If I just say “Tokaido Fujieda-shuku,” you’re probably wondering what on earth that is. Back in the Edo period there was a highway running between Kyoto and Tokyo, and along it, much like the service areas on a modern expressway, there was a whole string of places where travelers could sleep and rest along the way. There were 53 of them in all, and traces of one of them are still left here in Shizuoka. Honestly, looking at it today, this route isn’t a particularly convenient one. The expressway now runs all the way along the coast. But back then it was mountain roads like this one that inns and all sorts of businesses were built around.
The starting point
The information map
Quite a lot of it is still left. Walking a road like this, you get a faint feeling of having gone back to the Edo period.
A river
A bridge
There are parks and historic sites around here too, apparently. I just didn’t have time to get all the way out to them.
A branch of Izumo Taisha
Wait, in a place like this?
A bakery I spotted on the way
How cute.
The sweets shop
Choju-gaki, the longevity persimmon
It’s a local wagashi shop.
A watch shop
You can really feel the history.
An omurice specialist
Looks like the place has been on TV, too.
A temple
There were a lot of places with deep history.
A wagashi shop
A place like this looks like it has some tradition behind it as well.
Sukemune Shokudo
Whoa, a restaurant with a line out front suddenly appeared and it startled me. The menu looks like ankake spaghetti, and I’m curious just how good it has to be for people to queue up.
A tea shop
A liquor shop
They were selling all kinds of sake.
Shidaizumi, pressed in a fune. 100% Yamada Nishiki.
This one had me curious. Apparently they spare no effort in brewing it, so even though it isn’t a ginjo it still has a high-end flavor. But I had another destination to get to and couldn’t very well carry a bottle of sake around with me, so I didn’t buy one. Next time I’d like to plan the route properly and pick one up.
A gas station called Yagi Sekiyu
“Yagi” can mean both “eight trees” and “goat” at the same time, and sure enough there’s an illustration of a goat hanging up there. I thought it was fun, so I took a photo.
Karaage Dai-chan
Looks like a chain that’s famous around here. It says “Oita’s secret recipe” on the sign. Karaage really is the perfect thing to sell as takeout.
Mountains and the town
A stream
A mountain road
The road gets rougher the further I go..
Tiger Guard Security
Looks like a place that trains security guards. The sign says “Chairman: Satoru Sayama, the first Tiger Mask” – well, who knew someone like that was in Fujieda. Traveling out in the provinces is fun..
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