The Tokaido Road

The Five Routes of the Edo era: the Tokaido (#1) is in dark blue

The Tokaido Road (東海道 Tōkaidō) has been the most important route in Japan since the Edo period, connecting Tokyo and Kyoto. Today, the road plays an important part of the Golden Route, possibly the most popular itinerary for first time visitors to the country.

Clocking in at 514 km, in the Edo days the road was covered in around two weeks on foot at a punishing pace of up to 40 km per day. Today, the Shinkansen bullet train can whisk you from Tokyo to Kyoto in 139 minutes, but Golden Route itineraries usually run for 5-7 days. The original road started in Edo (now Tokyo) and ended in Kyoto, but it was extended to include Osaka in 1620's and it's now considered a part of the Golden Route.

Understand

Kaidō (街道) were roads which were created during the Edo period (1603-1868). These roads served multiple purposes, including trade, diplomacy and pilgrimage. There were five major Kaido called the Edo Five Routes, which were administered routes from Edo to the outer provinces.  The Tokaido Road (東海道, literally "East Sea Route") was the most important route as it followed the east coast of Japan's main island, Honshu. The journey stopped at over 50 locations along the coast. While the road may have been traveled by foot or by cart, many of these ancient and historical routes have been incorporated in modern day Japan.

The route's importance further increased after steel bridges made crossing of big rivers easy. The Tokaido Main Line follows the road closely, as does most of the Tokaido Shinkansen, and is what makes this long, almost two-week journey, into a mere 2.5 hour trip. The Golden Route follows the route of the Tokaido Shinkansen, and visits several populous cities across the East Coast, seeing many castles, temples and natural wonders, including multiple UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This itinerary varies, but usually involves travelers arriving at one of Tokyo's airports, then sightseeing Tokyo, before travelling on the Shinkansen to stop at Hakone & Mt Fuji, then stopping at Kyoto for a few days, before traveling to Nara, and flying out of Osaka. Some extended itineraries continue traveling east to include the cities of Himeji and Hiroshima.

Prepare

See also: Rail travel in Japan

Most of the stops are located within walking distance of stations along the Tokaido Main Line. A few are near Shinkansen stations, and those not along either of those lines are typically near private railway stations or in the case of Mie Prefecture's stations, other JR line stations. This is convenient for both train travelers and those who actually plan to walk the route on foot but cannot do it all in one trip. It is quite easy to go back to whatever station you ended on last time to continue your journey. Being near stations also means finding accommodations near whatever station you end your day at should not be much of an issue.

Travel by car is much simpler. National Route 1 mostly follows the Tokaido from Tokyo to Kyoto and Osaka.

A few brave souls still walk the entire length, but it has long since been concreted over and traces of the old post road are few and far between. For a glimpse of the elusive Old Japan, the Magome-Tsumago Trail on the parallel Nakasendo route to the north is a popular alternative.

Get in

One of the lion statues on the Nihonbashi bridge, bearing the shield of the City of Tokyo. The Bridge is the East end starting point of the Tokaido road.

East End (Tokyo)

See also: Tokyo#Get in

The first station from the East end is Nihonbashi Bridge, in the heart of Tokyo.

Your best starting point would be to go to Tokyo Station (Tokyo-eki) in Chiyoda ward, and then leaving the station via the Nihonbashi Exit. Walk north until you get to Eitai-dori Ave (永代通り), then turn right. Follow the road until you get to Nihonbashi metro station intersection, or Chuo-dori Ave (中央通り).  Turn left onto Chuo-dori Ave until you reach the bridge.

West End (Kyoto)

See also: Kyoto#Get in

The first station from the West end is Sanjo Bridge (三条大橋, Sanjō Ōhashi). You can get there by arriving at Sanjo Keihan Station on Kyoto Subway Tozai Line, and exiting via exits 6 or 7. Walk west onto the bridge.

Go

This section will list each of the historical post stations (宿場 shukuba, abbreviated 宿 -juku) of this road. Ones marked in blue with an asterisk are stations located near stops on the Tokaido Shinkansen.

The Tokaido Road to Kyoto

Tokyo Metropolis

• 1 *Nihonbashi – The starting location is Nihonbashi, a bridge in the old heart of Japan. Tokyo Station is only a short walk from the bridge.
• 2 *Shinagawa-juku – (Shinagawa)

Kanagawa Prefecture

• 1 Kawasaki-juku – (Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki)
• 2 Kanagawa-juku – (Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama)
• 3 Hodogaya-juku – (Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama)
• 4 Totsuka-juku – (Totsuka-ku, Yokohama)
• 5 Fujisawa-shuku – (Fujisawa)
• 6 Hiratsuka-juku – (Hiratsuka)
• 7 Ōiso-juku – (Ōiso, Naka District)
• 3 *Odawara-juku – (Odawara)
• 8 Hakone-juku – (Hakone, Ashigarashimo District)

Shizuoka Prefecture

• 4 *Mishima-shuku – (Mishima)
• 9 Numazu-juku – (Numazu)
• 10 Hara-juku – (Numazu)
• 11 Yoshiwara-juku – (Fuji)
• 12 *Kanbara-juku – (Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka)
• 13 Yui-shuku – (Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka)
• Okitsu-juku – (Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka)
• 14 Ejiri-juku – (Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka)
• 5 *Fuchū-shuku – (Aoi-ku, Shizuoka)
• 15 Mariko-juku – (Suruga-ku, Shizuoka)
• 16 Okabe-juku – (Fujieda)
• 17 Shimada-juku – (Shimada)
• 18 Kanaya-juku – (Shimada)
• 19 Nissaka-shuku – (Kakegawa)
• 6 *Kakegawa-juku – (Kakegawa)
• 20 Fukuroi-juku – (Fukuroi)
• 21 Mitsuke-juku – (Iwata)
• 7 *Hamamatsu-juku – (Naka-ku, Hamamatsu)
• 22 Maisaka-juku – (Nishi-ku, Hamamatsu)
• 23 Arai-juku – (Kosai)
• 24 Shirasuka-juku – (Kosai)

Aichi Prefecture

• 25 Futagawa-juku – (Toyohashi)
• 8 *Yoshida-juku – (Toyohashi)
• 26 Goyu-shuku – (Toyokawa)
• 27 Akasaka-juku – (Toyokawa)
• 28 Fujikawa-shuku – (Okazaki)
• 29 Okazaki-shuku – (Okazaki) Also the starting point of Shio no Michi ("Salt Road") to Shiojiri.
• 30 Chiryū-juku – (Chiryū)
• 31 Narumi-juku – (Midori-ku, Nagoya)
• 32 Miya-juku – (Atsuta-ku, Nagoya) - between Miya and Kuwana was traveled by sea

Mie Prefecture

At this point the two routes divert, with the Shinkansen traveling to Maibara, Shiga, while the road traveling down to the Mie Prefecture. The routes connect back at Otsu.

• 33 Kuwana-juku – (Kuwana)
• 34 Yokkaichi-juku – (Yokkaichi)
• 35 Ishiyakushi-juku – (Suzuka)
• 36 Shōno-juku – (Suzuka)
• 37 Kameyama-juku – (Kameyama)
• 38 Seki-juku – (Kameyama)
• 39 Sakashita-juku – (Kameyama)

Shiga Prefecture

• 40 Tsuchiyama-juku – (Kōka)
• 41 Minakuchi-juku – (Kōka)
• 42 Ishibe-juku – (Konan)
• 43 Kusatsu-juku – (Kusatsu)
• 44 Ōtsu-juku – (Ōtsu)

Kyoto Prefecture

• 45 Sanjō Ōhashi – The ending location is also a bridge: Sanjō Ōhashi in Kyoto.

The Ōsaka Kaidō Extension

Kyoto Prefecture

• Fushimi-juku – (Fushimi-ku, Kyoto)
• Yodo-juku – (Fushimi-ku, Kyoto)

Osaka Prefecture

• 46 Hirakata-juku – (Hirakata)
• 47 Moriguchi-juku – (Moriguchi)
• 9 *Kōraibashi – The ending location in Osaka is also a bridge, the Kōraibashi.

Go next

Some Golden Route tours go beyond Osaka, travelling to Kobe, Himeji, Okayama and Hiroshima.

Since the growth of the Shinkansen network, other Prefectures have created similar routes for travelers. For example, The New Golden Route is a route between Tokyo and Osaka, but visits cities in the north across the Sea of Japan. While you still arrive in Tokyo, you then travel on the Hokuriku Shinkansen as you sightsee Takasaki, Nagano, Kurobe, and Kanazawa, before traveling to Omi-Takashima, Kyoto and Osaka via local trains.

In 2019, Fukushima, Tochigi and Ibaraki Prefectures started a promotion campaign "Diamond Route Japan", inviting foreign tourists to the three often-ignored prefectures.