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

(Picture below: Hiroshige Utagawa, “ Totsuka; Moto Machi Betsudo”, published in 1834. The original print from The Metropolitan Library of Arts, New York City. Public domain. Accessed in 2/16/2025) Before entering Totsuka inn town, there are a few things we want to cover. First, Shinanosaka is the first steepest hill from Edo, and the last steep hill to overcome from Kyoto side.  After you go down on Shinanozaka for about 3.4 km, there is a sign on Google map that says “The warehouse of Kamakura Ham”.  Kamakura Ham was originally made by William Curtis from England in 1887, in Kamakura county of Kanagawa prefecture. Today, Kamakura county itself has been merged with several cities including Yokohama, Kamakura and Fujisawa.  I did more research about this warehouse. I cannot convince myself that this is the warehouse.  Then I saw the website of Yokohama Kokudo office, Kanto Regional Development Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism. accor...

Hodogaya Tokaido inn town was where is just a block or two from JR Hodogaya station.  Before entering Hodogaya inn town, there is a crossroad(追分: Oiwake, meaning crossroad) we will pass by. The road on the left is Tokaido, and the one on the right is old Hachioji Kaido. There is a sign at the corner of the house between these two roads.  The next street view is where the east end of Hodogaya inn town used to be, called Edogata-Mitsuke(江戸方見附). Mitsuke in the context of Kaido inn towns is basically a watchtower or guards to ensure the security of inn town. There are usually two Mitsuke: one toward Edo, the other toward Kyoto.  Tokaido goes under Sotesu line Tennocho station, then bears left and merge to a big road. Right before merging point, there is a monument of old Katabira bridge, where the bridge used to be prior to 1965. Today, Katabira River runs on north side of Tennocho station. Prior to that, the river was right underneath the monument.(See the picture below) The...

I wrote about Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings, aka Judenken(重伝建築) on one of Japan travel group in order to help internationals find hidden gems by themselves a while ago. I re-edited my posting to be more helpful.  Have you heard “Judenken(重伝建)”? What is “Judenken”?  It’s the shortened form of “Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings”(重要伝統的建造物群保存地区, Jūyō Dentōteki Kenzōbutsu-gun Hozon-chiku). These areas are protected by the Japanese government; certified by the Agency of Cultural Affairs.  There are a lot of Judenken areas that are ON THE BEATEN PATHS. For example, Takayama, Kyoto, Kanazawa, Hagi etc. have wide areas of Judenken. Tsumago, Shirakawago, Gokayama, Ouchi, Kawagoe, Miyajima all have Judenken area. However, quite a few of Judenken areas are NOT ON THE RADAR OF INTERNATIONALS.  The National Council of Traditional Buildings Preservation Districts(全国伝統的建造物群保存地区協議会, aka Denkenkyo: the English n...

Moving on to Kanagawa inn town, located north of modern-day Yokohama station.  The access to this inn town is great: Keikyu Kanagawa-Shinmachi, Nakakido, Kanagawa and Yokohama stations, as well as JR Higashi-Kanagawa, Kanagawa and Yokohama stations all are within short walk from parts of Kanagawa inn town.  https://www.city.yokohama.lg.jp/kanagawa/shokai/rekishi/syuku.files/0026_20190327.pdf  (神奈川県横浜市神奈川区「神奈川宿歴史の道」 accessed in 2/3/2025) This map and Google map show that a good part of Kanagawa inn town has been butchered by the National route 15. And there are signs that show where the inn town used to be. When you look at the map, there are still shrines and temples along the Tokaido Highway.  Btw I don’t think this is a typical tourist site in Yokohama… Going on the street view.  First of all, this is what I found.  Urashima Taro is a famous story that every Japanese kid learns, and is often used as an idiomatic expression that a person who returned to hi...

 As I was looking at street views of Tokaido Kawasaki inn town, I have to say that, shopping malls and buildings occupy both sides of the street.  There are temples and shrines that tell us old days of Kawasaki inn town: Inage shrine, Sousanji temple(est. in around 1180-early 1200s), Kawasaki Inari shrine, Ichigyoji temple(est. in 1631) and so on.  Let’s look for something else that tells us about old Tokaido Kawasaki inn town.  Tokaido Kawasakishuku Koryukan is a museum that tells us the history and culture of Edo-time Kawasaki.  The street view above is at the corner of Sousanji temple, built some time between late 12th century and early 13th century.  There are vending machines, information boards, signs that create atmosphere of old Tokaido inn town.  The following guide maps help you figure out where Honjin was, where the popular Edo-time ryokans was etc. Especially, Kawasaki Tokaido Tourist Guide Map is detailed. I have posted useful links at the...

On your way to Shinagawa from Nihonbashi, you will pass by Takanawa Great Wooden Gate ruins. This was described in Hiroshige’s ukiyoe picture.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takanawa_Great_Wooden_Gate  (Takanawa Great Wooden Gate. Wikipedia. Accessed in 1/29/2025) This gate was literally the gateway to the city of Edo for those coming from outside Edo, and vice versa. It is not a mere coincidence that the nearest JR train station is called Takanawa Gateway.  Now we are entering Shinagawa inn town, the “first” inn town of Tokaido highway on Edo side. (Picture below: Shinagawa station, taken by this writer) The beginning of Shinagawa inn town is actually on the southeastern edge of JR Shinagawa station, near the railway crossing of Keikyu line. Moreover, JR and Keikyu Shinagawa stations are not in Shinagawa ward of metropolitan Tokyo. It’s actually in Minato-ward.😆 Red-white stripe lines show the city boarder of Shinagawa and Minato. Then the heart mark is where Shinagawa ...