Blog posts
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2. Warabi-shuku
Warabi-shuku, the second post station from Tokyo, was famous for its weaving industry during the Edo period. There were several textile factories, store houses filled with cloth, cotton and threads, merchant houses selling their products, and a contingent of people,… more
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1. Itabashi-shuku
Itabashi-shuku is the first post station of the the sixtynine along the way from Tokyo towards Kyoto. In the beginning it was composed of three different, smaller hamlets called, in the order coming from Tokyo, Hirao-shuku, Naka-shuku, and Kami-shuku. Hirao… more
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Posts about the post stations
Over the next several weeks I’ll write a blog post for each one of all the sixtynine post stations, or shukuba, along the Nakasendō, as well as one each for the ones that have been lost in the shuffle over… more
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Spreading information during the Edo period
Kōsatsuba or seisatsu were message boards where government declamations, edicts, rulings and other kinds of official information could be posted. That could include new laws, information about what kinds of activities the government thought to be harmful to the state,… more
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More fun things
The featured photo up above shows the 24 metres tall Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn statue that stands in front of the DiverCity shopping mall on Odaiba, in Tokyo. It will be taken down some time after the summer of ’26. more
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Manhole covers in Japan
Having a specific type of manhole cover for your town’s sewage drains or fire hydrants seems to be a point of local pride in Japan. There are thousands and thousands of different designs all over the country. Along the Nakasendō… more
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Return of the Son of Weirdness, part II.
Here are some more interesting things I encountered on my hike from Tokyo to Kyoto. This is from an ordering website at a restaurant: The featured image of the this post is a view from the hotel that overlooks the… more
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More weirdness and fun
North of Tokyo, the city ended and the wilderness began. I did rest on this “bench”, and it was a great place to pause on the hike! I stayed longer than a minute, though. I will do a couple of… more
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Post hiking weirdness and fun
I have encountered a lot of fun, weird and perplexing stuff that didn’t have anything to do with the Nakasendō on my hike across Japan. I thought I’d give it a whirl and share some of these things that I’ve… more
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67. to 69. and 70. Moriyama to Ōtsu, and to Kyoto
This post describes the last quivering legs of the journey, and finally arriving in Kyoto. But it was a lengthy trek, first yesterday and then today before I could step onto the Sanjō Ōhashi, the bridge where the Nakasendō and… more