What’s

和田宿

1

Higashi-Shinshu“NAKASENDO” ?
WADA-juku

下諏訪町 長和町

28th post station, Wada-juku

P

142
142

WADA-juku
Many travelers gathered near the beginning of Wada
Pass, the hardest pass to go over in Nakasendo, which
was also a route for the daimyo's procession.

142
142

142
67

142
142

Shukuba

12 Shukuba
commemorative stamps

The post station (shukuba) was wheretravelers and horses could rest.
Many accommodation facilities weregathered in the shukuba town, andﬂourished as a center of informationand trading.

ルネント田和旧142

WADA-juku

こくようせきWest to EastKARUIZAWA-juku

The Nakasendo Trail
About 400 years ago was the Edo Period inJapan.
In 1604 (Keicho 9), the Edo-Shogunate
designated the ﬁve routes starting fromNihonbashi, Edo (now Tokyo). The ﬁveroutes are Tokaido, Nikko Kaido, Oshu
Kaido, Koshu Kaido, and Nakasendo. TheNakasendo was the route from Nihonbashi
to Kusatsu, Shiga.
Known as a smooth route, it was also called
the Hime-Kaido, which means the road forthe princesses. Since it passes through theinterior of Japan, you can enjoy beautifulmountains.

コラムEach Shukuba has a unique stamp thatrepresents its own characteristics.
You can collect twelve Shukuba stamps.

142"The Nakasendo passing through the east ofNagano prefecture"

The route from Karuizawa town to Nagawa town iscalled "the Higashi-Shinshu Nakasendo". Nagano
prefecture has many mountains and is blessed withbeautiful nature. There were eleven Shukubas inthis section of Nakasendo; Karuizawa, Kutsukake,Oiwake, Otai, Iwamurada, Shionada, Yawata,Mochizuki, Ashita, Nagakubo, and Wada.
The west side of Higashi-Shinshu Nakasendo goesup through the Wada Pass, which is the hardest
pass to go through in Nakasendo, while the steep
Usui Pass lies on the east side. This area is a basinwith challenging passes at both ends You canenjoy the view of vast rice ﬁelds, the Chikuma(Shinano) River, which is the longest north-south
river in Japan, and an active volcano, Mt. Asama, inthe north"WADA-juku"
Coming from Edo, theWada-juku locates just in
front of the Wada Pass (at anelevation of approximately
1600m).
Many travelers stayed there,

preparing for going over the challenging pass, or
resting after ﬁnishing the hardest part of theirjourney.
"NAGAKUBO-juku"
The Nagakubo-juku was a relatively large Shyukubain the Nakasendo. You can enjoy the old-world
ﬂavor of the town.

"MOTAI-ainoshuku"
The Motai-ainoshuku is between the Ashita-shuku
and the Mochizuki-juku. Ainoshuku means a rest
station created between post stations. It is asmall-scale station and travelers could not pass thenight there. The irrigation canals can still be seen inthe old town.

"ASHITA-shuku"
The Kasatori Pass famous for its pine avenue is in
the Ashita-shuku. It is one of the oldest Shukubas in
Higashi-Shinsyu.

望月宿

142

長久保宿

●Higashi-Shinshu Nakasendo Council
TEL:0267-42-2491

NAGAKUBO-juku

http://www.higashi-sinshu̲nakasendo.com/●Nakasendo Tourist Federation
TEL:0267-42-5538●Karuizawa Tourist Federation
TEL:0267-42-5538
Shimowada152

MOCHIZUKI-juku

Kasatori Pass142"MOCHIZUKI-juku"
The Mochizuki-juku was named after the full moon.
This was also a well-known area for raising horses.
The name Mochizuki is related to the event wherea horse was donated to the Shogun on a night inAugust with a full moon. Also, Mochizuki was oftensung about in waka poems.

25th post station,
Mochizuki-jukuPP

27th post station, Nagakubo-juku

152"Tsuchiya Residence,
Ashita-shuku Honjin"

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NAGAKUBO-juku
The characteristic L-shaped
streetscape will tell you
Shukuba's history of evolution.

142

2West to East

Tsuchiya family was committed to opening
the Ashita-shuku. For generations, the family
served as the Honjin of Ashita-shuku.
The name plate for each daimyo is stillpreserved.

芦田宿

MOTAI-ainoshuku

ASHITA-shuku

26th post station,
Ashita-shuku

It was a well known rice-producing
142
region. If you like to visit sake breweries,
Takeshige-Honke and Osawa breweries
are here.

茂田井間の宿MOTAI-ainoshuku

Mochizuki Folk
Heritage Museum
The museum is built at the site of
Honjin, using old beams ofhouses from Edo-era.

Higashi-Shinshu “NAKASENDO” Guide Map

West to East

OTAI-juku

It was the only post station in Nakasendo where theChikuma River could be crossed. This ferry town
ﬂourished as a key junction for river transportation.

21st post station, Otai-juku(weeping cherry trees)

SHIONADA-juku
23th post station, Shionada-juku

八幡宿

コラム

Yawata Honjin Ato

24th post station, Yawata-juku"SHIONADA-juku"
The Shionada-juku is on the east bank of the"OTAI-juku"
It was a quiet shukuba next to the vibrant neighborhoods

4

追分宿

OIWAKE-juku
20th post station, Oiwake-juku

S神社
大山標

道

栄町

御代

口校入学
田中

しなの鉄道uriku

The Yawata-juku was originally a place forImperial Princess Kazunomiya to stay.
Only the front gate is left now.

Chikuma River.
Old stone used for connecting the boat is still here.
As well as Yawata-juku, many people stayed here
when the river was swollen.
On the street, you can still see the old trade namesof shops hanging.
"IWAMURADA-juku"
It evolved as a strategically important fort in thismountain area because of its unusually ﬂat land. Youcan see the old site in places.

Shinkansoku

kkHo
The doiKa"OIWAKE-juku"
It was a crossroad of the Hokkoku Kaido andNakasendo. Many travelers passed this crossroad
called Oiwake. A song called
Oiwake-bushi was written here.
The packhorse drivers and travelers
brought the song back to theirhome towns and the song became
popular.

(milestone)

Going downhill from Oiwake-juku, you'll
see the weeping cherry trees of Ichiri Zuka.
Tinted ﬂowers will bloom in the spring.
Looking at the old cherry trees with Mt.
Asama behind them, you'll feel the historyof the post stations.
Joshin-etsu
ExpresswayCVS

nsenhinkariku SHoku

Sakudaira StationayswrespEx141

Koumi LineRyuunji Temple"KUTSUKAKE-juku"
The Osasa Kaido that leads to Kusatsu or Suzaka
started from here. A massive ﬁre burned down mostof the town; the town was renamed Naka-karuizawa.
"KARUIZAWA-juku"
Karuizawa-juku was on the border for entering theShinano region for travelers who came from Edo. It
was the furthest east of the Nakasendo post

Shingen Takeda died of disease in 1573 inIna-Komaba. The mourning for him wasconcealed for three years. However, it is said
that Hokko-Zenji, a Zen Buddhist master,
secretly buried his remains at Ryuunji
temple.

stations.
Since the Usui Pass was steep, many travelers
stayed in the Karuizawa-juku.
Now, this place is called "Old Karuizawa Ginza", oneof the most famous sightseeing spot in Japan.

Kumano Kotai Jinja
It is one of the three major Kumano shrines.
There are two shrines in its precinct, whichis rare throughout Japan.
Located in two prefectures, the shrine isnamed Kumano Kotai Jinja for the Nagano
prefecture side and Kumano Jinja for theGunma prefecture side. The must-see is themountain and the town view seen from theMiharashi Dai (a lookout platform). The
platform was once called sunset point by
the missionaries who had the cottages
there.
Nagano133

×KUTSUKAKE-juku

18GunmaPrefecture Prefecture

沓掛宿intView Po

19th post station, Kutsukake-juku

OIWAKE-juku
Around the crossroad of theHokkoku Kaido and Nakasendo,
there are seven stone statues,
including the Wakasare no Hi(milestone), a signpost built in 1679,
a lantern, a comic Tanka monumentof Shinratei Bansho, and Kosodate
Jizo (child-raising Jizo). They are thecultural properties designated byKaruizawa town.

enof Iwamurada-juku and Oiwake-juku. As womenanOdub
preferred this quiet post station, it was sometimesuChcalled Hime-no-juku, which means a post station for
Saku-Nakasato ICprincesses.

noake reOiw kasa
aWMt. Asama

18

22nd post station, Iwamurada-juku

HokChikuma River"YAWATA-juku"
The Chikuma River runs through two shukubas.
One of them is Yawata-juku.
Yawata-juku was an important post station when
the Chikuma River, which often ﬂoods, wasswollen.
Yawata Shrine, with its gate from over 300 years
ago, is here.
The rice ﬁelds of this region produce a rice brandcalled Gorobei-Mai, which is often selected byhigh class Japanese restaurants.

West to East

IWAMURADA-juku

Hokuriku Shinkansen

YAWATA-juku

CV

岩村田宿

Mt. Asama

道鉄Shidarezakura of Ichiri Zuka

塩名田宿

142のなし3

小田井宿

SHIONADA-juku

18"Glossary"■Honjin
An inn for daimyo or court nobles. The locally inﬂuential
family was designated as the Honjin.
■Waki-honjin
An inn used when the Honjin was not big enough toaccommodate all daimyo or court nobles. It was also
opened for general travelers.
■HatagoAn inn for general travelers where meals were served.

ilway

18

KUTSUKAKE-juku

no RaShina■Kosatsuba
The place where a signboard on which the Shogun's
proclamations including prohibitions or ruling wereposted.
■TonyaCared for people and goods.
■Ichirizuka
A distance marker. It was placed per ichiri, approximately
4 kilometers. Functioned as a milepost. Functioned assame as a milepost.

18

It was the street along the east of Yukawa.
When coming from Edo, travelers continued tosee Mt. Asama on their right. When they
started walking on this street, Mt. Asama
appeared on their left, which was a topic ofconversation among travelers at that time.
くつかけ133

軽井沢宿

KARUIZAWA-juku

18th post station, Karuizawa-juku
Hokuriku Sh

inkansen

Higashi-Shinshu “NAKASENDO” Guide Map10