Odawara is, by far, among inn towns between Nihonbashi and Odawara, the most popular place to visit. It’s the crossroads for Hakone and Atami. Plus, Odawara has a historically significant castle, known for the siege of Odawara in 1590 by lord Hideyoshi Toyotomi against Ujimasa Hojo. Seafood lovers should try its Kamaboko fish cake, fried fish and of course, raw fish.
One of the most popular convenience stores in Japan, Lawson, is completely camouflaged as an Edo-style house.
There is a sign to show where Edogata-Mitsuke(Edo-side guard gate) used to be. But there seems to be two signs of Edogata-Mitsuke. And both point out slightly different places in the same area.
This one is probably the most accurate location of Edogata-Mitsuke guard gate.
This one probably just show that there used to be Edogata-Mitsuke around this area. A small column with the light and the roof is the sign.
One of the first signs to tell us about old-day Odawara inn town is probably this old warehouse on the left of the picture. Most likely, there was a house in front of this warehouse but as the road was widened for cars, these houses must have been either destroyed, or relocated, as roads in Edo time were narrower.
The gate of this house is apparently of the original Odawara castle. There are reports in local SNS groups about it, but we don’t know the detail except the owner brought the gate from the castle.
Old Tokaido goes southeastward at the intersection of Shinjuku, right before this gate.
For a while, Tokaido goes on narrower road, and it can be boring. You will see stone monuments of old town names like Yorozu Cho. Otherwise, just be patient.
Joining R-1 again, there is an early showa-era old house on the left. Built in 1932, this house used to a a fishnet wholesale shop. Today, it’s a tourist rest house and tourist info center called Odawara-shuku Nariwai Koryukan. It’s temporarily closed until 7/31/2025 for strengthening the anti-earthquake structure.
We pass by several monuments including former Kataoka honjin inn. There were 4 honjin VIP inns in Odawara, which means that Odawara was a big town. Then we pass by Konishi pharmacy.(picture on the right)
This pharmacy building was destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake, then they used materials of former building to restore.
When you see Itabashi-Mitsuke intersection, this is the end of Odawara inn town. Then take a right at the intersection to continue our Tokaido journey. Here we pass by Koenji temple, established in 1651.
And even after the inn town ends, along Tokaido there are still old houses.
Odawara is a big city, and this blog cannot cover all of what the city offers. Highlight of history of Odawara is definitely medieval time, however, notable people lived Odawara and lived there in late 1800s-early 1900s.
On reference section, I will include Odawara city guide website which includes pdf guide map. Due to the copyrights, it looks that I am not allowed to post pdf Odawara guide map on my blog. But it’s on their website.
JR, Odakyu, Fujihakone railways Odawara station is the hub of this city. Tokaido Shinkansen bullet trains Kodama and some of Hikari expresses stop at Odawara, which makes your Japan travel easier. If you want travel cheaper from Tokyo, there are many local and rapid trains for Odawara and Atami. JR East Odoriko express stops at Odawara as well. From Shinjuku, Odakyu has Romance car express that takes you to Odawara with comfortable seats.
References:
Odawara Guide. Odawara city. https://www.city.odawara.kanagawa.jp/kanko/language/english/ (Accessed in 3/26/2025)
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