BRITISH SCHOOL IN TOKYO WALKJAPAN. Pre-tour Pack THE. Educational

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1 WALKJAPAN Educational THE BRITISH SCHOOL IN TOKYO Pre-tour Pack The following details should provide you with the information you will need to prepare for and join the tour. Please print it out and bring it with you to the Relay. If you have any questions, or require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us at either: Included in this document are: - Access details for our hotel in Kyoto. - Contact details for Walk Japan and the accommodation we use en-route. - Weather & check list. - Rules of running. - Itinerary. - Travel advice. - Map. - Nakasendo Way & Japan s old highways.

2 Tour joining instructions Tour joining instructions Walk Japan staff will meet the BST Team in Kyoto at 6pm on Day 1 in the lobby of Toyoko Inn Kyoto Shijo-Karasuma. The Relay finishes in Tokyo on Day 7 after arriving at Nihonbashi. First night s accommodation: Toyoko Inn Kyoto Shijo-Karasuma, Tel: ( when dialling from outside Japan). Check-in time at the hotel is 4 pm. If you arrive early, however, you can leave your luggage at the hotel and return later. The team meets in the foyer at 7:30pm to go out to dinner together. The tour briefing takes place during dinner. Toyoko Inn Kyoto Shijo-Karasuma 2

3 Contact & accommodation details Contact telephone numbers BST staff joining the Relay: Julia Maeda: Brian Christian: Alice Wright: Adriaan Defraeije: Sean Boyes: Yuya Kobayashi: British School in Tokyo General contact number: Emergency contact number (Chris Nicholls): Walk Japan staff joining the Relay: Paul Christie: Mario Anton: Yohei Totsuka: & Mayumi Sumitani: Accommodation Walk Japan General contact number: Emergency contact number: Day 1 Kyoto Toyoko Inn Kyoto Shijo Karasuma Tel: Fax: Check-in 4pm. WiFi internet access & laundry facilities available. Day 2 Gifu Toyoko Inn Gifu Tel: Fax: Check-in 4pm. WiFi internet access & laundry facilities available. Day 3 O-Tsumago Maruya Inn Tel: Fax: Check-in 3pm. WiFi internet access & laundry facilities available. Day 5 Takasaki Toyoko Inn Takasaki-eki Nishiguchi No. 1 Tel: Fax: Check-in 4pm. WiFi internet access & laundry facilities available. Day 6 Omiya Toyoko Inn Saitama Shin-toshin Tel: Fax: Check-in 4pm. WiFi internet access & laundry facilities available. Day 7 Tokyo N/A. Day 4 Lake Suwa Route Inn Dai-ni Suwa Inter Tel: Fax: Check-in 3pm. WiFi internet access & laundry facilities available. 3

4 Weather & check list Weather Late June, Early July: Day temperatures will be warm to hot (18 ~ 33ºC or 64 ~ 91ºF) in the lowlands. On the high passes temperatures will be slightly cooler (14 ~ 20ºC or 57 ~ 68ºF). Nights will be cool to warm (14 ~ 18ºC or 57 ~ 64ºF). Please note that the above temperatures are approximate. Walk Japan s Staff will provide you with each day s weather forecast throughout the program. When packing, please bear the above in mind, however, to help maintain a comfortable body temperature while running it is best to have a number of layers of clothing that can be easily peeled off or added as required. Please be prepared for rain, which can be heavy at times. A hat is recommended for warmth during colder times and to ward off the sun at all times. Coin-operated laundry facilities are available at all accommodation except Maruya on Day 3. Check list Luggage & equipment space is limited in our vehicles. Please bring all your items of clothing, etc. in one small to medium sized holdall. Coin-operated laundries are available every night except on Day 3. Please ensure all your items are clearly labelled with your name. The three items in this box will be supplied by BST. BST team top! o BST team shorts!!! o Reflective safety vest!!! o Ensure the items in this box have been used in training. Running shoes (2 pairs) o Running socks (4 pairs)! o Running tops (4)! o Running shorts (3 pairs)! o Running cap (1)! o Running jacket (1) o Underwear (4 pairs)! o Kit bag/suitcase!!!! o One small to medium sized bag or small sized suitcase to hold all items. Small day pack!!!! o Laundry bag - a plastic bag should be sufficient.! o Toiletries!! o Please keep to a minimum; Towels, soap, shampoo and toothbrushes will be provided at our accommodation. Insect repellent!! o Any required medication! o Passport/Japanese Resident s I.D. Card! o Please note that you are required by Japanese law to have your passport/i.d. Card with you at all times. For the runners starting early morning. Headlight & spare batteries!! o T-shirts / Long sleeved shirts!!! o Town clothes: shorts, shirts, etc. o Town shoes/sandals (1 pair only)! o Waterproof packable jacket o If you wish to use one while running make sure it is breathable. Collapsible umbrella (Optional) o Running/Sun hat!!!! o Sunglasses o Sunscreen!!! o Water bottle (500ml)!! o Quick-dry towel! (1 or 2)!!! o Cooling towels!!!! o These can be purchased at convenience stores. Cash!!! o For extra snacks, ice-cream, any admission costs for sights along the way, etc. Up to 10,000 should be sufficient. Watch/timing device!!! o Mobile telephone!!! o Camera/Go Pro!!! o Chargers for all electrical equipment!! o Pencil/pen & notebook!! o Waterproof Ziplock bags!!! o These bags are to contain and protect any important documents, e.g passports, and the like that you carry in your day pack. Your favourite snacks/treats/energy bars, etc.! Reading material for downtime!! o Supporter s colours for the World Cup! o o Sleeping wear!! o Yukata, Japanese evening/sleeping gowns, or pajamas will be provided at all accommodation. 4

5 Rules of running Rules of running We will be negotiating a variety of terrains from dense, busy urban areas through quiet rural areas. We will be running on pavements, roads and forest trails. A great deal of the Nakasendo Way is on relatively flat ground but we will also be running through hilly areas with some steep climbs and descents. Throughout the Relay safety is of greatest importance followed by enjoyment for everyone. Please always keep the following in mind: The Relay is not a race. The safety of the runners and all the Relay team is of paramount importance. 1. Always be aware of others including vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. 2. Observe the Rules of the Road. 3. Stop at lights/pedestrian lights showing red or amber. 4. Looking left then right, then left again before you cross a road. 5. Keeping looking reft and right while crossing a road. 6. Use pedestrian crossings or pedestrian bridges to cross a road wherever available. 7. Be aware of other traffic even if you have a green light. 8. As a general rule, use pavements when available. 9. Be polite and courteous to everyone we encounter on our Relay. 10.Follow the instructions given by the support crew, this will usually be the support cyclist accompanying runners in urban areas and a designated person in the support vehicle in rural areas. 11.Make sure you have drunk plenty of water by sipping from sometime before you are due to run until just before you start running. Be well hydrated but do not drink a large amount just before running. 12. Make sure you are wearing sunscreen and sun hat. 13. If you feel uncomfortable or ill while running or at any other time immediately let the support crew know. 14. Be supportive of and co-operate with others running with you and the Team as a whole. 15. Limber up well before running 16. Do some gentle stretching exercises after running. 17. Run at the pace of the slowest runner in your group. 18. Run at 80% or less of your capacity. 19. If you become lost please retrace your steps until you know you are on the route of the Nakasendo Way. Wait here in a prominent position. The support crew will come to look for you. If you are on a mountain trail retrace your steps until you come out on to the rod. Wait here in a prominent position. 20. In rural areas be aware of wildlife. Snakes are common, although the black ones are harmless to man the pale grey/sandy coloured/brown ones are poisonous mamushi. The red, green and black yamakagashi are poisonous but are unlikely to anyone damage as the poison glands are at the back of the mouth. Do not enter any long grass at the side of the route as this is where mamushi are often found. Although unlikely, it is possible to come across bears, wild boar and deer. By making a noise animals are warned of your approach and will disappear before you notice. The front runners will wear a bear bell supplied by Walk Japan. Talking to each other is another good ploy. If you do come across an animal, stop and keep together as a close knit group and look large. It is probably best not to shout at the animal. 5

6 Itinerary Itinerary On most days we stay in western-style hotel accommodation. The one exception is Day 3, when we stay in a Japanese inn. Here we will experience traditional life, including sleeping on futons in tatami mat rooms. Laundry facilities are available every night except Day 3. Day 1 Kyoto We meet in Kyoto in our hotel lobby at 7:30pm for dinner at a nearby restaurant with the whole team including Walk Japan staff. A briefing will atke place over dinner. After dinner we visit Sanjo-Ohashi, the bridge that marks the beginning of the Nakasendo Way. Total running: N/A Accommodation: Hotel: Check-in 4pm. Breakfast: N/A. Internet: WiFi internet available Laundry: Coin operated washing machine and dryers available. Day 2 Kyoto ~ Gifu Our Nakasendo Way Relay starts early morning from Sanjo Ohashi bridge. Traffic will be light and we should make good progress. We should be many tens of kilometres from Kyoto by the morning rush hour but as we will still be in urban areas will still encounter increased traffic at this time. Our pace from Kyoto will be influenced greatly by the many traffic lights we need to negotiate. Beyond Maibara our route generally becomes more rural, roads quieter with far fewer traffic lights until we reach the outskirts of Ogaki. The landscape becomes more urban again through to Gifu, where we stay the night. Through much of today our route is relatively level with just a couple of short passes to negotiate. Possible places to visit en-route: Kusatsu Post-town and honjin, Hikone Castle, Sekigahara Gasen battle site, Gifu Park. Total running: Approximately 120km (74miles). Accommodation: Hotel: Check-in 4pm. Breakfast: 6:30~9:30am (Morning of Day 2). Internet: WiFi internet available. Laundry: Coin operated washing machine and dryers available. Day 3 Gifu ~ O-Tsumago Another early start for the runners. This time we should be in deep countryside by the time of the morning rush hour. However, by this time our route takes us through increasingly hilly countryside, which by the time we reach tonight s destination, O-Tsumago, has brought us to the deep valley of the Kiso River. by the same token, the countryside is increasingly attractive and the cities are now far behind us. 6 The route is still largely on tarmac but increasingly on little used country lanes and also some forest trails. As a treat, this evening we will visit a thermal hot spring bath to soak away our exertions of the first two days on the Relay. Possible places to visit en-route: Gifu Park, Nakasendo Museum, Hiroshige Museum, Magome Post-town. Total running: Approximately 109km (67miles). Accommodation: Japanese inn: Check-in 3pm. Breakfast: 6:30~9:00am (Morning of Day 3). Internet: WiFi internet available. Laundry: N/A. Day 4 O-Tsumago ~ Lake Suwa-ko Our route for much of the day until the outskirts of Shiojiri, which is just before Lake Suwa-ko, takes us through delightful countryside, up hill and down dale, through paddy fields and cedar forests. Be warned, however, that the generally calm will be shattered on one section of a couple of kilometres where we have no choice but to run through a road tunnel, which takes a great deal of traffic. The saving grace is the pavement within that allows us to run this section. Possible places to visit on route: Tsumago Post-town, waki-honjin, Momosuke-bashi bridge, Saddayakko s house, Akasawa Forest Railway, Mesame-no-toko, Kaida Kogen, Kiso-uma-no-sato, Ice-cream Parlour, Kiso-Fukushima Post-town, Sekisho barrier station, Half-way marker on the Nakasendo Way between Kyoto and Tokyo. Total running: Approximately 110km (68miles) Accommodation: Hotel: Check-in 3pm. Breakfast: 7:00~9:00am (Morning of Day 4). Internet: WiFi internet available Laundry: Coin operated washing machine and dryers available. Day 5 Lake Suwa-ko ~ Takasaki The usual early start, but an almost immediate climb up to the Wada Pass. At over 1,600m this is the highest pass on the whole Nakasendo Way. It is a long climb to the top and a long descent to the plains of north Nagano. The joy comes in knowing that this marks the penultimate pass and toughest part of our journey. Our final pass, the Usui Pass just beyond

7 Itinerary Karuizawa, is a much shorter easy climb although the descent to the Kanto plains is several times longer. Once down, though, from hereon through to Tokyo most of the Relay is through increasingly urban landscapes. We stay the night in Takasaki, once a post-town but now a major city. Possible places to visit on route: Suwa Taisha shrine, Lake Suwa-ko, Takashima Castle, Suwa Museum, Motai Post-town, Yatsugadake area. Total running: Approximately 85km (53miles) Accommodation: Toyoko Inn Takasaki Nishiguchi 1: Check-in 4pm. Breakfast: 7:00~9:00am (Morning of Day 5). Internet: WiFi internet available Laundry: Coin operated washing machine and dryers available. Day 6 Takasaki ~ Omiya The last day we need to rise early to start our day s exertions. As we progress the rural countryside increasingly makes way for towns and cities, where once were post-towns are now major centres of habitation. However, our route has largely been overlooked by the new roads that carry most of the local traffic and charm can still be found along our way. We finish in Omiya, which was once one of the largest post-towns with up to five honjin of the Edo Period. Today, it is part of Saitama City one of the largest cities found in the area surrounding Tokyo. Possible places to visit on route: Nagatoro, Peace Museum of Saitama, Kawagoe, Tetsudo Hakubutsukan. Total running: Approximately 126km (78miles) Accommodation: Toyoko Inn Saitama Shintoshin: Check-in 4pm. Breakfast: 6:30~9:00am (Morning of Day 6). Internet: WiFi internet available Laundry: Coin operated washing machine and dryers available. Day 7 Omiya - Tokyo Are leisurely start to begin our last and shortest day; 33km to Tokyo and the end of the Nakasendo at Nihonbashi. The route is entirely urban along the side of busy roads but, fortunately, pavement has been provided almost the whole way. Once we enter Tokyo proper we follow, in part, quieter streets to our destination, the Nihonbashi bridge. For those who still wish to keep going just continue on; the road turns into the Tokaido and will eventually deposit you back in Kyoto. Possible places to visit on route: N/A. Total running: Approximately 33km (20.5miles). Accommodation: N/A. Breakfast: 7:00~9:30am. (Morning of Day 7). This itinerary is subject to change Would you like to know more about the Nakasendo Way? For more details on the Nakasendo Way please see the final section of this document, Nakasendo Way & Japan s old Highways. For even more information please see the following website provided by Walk Japan: 7

8 Travel advice Travel advice The following travel tips are intended to be helpful advice for the BST Nakasendo Way Relay. In addition, please refer to your own past experience and make adjustments or amendments as necessary. If you require any further advice, please feel free to contact the School and/or Walk Japan. Clothing & baggage. For detailed information about seasonal weather and temperatures, please refer to the Weather and check list page. We also recommend good quality running shoes that you have already worn in. You may also like to bring some comfortable casual shoes, sneakers, or sandals, etc., for use in town. The sun's rays can be strong and we recommend a sun hat and sun screen, even in colder months. Some individuals find Japanese pillows uncomfortable and you may like to bring your own inflatable pillow. Yukata, evening gowns for sleeping in, are provided at the one inn we stay in during the Relay. We recommend leggings and a top, etc. to wear underneath. This will provide a degree of modesty and help ward off any cold air. Passport/Japan Resident s I.D. Card. Please make sure you have your passport and/or Japan Resident s I.D. Card with you at all times. It is a requirement of Japanese Law that you carry your passport or your Resident s I.D. Card with you at all times in Japan. Please have a photocopy of your passport/i.d Card details kept separately from your passport in case the latter should be lost. This will help speed the procurement of a replacement. Accommodation. The Relay s accommodation is mainly in hotels but we include a Japanese inn on one night. Our Japanese inn, which is quite rustic and atmospheric, will provide us with tangible glimpses of the experiences of Japanese travellers of old, and offer an authentic and enjoyable experience. As is traditional, the bathing and toilet facilities are shared. Please note that these facilities are usually divided into male and female use and, where not, members of the opposite sex will never be expected to share at the same time. Food and drink. While travelling during the day provisions, including water and food, will be carried in the support vehicles. also, shops, vending machines, and kiosks, which are found in most places we visit, provide for many immediate needs including drinks, snacks, cosmetics and clothing. Lunch will be taken either in restaurants or with food bought to eat as a 'picnic on the road'. Dinner in the Japanese inns is Japanese style, though breakfast may be more Western in style. Tap water is nearly always drinkable; your tour leader will advise. Meals usually include raw and cooked fish, meat, and vegetables. In Japan, specific dietary requirements such as vegetarianism, kosher food, and a number of food-related allergies and problems, such as coeliac disease, are not widely understood nor catered for and we cannot guarantee to provide vegetarian, vegan, kosher, or other specific meals. However, we will endeavour to cater wherever possible to individual requirements. Specifically, the concept of vegetarianism does not really exist in Japan outside of Buddhist temples. However, meals are usually made up of a large variety of dishes and many of these are suitable for vegetarians. We will also contact the accommodation we use and notify them of your requirements. Most, if not all, will be able to provide one or two alternative dishes for you. Please let us know in advance if you have any special dietary needs. Please note that soy sauce, which in Japan always includes wheat, is an ingredient common to many dishes in Japan and there may be a limit to how many dishes can be altered for those who require a gluten-free diet. If you have specific dietary needs we suggest you also bring other food items to help supplement your meals. General health. Summer in Japan can be hot and humid and the rays of the sun strong. To help avoid sun stroke and dehydration use sunscreen, a sun hat, sunglasses and drink water regularly. Mountain sickness is not an issue as the maximum altitude we reach is 1,615m (5,300ft) on the Wada Pass. Water from the tap in accommodation in Japan is usually safe and drinkable. If in doubt please ask your tour leader. First Aid. First Aid kits will be carried by the support vehicles and cyclist accompanying the runners. Getting into shape. About three-fifths or more of our route is relatively flat. In the central section, however, between Mitake and Sakamoto we will traverse hilly country and being in good shape will help you maximise your enjoyment. The best way to get fit is to start exercise gradually and build up over a period of time. Running in a group. It is essential that all runners follow the Rules of running. This is principally to assure your and the group s safety but also to maximise your enjoyment. 8

9 Travel advice Terrain and footwear. The Relay will cover a mixture of terrain ranging from tarmac/pavement aside modern highways, country lanes through gravel tracks, uneven forest paths to rocky mountain trails. For the Relay we recommend good trail shoes that, if possible, have a degree of ankle support. Please note, however, that whatever footwear you intend to use please make sure that you have worn them in. The principal cause of discomfort while walking is blisters caused by new shoes or shoes that have not been worn in sufficiently. Also, please do not use footwear more than ten years old as glue deteriorates causing soles to separate from uppers. Finding new footwear to fit is often not easy outside of big cities and in mountainous areas impossible. Photography. In general, taking photographs is not a problem. However, if taking photos of individuals or groups please ask their permission first. Please do not take photographs of young school children, unless first agreed by their parents or guardians. Access to cash. We will pass many ATMs each day and, with your bank card, access to cash should not be a problem. 9

10 Nakasendo Way: Kyoto to Tokyo Map 10

11 Nakasendo Way & Japan s old highways The early road system Most accounts date the origins of a national system of highways in Japan to 702 AD, the time of the Taiho Reforms and the importation of many Chinese influences. The roads were required to facilitate the movement of tax payments, the rapid movement of troops, and to improve communications in general to and from all areas and the capital, Nara. Much of the route of the Nakasendo was pioneered at this time, although it was originally called the Tosando, the highway through the eastern mountains'. The Tosando was the longest of the highways stretching as it did the length of the central mountain ranges to almost the far north of Honshu - at this time the most northerly part of Japan, since Tohoku, and Hokkaido were not under imperial control. Other roads included: the Hokurikudo, which travelled east along the Sea of Japan coast; the San'indo and San'yodo, to the west of the capital, which followed, respectively, the Japan Sea and Seto Inland Sea coasts; the Nankaido, on Shikoku: and the Saikaido, on the island of Kyushu. All government reforms of the day bore the mark of Chinese influence and the new highways, which were a direct copy of the Chinese road system established during the Chou Dynasty (1122 ~ 222 BC), were no different. The Taiho Reforms stipulated Chinese dimensions for width, and distances, etc. However, the practicalities of travelling in a much smaller country than China and over generally more rugged terrain meant adaptions had to he made. In reality, the Japanese built their roads more narrowly and post stations were placed at an average of only 5 ri (19.5 km, or just over 12 miles), instead of every 30 ri as in China. Travel by the common people was discouraged. Barrier stations were set up on the highways to control the movement of undesirable people and contraband, and post stations were established for the convenience of official traffic. However, virtually no services, such as food and lodgings, were provided for common travellers. With the waning of imperial control, which reached its nadir in the years prior to the Momoyama Period (see below), local warriors and brigands made travel difficult for everyone. However, many aspects of the Chinese system were retained when Tokugawa Ieyasu issued edicts in 1602 to re-establish the national highway system. Five Roads Five principal highways, or Gokaido, were established under the Tokugawa regime to be used as official routes that the daimyo, feudal lords, had to follow when performing their sankin-kotai, or system of alternate residence duty (see below). All the Gokaido terminated in the centre of Edo at 11 Nihonbashi. The five roads were: the Tokaido, which ran from Kyoto along the Pacific coast; the Nakasendo, which ran from Kyoto through the central mountains; the Koshu-Kaido, which ran from Shimo-suwa on the Nakasendo on a route between the Nakasendo and Tokaido; the Nikkokaido, which ran north to Tokugawa Ieyasu's great mausoleum north of Edo; and the Oshu-Kaido, which continued further north still to Shirakawa and, unofficially, Sendai. The five roads served to speed passage of personnel and dispatches, both of which were crucial to the Tokugawa shoguns' attempts to stabilise and rule the nation. Barriers were built to inspect and control traffic, while post-towns were established to provide accommodation and local transport services. As mentioned the roads also made possible the sankinkotai, an important form of control the shogun had over the regional daimyo, but with the passage of time, the roads also became used by unofficial travellers and merchants. The roads effectively enabled control of the nation, centralised on the shogun's power base at Edo, but in time, they also stimulated the growth of a nationwide, market economy. The Tokaido was the most important highway as most daimyo based in regions to the west of Edo were directed to travel along it. Its post-towns each generally had between 50 to 200 inns and 100 horses and porters. The Nakasendo, which had a lower level of traffic, was considered the second most important highway. Its post-towns had around 20 to 30 inns and maintained 25 to 50 horses and porters to service travel. The five roads were directly controlled by the shogunate, which appointed officials to ensure the roads and post-towns were well maintained and the roads functioned properly overall. A visit by road officials was a period of stress for any town or village along the route as it usually implied that there was a problem. If so, someone, or the whole local population, would be sure to suffer. Japan s earliest roads have mostly been lost to the obscurity of ancient, unrecorded times. Most likely, however, they were trails following ridge tops, overlooking the valleys on either side. Valleys would only be crossed when it was necessary to get from one ridge to another. The reason for following the ridges may have been to do with safety from attack by man or beast, but equally probable is the fact that the valleys were so densely overgrown that progress and navigation would have been difficult. It was the expansion of cultivation after the 10th Century that brought about the clearance of the valley floors over much of the country. As this happened the highways began to follow the gentler terrain of the valleys rather than the rugged ridge tops. In the Edo Period, the highways were largely orientated to follow the best path through valleys and toge, or mountain passes, came to prominence as the crossing points between valleys. Along the Nakasendo the passes found in the Kiso Valley

12 section were considered some of the most steep and arduous. The route taken, however, was the most direct in the belief that the shortest route to the top was the best. Decline of the old highways After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the Nakasendo changed rapidly. The feudal system was dismantled and official use of the highway halted. Post-towns ceased to provide the full range of services that officials required, but commercial traffic soon revived them and throughout the remainder of the 19th Century the highway prospered. Modern roads were gradually built which improved access to the region and the first railway built to link Tokyo, as Edo was renamed, and Kyoto was initially planned to follow the Nakasendo. The terrain, however, proved too demanding and the project was moved south to the route of the Tokaido instead. In the first quarter of the 20th Century, a railroad was also finally completed along the Nakasendo. Post-towns that received railway stations prospered from the continuing traffic, but the others fell onto hard times. Since World War II, a period of remarkable and sustained economic growth has led to a complete revamping of the nation's road infrastructure. From the late 1950s a new highway system was begun, which has largely by-passed the old post-towns. This was the final blow to many of these towns which were previously ignored during the earlier development of the railways. With some notable exceptions, many of the post-towns have become largely decayed and forgotten, and the ancient roads which ran through them are now little more than quiet country lanes or forest trails. To try to stem the depopulation that has followed, over the last twenty years the government has pumped large amounts of cash into public works along the Nakasendo, where it passes through remoter regions, with the intention of encouraging the few remaining people to stay on. However, this has largely been unsuccessful. Castle towns At the time of the Meiji Restoration, in 1868, some 250 jokamachi, or castle towns, formed the core of a well developed urban network in Japan. Although constructed primarily as defended residences for the daimyo and their samurai retainers, castle towns necessarily became local administrative headquarters through which political authority was channelled from the shogun's citadel in Edo to all parts of the Japanese countryside. Legal changes enacted from 1580 moved most samurai into a single castle town in each domain and after 1615, only one castle per domain was permitted. Smaller fortresses, such as the one at Tsumago, had to be dismantled but the towns which grew around the castles became the focus of all military and governmental activity in Japan, and large garrisons of soldiers were housed in them. On average, about half of the population of each castle 12 town comprised members of the military class. In turn, the samurai were strongly dependent on artisans and merchants for the provision of military equipment and other necessities. As commerce developed in Japan, the castle towns became the economic as well as the political centres of each province, and the merchant classes grew accordingly. At the centre of the castle town, often situated on a prominent mound or small hill, was the castle itself. This strongly fortified structure, invariably surrounded by one or more moats, incorporated the residence of the daimyo. Immediately adjacent to the castle lived the highest ranking samurai, while lesser ranking samurai lived further out from the centre, The townspeople, comprising merchants, artisans, and laborers, were also assigned discrete areas within the surrounding town. Although they held a lower social status than the samurai, however, they did not necessarily live furthest away from the castle. A typical pattern was for them to reside in wards forming narrow strips separating different groups of samurai. Commoner areas were also often subdivided into different blocks, each representing a particular craft or trade. The internal arrangement of castle towns was often broken by complex moat systems and, near the castle, by lines of fortifications. Only very rarely was the town itself surrounded by a moat or wall. In order to prevent infiltration by hostile forces, strategic entrances to the castle towns were guarded by trustworthy samurai, housed in large, easily defended residences. In the same way, temple complexes were usually located at the edge of the castle town, and arranged so that buildings and courtyards could be defended effectively in times of crisis or attack. Such defenses could probably offer no more than token resistance against a well organized attack, but an enemy advance towards the central citadel was likely to be further hampered by arranging the street pattern in a series of 'dog-legs' and cul-de-sacs. By such means it was hoped that enemy forces would become sufficiently confused to provide extra time for castle defenders to better organize themselves. Functions of a post-town Post-towns were spaced out along the old highways for the convenience of travellers. In the eyes of the Tokugawa shogunate, travellers were officials, daimyo, and samurai moving around on officially sanctioned business. The term traveller did not include individuals travelling for pleasure, pilgrims, merchants, or commoners in search of employment. Post-towns supplied the needs of travellers and helped the shogunate control the highway. This control ensured travellers were treated according to their importance and/or business. Post-towns provided food, accommodation, and transport according to the rank of the traveller. The highest ranking daimyo stayed in the top inn, the

13 honjin, while a second ranking daimyo would stay at the next best inn, the waki-honjin. Since there was usually only one of each of these inns in a posttown, careful scheduling of travel was maintained so that conflicting claims for the top inns did not occur. Lower ranking travellers were relegated to correspondingly lower ranking inns. Post-towns also provided porters, beasts of burden, changes of horses for messengers, light refreshment, and entertainment. The latter would include music, performances and, sometimes, prostitution. During the Edo Period, the post-towns and the highway system also came to service the growing numbers of commoners who began travelling in response to the growth of commerce. Merchants often had the cash to purchase services that had once only been available to the samurai. Honjin and Waki-honjin The largest building in any post-town was the honjin. Usually located in the centre of town, the honjin was designated for the use of daimyo and other high ranking officials, either to rest in or stay overnight. It was set in a walled enclosure with entrance through a large and elaborate gateway. Within the grounds were gardens, store rooms, and servants quarters, as well as the principal building. The latter often had twenty or more rooms, all appointed to the correct degree of luxury appropriate for the guests. Almost every post-town had a honjin, though Hosokute on the Nakasendo is one exception. In busier post-towns, usually nearer Edo, there were sometimes two or three. Here, the confluence of the roads and traffic necessitated the extra accommodation. Timetables for travel were fixed well in advance, and officials of the travelling party would ride on a day or two ahead to ensure everything was in order. This helped avoid any possibility of two similar ranking daimyo ending up in the same place at the same time. For the shogunate, it also meant daimyo would find it harder to meet together for any length of time, and thus, potentially hatch plots against the regime. Most regular travellers, such as daimyo making their way to and from Edo, would tend to keep to the same schedule and stay in the same honjin each time. This could lead to some difficulties on occasion, as the German doctor, Kaempfer, who was attached to the Dutch trading mission in Nagasaki, noted in his account of the 1692 Dutch procession to the shogun's court at Edo. Referring to the Japanese officials in charge of the progress of the procession he says, '... these blockheads are so capricious that no accident whatsoever can oblige them to go to any other inns but those we had been at the year before, even should we upon this account beforc'd in the worst weather, with the greatest inconvenience, and at the very peril of our lives, to travel till late at night.' Honjin was also a title given to the hereditary masters 13 of these top inns. Holding such an important status within the town, the honjin invariably combined his function with that of headman. As such, he represented the interests of all the local inhabitants in dealings with shogunate officials and was responsible for ensuring all laws and edicts were adhered to. Today, very few original honjin inns survive. Most fell into decline and decay after the abolition of the sankin-kotai system because they were too expensive to maintain. In Tsumago, a rare but faithful reconstruction dating from 1993 can be found. However, the substantial sites once occupied by honjin were often used for town halls or the schools needed in the Meiji Period, when Japan shed its feudal past and reinvented itself as a modern nation. Waki-honjin, or secondary principal inn were similar to honjin, except smaller. These inns accommodated lesser ranking daimyo and officials. Most post-towns had one or two waki-honjin but in those with a heavy flow of traffic there were many more: Omiya had nine, for instance. Because the waki-honjin were smaller and less expensive to maintain, many posttowns still retain the original buildings. Other inns The provision of lodging for high-ranking travellers was obligatory at post-towns. Ordinary travellers could also stay in lesser inns so long as they could pay and no higher-ranking person was expected. These simpler inns were classified into one of three groups according to size and price: large, medium, and small. For example, at Magome, an averagesized post-town on the Nakasendo, there were six large, five medium, and five small inns, in addition to one honjin and one waki-honjin. Unlike the enclosed and gated honjin and waki-honjins, the lesser inns fronted directly onto the highway. Typically the inns were two storied with rooms also looking onto the street. Many travellers' tales recount how, as evening approached, serving girls would sit here trying to entice potential guests to stay the night at their establishment rather than go next door where the food is not so good and the girls less appealing. Sometimes more aggressive techniques were necessary and the girls would attempt to drag in the reluctant passer-by to be their guest. Once inside the inn, the guest would be greeted in person by the proprietor and payment agreed. The entrance area was bare earth allowing access without the need to remove footwear. Another typical feature of these entrances, still seen today, are swallows seeking shelter for their nests. The interior comprised of a raised floor, covered in tatami, straw matting, and divided into rooms by fusuma, sliding doors. Guests took off their straw sandals before stepping up into the rooms and were led to the central part of the inn, which was open to the roof to allow smoke from the fire to escape. Here they could rest around an ash hearth, a pit sunk into the floor, in the middle of which was a small fire of glowing charcoals. Above this would be suspended a kettle of water. Maids

14 would busy themselves serving tea, storing luggage in the guest's allocated room, and preparing the bath. Bathing always took place shortly after arrival and before the evening meal was served. The bath was heated by lighting a fire underneath it. After a near scalding, the guest then donned a yukata, a thin cotton gown, and returned to his room. Here the evening meal was taken on a small, low table. The meal would usually he brought by the innkeeper himself, but the maids remained in constant attendance serving drinks. They would also attend to oil lamps or candles. After clearing the meal away they would then lay out the futon, the bedding, for the guest to sleep on. A common source of humour in Japanese travellers' tales concerning the nights spent at inns was the fact that the paper thin walls allowed for scant privacy. All conversation and activity could be heard in the next room, which was extremely discomfiting to the Western travellers in the Meiji Period. Even when the noise had died down, next to be contended with were fleas that infested the tatami. Isabella Bird, the intrepid Victoria explorer, found this, not surprisingly, an unpleasant experience. Aside from the fleas, most present day inns have changed little from earlier times. Express post in Edo Japan In the 17th Century, the shogunate emphasised the improvement and maintenance of a national highway system to ensure, in part, that orders and messages could he quickly relayed between Edo and the provinces. Among the many different travellers regularly seen along the highways were messengers, usually travelling in pairs. One would carry a small box on the end of a short pole, slung over his shoulder. The other would carry a pole with a paper lantern hanging from it. Running quickly, it was the lantern bearers job to ensure uninterrupted passage for his colleague, while it was the box bearer's job to ensure the contents of the box - an official letter to or from the shogun's court - arrived at it destination in the shortest time possible. Working in relays, such a message could be taken from Kyoto to Edo, a distance of 480 km (298 miles), in as little as 40 hours. Initially, official messengers rode horseback but later the express runner system was preferred. The runners were known as hikyaku, or 'flying feet'. In 1663, the shogunate also granted a private association of runners to carry non-official express mail. The usual arrangement was for this mail to he dispatched in Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka on fixed dates, three times a month. The messengers would make the journey form Kyoto to Edo in eight days and, for a higher fee, in five or six days. Porters and carriers Porters and carriers were the primary means by which goods, travellers, and baggage moved along 14 the highways. One of the priorities of the early highways was to facilitate easy passage of the tax in rice to the emperor. However, poor maintenance of the roads, and a shortage of suitable rest stops meant the carriers of the tax often took more than a year on their round trip. This inefficiency meant the court could not rely on getting their revenue in time. It also meant that some local administrators could not be bothered to send the rice tax at all. After Tokugawa Ieyasu seized power in 1603, it was stipulated that each post-town maintain a quota of porters and pack horses. Their function was to carry their loads between one post-town and the next, but no further, returning always to where they started the journey. The quota of porters and pack horses was fixed according to the status of the highway. On the Tokaido, the usual quota was one hundred of each at every post-town. On the Nakasendo, this was reduced to 50, or 25 in post-towns found in mountainous districts, such as the Kiso Valley. Rates of conveyance were fixed according to distance travelled and the severity of the terrain. Management of the porterage system was the responsibility of the tonya, an appointed position in each post-town. Porters could make their services available to anyone, but their main function was to service high-ranking officials and their often voluminous baggage. Barrier stations The primary purpose of seki, or barrier stations, was to prevent the illegal movement of the wives of daimyo and firearms. The wives, and often their eldest sons, were kept in Edo as hostage to the good behaviour of their husbands and any attempt to smuggle them out of Edo was considered as a potential sign of insurrection. Firearms smuggled into Edo would he seen as subversive and a threat to the shogunate. When daimyo travelled to Edo, the size of their party was strictly limited so that no daimyo could build up an armed force that could contemplate an attack on the shogunate. Firearms were particularly worrying for the authorities because just a small number had the potential to tip the military balance. Seki date back to the origins of the highways. The Nara Period saw the creation of three seki, which were considered crucial to the security of the 'home provinces' close to Nara. One of these was located at Fuwa, near the Nakasendo post-town of Sekigahara. These early seki, however, fell into disuse as the government proved too weak to enforce its will for long. During the following centuries, seki appeared in great numbers as local lords used them to collect tolls and control traffic through their domains. There were so many at one stage that traffic and commercial development suffered severely. Tokugawa Ieyasu had most of these seki destroyed, replacing them instead with strategically sited, shogun-controlled barrier stations.

15 Each barrier station, like the one we visit at Kiso- Fukushima, was an elaborate construction. Two sets of gates were placed across the road creating a enclosed area. The gates were closed at night and travellers who did not make the curfew had to spend the night in the open. All travellers passing through had their travel documents scrutinised, and any suspicious baggage and goods drawn aside for closer inspection. Males were subjected to physical examination to determine sex, in case women were travelling disguised as men. A small prison, plus manacles and thumb screws were on hand to deal with anyone found in breach of the rules. Sankin-kotai Besides the hikyaku, the shogunate's messengers, the other principal role of the highways was the sankinkotai, or system of alternate residence duty. This system was begun in 1635 by the shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu and required the daimyo, feudal lords, to reside for several months each year in the capital Edo, now Tokyo. When the lords returned to their domains, they were required to leave their wives and heirs in Edo, essentially a form of hostage keeping designed to ensure their continued loyalty to the shogunate. The daimyo had to use highways designated by the shogunate and 39 were instructed to use the Nakasendo. Five of these, however, usually resided in Edo permanently and another five also had permission to use either the Nakasendo or the Tokaido. Imperial processions Princess Kazunomiya is remembered along the entire length of the Nakasendo. She was the sister of Emperor Komei (who reigned from ) and married the 14th Tokugawa shogun, Iemochi, in The marriage was a political device intended to bring the imperial court and the Tokugawa shogunate into harmony and quiet the antagonism between supporters of the court and those of the shogunate, regardless of Kazunomiya's desires. This union was not the first of its kind during the Edo period. Similar marriages were also arranged in 1731, 1749, 1804, 1831 and 1849; so many that the Nakasendo was also called the 'Highway of Princesses'. The princesses travelled from Kyoto along the Nakasendo because it was quieter and safer than the Tokaido, which required the crossing of numerous dangerous rivers. The wedding party had a serious impact on the Nakasendo because Kazunomiya had to travel to Edo in the style appropriate to an Imperial princess betrothed to a Tokugawa shogun. Kazunomiya required various attendants and maids-in-waiting as well as a huge guard of samurai. In the end a party of 15,000 traveled to Kyoto to fetch her and another 10,000 imperial guards joined the procession to Edo. This vast train took three days to pass any single point. 15 To move such a large party along the highway put great strain on the road's resources. According to some records, post-towns had to supply 2,500 porters and 200 horses the day before the procession arrived and 8,000 men and 3,000 horses on the days it was passing. Kumagaya post-town had to draft men and animals from 32 surrounding villages to meet the demands of the procession. Peasant farmers and others who lived close to the highway were obliged to provide labour to help such official parties move on down the road. This party contrasted with the ordinary daimyo's travel party, which was usually restricted to people. In such normal times, a post-town's transport manager typically had to provide only fifty porters and horses. During Princess Kazunomiya s progress, post-towns were blocked to other travellers, access to fields was closed off, and the road itself was improved, swept, and tidied up. The procession was necessarily slow and it took 26 days to make a journey that most travellers covered in about three weeks. The early 1860s were not the best of times. There was a high degree of economic dislocation and political instability due to the gathering strength of daimyo opposed to the policies of the Tokugawa shogunate, which was extending its relations with Western nations. The number of uprisings against central authority increased dramatically. It is, therefore, not surprising that Kazunomiya's trip caused protests among the commoners. Such, however, was the importance of the trip and the embarrassment of the Tokugawa shogunate that Tokugawa officials were forced to negotiate with the protestors. An agreement was struck and the commoners received a rare guarantee that they would suffer no economic damage for aiding Kazunomiya's progress. The political intention behind Kazunomiya's marriage was not realized. After the wedding, the contending parties fell into further disagreement and any hope of reconciliation between the forces supporting the imperial court and the Tokugawa shogunate evaporated. The new motto of the opponents of the Tokugawa became 'Restore the emperor: overthrow the shogunate'. Kazunomiya's husband died in 1866, within just a few years of their marriage, and she was obliged to take vows as a nun. Nobles and the well-born were always supposed to be poetic and Kazunomiya was no exception. At the top of the Biwa Pass, which we crest, she is supposed to have turned, looked back one last time toward Kyoto and composed a poem that is now inscribed on a rock at the top of the pass. Her calligraphy also decorates the bridge which marks the Tokyo end of the Nakasendo. Other travellers on the highways Spies and police agents lurked along the old roads. Samurai women, who might be trying to escape Edo,