Walking the 300 years old "Koshu Kaido" road
A tour of the historic road with a panoramic view of Mt. Fuji, Yatsugatake Mountains, and Minami Alps.Along the way, you will see Shukuba (historic post town), Ichirizuka (distance maker), Japan's supposedly oldest park, ancient battlefield, and Batou Kannon (guardian deity of horses) as a requiescat for horses.
Travel back into history!
A tour of the historic road with a panoramic view of Mt. Fuji, Yatsugatake Mountains, and Minami Alps. Along the way, you will see Shukuba (historic post town where travelers could rest on their journey), Ichirizuka (distance maker), Japan’s oldest (estimated) park, old battlefield, and Batou Kannon (guardian deity of horses) as a requiescat for horses.
The shelter trees against strong wind and overflowing river show us the wisdom of the local people coexisting with harsh nature. This post town was a resting spot on Koshu Kaido road, one of the five major routes during the Edo period (1603-1869) for commoners, loads, and emperors traveling across the nation.
Duration
About 4 hours (10:00 AM to 2:00 PM)
Walking distance
About 14 km
Level of difficulty
★★☆
Where to park
JR Suzuran-no-Sato Station
Please call a taxi from Tsutaki Juku (the last destination of this tour) to a train station.
Alpico Taxi: 0266-71-1181
Yatsugatake Tourism Taxi: 0266-64-2004
The closest station
JR Suzuran-no-Sato Station
Let's walk this ancient road together. Spring and autumn are the perfect seasons to visit here.
What to see around here
Misayama Godo milestone
It is the 48th milestone counting from Nihonbashi in Tokyo. The 25 m tall Keyaki tree next to the milestone is 380 years old, planted when the milestone was placed on Koshu Kaido.
Fujimi Park
In 1908, a poet and novelist Sachio Ito fell in love with the scenery of Tsutaki Juku so much that he asked the locals to make a park here. There are monuments honoring Sachio and other Araragi poets such as Mokichi Saito and Akahiko Shimaki in this park.
Tokan-no Batou Kannon Statue
A little scary statue of buddha with three faces and six arms. Moemon Mitsui (also known as Tokan) originally from a village near Tsutaki Juku made a fortune in Kohu, Yamanashi. He realized that Koshu Kaido in this area was very muddy, so he repaired the road and enshrined this statue to wish a safe journey for people traveling on Koshu Kaido.
Tsutaki Juku
Tsutaki Juku was Koshu Kaido's 43rd post town where travelers could rest on their journey across the country. It was a lively town during the Edo Period (1603-1869) as the first post town in Shinshu (a historic name for Nagano). The traditional houses with latticework and wooden signboards of shop or inn that welcomed many travelers back in the day create a nostalgic atmosphere.