品川宿(Tokaido Shinagawa inn town)

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 inn town Honjin appointed inn used to be. You will notice and wonder why there is Kita(north)-Shinagawa station if Keikyu line is located on the south of JR/Keikyu Shinagawa station. Then you will realize…wait a second…Shinagawa station is NOT in the city of Shinagawa. 
This is because where the current station is located used to be a part of Shinagawa “prefecture” since 1869 by the Meiji government. Then later, the local government structures were changed, and Shinagawa station became a part of Minato-city of Tokyo. 
Alright, we could spend more time to take scenic routes, but let’s get into Shinagawa inn town.
When you enter the inn town, you’re not gonna know if this used to be one of the largest inn towns in Tokaido because it’s just a scene of a normal Japanese city.
On the picture of Google street view below, you will see the modern-day version of information board of Shinagawa inn town. If you don’t understand Japanese language, just memorize pictures on the information map. For the convenience of finding something from Edo time.  

 There is a road on the left, curving to the right then going over the railway crossing. This is Tokaido Highway. Often the original route of Tokaido is referred to as 旧東海道(Kyu-Tokaido), aka “Old Tokaido”.
Today, it is not easy to find what Shinagawa inn town used to be. Although the damage from air raids during WWII, most of pre-WWII buildings and structures has been replaced with modern-day ones. But you will still see some old houses. And you will notice that the road is narrow so it is not easy for two cars to pass by, or they can barely pass by. This is typical in old inn towns and Kaidos.(picture on the right from Google street view)
This building has a sign that indicates where Toiya, the administrative office/cargo terminal was. Again, if you don’t remember the pictures of the information board at the beginning of the inn towns, you won’t be able to figure out where this is. 
By the way, the information board I initially mentioned last week was quite different. The information board in Edo period was filled with town rules and punishments. This was more like the ones we see at work. Information boards at work in the US and Canada at least tell you about minimal wage rules, equal opportunity rules, non discriminatory rules and punishments etc. But one of Edo-period rules was to report Christians to the authority. I am a Christian. If it were 160 years ago, I would’ve been reported, arrested and probably executed.😅

The Google street view above shows that there is a pine tree given as a gift from a person in Hamamatsu city in 1993. There are some more pine trees donated by other people of townships that used to be parts of Tokaido, throughout Shinagawa inn town. Along the Edo Five Routes, pine trees were very common to be seen. 
There are other things that indicate what Shinagawa inn town used to be. There was a ruin of stone foundation a step off from the Tokaido. If you want to visit temples and shrines, you will be surprised to know that several temples by and near Shinagawa inn town are, really ancient: Honsenji(品川寺: est. sometime in 806-810), Kaianji(海晏寺: est. in 1251),  Kaiunji(海雲寺: became independent from Kaiunji in 1596), and Tenmyukokuji(天妙国寺: est. in 1285). These temples tell us something about Edo/Tokyo area prior to Edo shogunate. The main street has re-created some atmosphere of Edo-time Shinagawa. One of example is elementary school gate.( see the picture on the right) A friend of mine told me that his wife is from this part of Shinagawa, and they both like the town very much because everybody knows each other and friendly. But for most part, Shinagawa inn town is where you enjoy 1950s-1980s Showa-Era atmosphere. For those who do not understand Japanese language, I highly recommend to hire a local guide because most of info about Shinagawa inn town does not have good English translation, or even if there are, they do not seem to provide concrete guide. I would check out tourist office or JR East travel concierge at Shinagawa station. 
I am listing further references for those who wish to explore Shinagawa deeper. If you find something more interesting, please let me know. 
Shinagawa inn town has very easy access from Tokyo Haneda international airport. The closest JR station is Shinagawa station. However, Keikyu Kita-Shinagawa, Shinbaba and Aomono-Yokocho are all the closest to parts of Shinagawa inn town. If you have 7-8 hour layover in HND, you would want to check out. 

Let’s get out of Tokyo. 

References: 
Honsenji temple. Aomono Yokocho Shopping Street. Accessed in 1/29/2025. https://aoyoko.ch/en/honsenji-temple/
海晏寺 Kaianji. Wikipedia. Accessed in 1/29/2025. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B5%B7%E6%99%8F%E5%AF%BA
Kaiunji temple. Aomono Yokocho Shopping Street. Accessed in 1/29/2025. https://aoyoko.ch/en/kaiunji-temple/
Monumento. 品川宿の松(The pine tree in Shinagawa inn town) Accessed in 1/29/2025. https://ja.monumen.to/spots/7756
Shinagawa-Shuku Preserves the Culture of Tokaido. Tips for Tokyo Life. Tokyo Intercultural Portal Site. Accessed in 1/29/2025. https://tabunka.tokyo-tsunagari.or.jp/english/useful/life_in_tokyo/article/2021/04/lit-article28.html
Tenmyokokuji temple. Aomono Yo kocho Shopping Street. Accessed in 1/29/2025. https://aoyoko.ch/en/temmyokokuji-temple/
Tokaido Shinagawa-shuku. Live Japan Perfect Guide. Accessed in 1/29/2025. https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-tokyo/in-shinagawa/spot-lj0002295/
東海道品川宿マップ　東京都品川区(City of Shinagawa, Tokyo. Map of Shinagawa inn town, Tokaido). Accessed in 1/29/2025.

























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