← Explore on the interactive map

Tōkaidō Highway

Type Object Region East Asia Time c. 1601–1650

The Tōkaidō was one of the Five Routes linking Edo to Kyoto, running along the Pacific coast and serving as the most important overland artery of the…

Timeline

  1. c. 1601–1620Edo · Tokyo MetropolisThe Tokugawa shogunate designated the Tōkaidō as the first of the Five Routes, running from Nihonbashi in Edo through Hakone, Shizuoka, and Nagoya to Kyoto, setting up post stations along the way and standardizing road maintenance responsibilities.
  2. 1630–1640Hakone · Kanagawa PrefecturePost towns along the Tōkaidō, such as Hakone, Numazu, Shimizu, and Okazaki, prospered in succession, providing lodging, horse relays, and checkpoint inspections; the relay system supported daimyo processions and merchant travel.
  3. c. 1645–1650Kyoto · Kyoto PrefectureBy around 1650, the Tōkaidō stretched some 500 ri with 53 post stations (including the seven hot springs of Hakone), becoming the preferred route for sankin-kōtai and official shogunal travel, profoundly shaping early modern Japanese transport and commercial geography.

Sources