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

Thank you so much for reading my blog!  Here I am showing my rough schedule of the year.(These are my goals. Schedules are subject to change)  Tokaido series: will be completed by August.  Saigoku Kaido series: will be completed by October.  Minoji series: will start in July.  Hokkoku Kaido/Zenkoji Kaido series: will start in September.  Nagasaki Kaido series: will start in October.  Koshu Kaido series: will start in November.   Izumo Kaido series: will start in December or January 2026.   Other lineups of old routes are:  Nikko Kaido Hokurikudo/Hokkoku Kaido Oshu Kaido Inaba Kaido  Hida Kaido San’indo Tanba Kaido Ise Kaido And so on… I will write overviews of each route in advance because for some, waiting for me to complete each inn town can be very anxious and/or boring.  However, I am writing this blog not to make money. I am writing to archive Japan’s old routes so that it’ll be easier to find lesser-known places. Above al...

Numazu is the 13th station, or inn town of Tokaido. It is a well-known fisherman’s port.  Yellow arrow is the route on this picture below.  On the previous picture, northeastern section from the 90 degree turn of the Tokaido route used to be a medieval castle called Sanmaibashi castle. It was originally built by Katsuyori Takeda in 1579. Sanmaibashi castle was one of an important bases of Takeda clan.(They were based in today’s Yamanashi prefecture and southern Nagano) Later, Tokugawa shogunate reused the original structure to build Numazu castle.  Today, part of stone base of the castle is seen here. But you can see very little of what Sanmaibashi and Numazu castles used to be.  The picture on the right shows the monument of Numazu inn town. Numazu was not only an inn town, but also a castle town, just like Odawara.  Another one I circled(bottom center) is where Nakamura wakihonjin inn used to be.  We are passing by where Shimizu honjin inn used to be. The...

 Koya(昆陽) inn town is in Itami city, Osaka prefecture. For most people, Itami is known for Osaka International Airport, aka Itami airport.  There are other features along Saigoku Kaido in Itami city such as Itamizaka hill. But I am omitting these here and focusing on much closer part of the inn town. Otherwise this blog takes forever to finish one long route.  The picture on the right is a crossroad to Arima Kaido, which connects Arima onsen hot spring in today’s northern Kobe city and eastern Amagasaki city. There is a sign on this picture. But we will skip Arima Kaido for now.  Today, it is not easy to find hints of old days of Saigoku Kaido. But there are still some.  You will see some signs on the route. This is one of them to explain about Saigoku Kaido route in this area.  The center of today’s Koya inn town has the city hall and the main police office. It is still the administrative center of Itami city.  I found another old house…I don’t know h...

 Some extra scenes from Mishima.(All pictures taken by me in 2023) Mt.Fuji on a cloudy day, 430am. (May 2023) The next two pictures: the sign of Sengandoi aqueduct, and the aqueduct from above.  The next picture: the sign of Genbei river.  Genbei river near Mishima-Hirokoji station.  A sign with more detailed explanations about Genbei river. Mishima is a part of UNESCO Izu Peninsula Geopark.  Shirataki park, just about 5 minutes walk from JR Mishima station South Gate. The sign says “Watch out your step as lava rock is exposed”. Fyi the lava is not hot at all Sakura river that comes from Komonoike pond. The pond itself has water spring.  Next picture: Shirataki park. Spring water is gushing out of everywhere. Just like Komonoike pond, this pond has many water springs.  A gray heron at Komonoike pond. September 2023. Spring water gushing out of the ground underneath an apartment complex.  Not many international travelers explore downtown Mishima. B...

 Segawa inn town is in Minoo city, Osaka prefecture.  Minoo city is famous for Minoo waterfall, but that’s way up in north of the city.  Segawa inn town is in south of the city along Hankyu railways Minoo line.  This is one of inn towns that I had hard time in my research. There are very little information online. And Google map does not show much about Segawa inn town. I see very few shrines and temples. Segawa shrine is probably the most notable one. Otherwise, I see Osaka university and Osaka International airport(not Kansai International airport) nearby. If anybody lives in Minoo or if you are a Minoo native, I would love to hear from you.  As other inn towns have, there are some old houses, probably dating back to late Edo or early Meiji period. But according to my research, most part of the inn town is just like many other places of late 20th century Japan.  When I see old houses, I smile and get excited.  Former Segawa honjin inn is now a drivin...

Alright, finally we are approaching Mishima inn town.  M Before entering Mishima inn town, there is a rock to tie your horse while paying a visit to Hokyoin temple, which is literally 2 blocks down from here. line.  Once you cross this bridge, you are entering Mishima inn town. Right after the bridge, there used to be Edo-side guards.  According my my street view research, there are some old houses.  I went to Mishima several times including western part of Tokaido Mishima inn town.  Today, Edo-time houses are very scarce, and lots of 1950-1980’s houses and buildings are standing.  The white warehouse is a warehouse for Dashi float. Dashi floats in Mishima are used during the annual festival of Mishima Taisha shrine on August 15th, and people pull and drag dashi around the downtown.  Mishima Taisha shrine is one of the most famous attractions in Mishima. It is a very ancient shrine that we don’t know when it was established. Including this shrine, ther...