OLD ROAD TO TŌKAIDŌ
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The Tōkaidō road was laid out, like other major roads, in the days of Kamakura to connect the centre of power with other major cities, including Kyoto. It experienced considerable development during the Edo period, when it became a real pedestrian highway. Lords from all over the country had to travel to Edo regularly and those coming from the south of the archipelago all passed through Tōkaidō. It is our turn to follow this paved road to Moto-Hakone (3h30 walk). It is currently used mainly by hikers, but under the cedars planted more than 360 years ago to shelter the hikers, we can still feel the buzz and bustle of the hikers of yesteryear, the squeaking of the palanquins. We then pass by the Amazake-Chaya tea house, which for 12 generations has been serving a fermented rice drink (amazake) and rice balls to travellers and hikers. There were 53 such stages along the road, called shukuba and immortalized in 1832 by Hiroshige in the "53 Stations of Tōkaidō". Today there are only a few, including Amazake Chaya and Chojiya in Shizuoka Prefecture.
On the side of Lake Ashi, the road continues in the avenue of cryptomerias or sugi-namiki (the avenue of old cedars) for a length of 2 km to the checkpoint of Hakone. This one comes to pleasantly close this historical walk in the footsteps of the Japanese lords and their suites.
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