関戸宿(Sekido inn town): first inn town in Yamaguchi prefecture

My San’yodo/Saigoku Kaido journey is entering the last chapter: Yamaguchi prefecture. 

The biggest challenge I am encountering in my research is that, there are very few good resources about San’yodo/Saigoku Kaido trails in Yamaguchi prefecture. Even Google map does not track down old San’yodo/Saigoku Kaido anymore. So I might make more mistakes in tracking down the trail in this section. I did found several blogs of persons who traveled on this trail on foot. Plus, I am also referring to The Route of a 900-km Pilgrimage from Kyoto to Nagasaki(In Japanese: 日本二十六聖人　長崎への旅　巡礼MAP), published by Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan. 

Although I cannot locate the exact place of the east gate of Sekido inn town, 
Sekido is in a small valley. I could not find the name of the brook in this valley. This is another reason to visit Iwakuni city. 
This is one of a few things that Google map points out. Google map says this is the east Wakihonjin inn ruins. 
The honjin inn ruins. There are two information boards and a few monuments that I cannot see what’s written from the image. Most recently, the building in this property was as used as a community meeting place. But the Google map also said that it has been closed. 
From here, you can go up to Maroudo shrine. Google map says Kyaku jinja, but it is pronounced as Maroudo, by writing 客(Kyaku). 
I see some old houses, but I am not sure if this is over a century-old house or not. 
A blogger(see the reference) wrote that the old house next to the big one was as used as a hospital during the Second Choshu Expedition(1866). 
It can be a nice walk. But from my research, I do not see any restaurants or cafes. For those who are planning to hike this area need to prepare your own meal, snack and beverage. 
Google map shows that this is Makino wakihonjin. There is no sign or information boards to explain. 
San’yodo/Saigoku Kaido route turns right, joining national R-2for a while. 
The access is challenging. There are a few buses from JR Iwakuni station to Sekido bus stop. There are only 5-6 services a day, with reduced services on weekends/holidays. 

The next stop is 御庄宿(Misho) unofficial inn town. 





References: 

周防国の街道・古道一人旅ー旧山陽道(西国街道)・防長路を歩くー www.sakura64.sakura.ne.jp/index.html (In Japanese only. Accessed in 4/23/2026)


山口県岩国市関戸宿跡　試撃行　https://access21-co.xsrv.jp/shigekikou/archives/18875 (In Japanese only. Accessed in 4/22/2026)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

山陽道/西国街道(San’yodo/Saigoku Kaido overview)

Image
While we are still working on Tokaido chapter, I decided to start working on San’yodo/Saigoku Kaido chapter.  What routes were covering west of Tokaido prior to modern-day Japan? Which was the popular route in west Japan that people used in order to go east?  Today JR Tokaido line officially goes down to JR Kobe station in Kobe city, and Tokaido Shinkansen goes down to Shin-Osaka station. Beyond these stations, you will notice that these train line names are changed: JR San’yo line from Kobe station, and San’yo Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka station.  Old San’yodo(旧山陽道) starts at Kyoto, and goes through north shore of the river Yodo, bypassing modern-day downtown Osaka, then through Kobe, Himeji, Okayama, Hiroshima, and to Shimonoseki, with the 577km length in total. This route is actually longer than old Tokaido or old Nakasendo. Until the administrative capital was moved from Kyoto to Edo(modern-day Tokyo), San’yodo was regarded as more prestigious than Tokaido and Nakasend...
Read more

東海道(Tokaido) overview

Image
(The picture above: Futagawa Tokaido inn town, Toyohashi city. Captured by me in March 2025.) Here is the overview of my Tokaido highway series. (I will update episodes as I publish each time)  Tokyo-Nihonbashi:  https://off-the-beaten-paths-japan.blogspot.com/2025/01/starting-kaido-101-tokaidonakasendo.html?m=1 Tokyo-Shinagawa:  https://off-the-beaten-paths-japan.blogspot.com/2025/02/tokaido-shinagawa-inn-town.html?m=1 Kawasaki:  https://off-the-beaten-paths-japan.blogspot.com/2025/02/getting-out-of-tokyo-kawasaki.html?m=1 Yokohama-Kanagawa:  https://off-the-beaten-paths-japan.blogspot.com/2025/02/urashima-taro-hokusais-high-waves.html?m=1 Yokohama-Hodogaya:  https://off-the-beaten-paths-japan.blogspot.com/2025/02/hodogaya-hatagoold-inn-still-exists.html?m=1 Yokohama-Totsuka:  https://off-the-beaten-paths-japan.blogspot.com/2025/02/first-ham-made-in-japan-musashisagami.html?m=1 Fujisawa:  https://off-the-beaten-paths-japan.blogspot.com/2025/03/fu...
Read more

Starting the Kaido 101: Tokaido/Nakasendo-Nihonbashi(日本橋)

Image
 I wonder how many of my readers thought how long this guy’s lecture will continue.  As a visual learner, I would prefer to get the basic quickly, then as I practice, I want to go in depth.  One of the most popular trails of Kaidos is probably Tokaido. Some might say Nakasendo is arguably the best. But historically Tokaido has been a top traffic route, probably “the busiest” one. It is hard to figure out data of Edo period. One research shows that 40,000-260,000 people used parts of Tokaido, while  most parts of Nakasendo hardly reached more than 50,000 travelers. (Resource: “Main routes traffic amount n Edo period” by Ryoichi Tsuchida. 1982. 土田良一著「江戸時代における街道交通量」歴史地理学通号117  歴史地理学会編　1982年6月発行   http://hist-geo.jp/img/archive/117_028.pdf ) Today, “Tokaido” Shinkansen is often referred to as “The Aorta of Japan.  The Tokaido route consists of 53 stations(inn towns), from Edo(Tokyo) to Kyoto. Some would add 4 more stations(inn towns between Kyoto and Osaka...
Read more