tokaido as Shimada inn town. But for most people, vintage steam engine ride of Oigawa Railways sounds more familiar.  I haven’t talked much about names of old countries of Japan, which is somewhat similar to prefecture system. But prior to 1868, these countries had more power, and Tokugawa central government was even more powerful.  And Kanaya was the country of 遠江(Totomi), and Shimada was the country of 駿河(Suruga).  Comparing to Shimada inn town Oigawa crossing ruins, Kanaya part does not appear to have much to see. Let’s find out.  West shore of port used to be around here. The sign shows there used to have the same facilities as east side of the river. For more details, check out my previous page.  On the left, according to Google reviews, there is a cafe of 110-year-old house. 110 years old means it was built in around 1915…might not have anything to do with old Tokaido time.  Akih...