Nakasendo Walk (7) Fukaya-Takasaki: Sept. 22, 2015

Today’s walk was relatively long. I started from Okabe district of Fukaya City, visited Honjo, the 10^th shukuba station in Honjo City, passed Kamisato Town in Saitama Prefecture, and went into Gunma Prefecture. I visited Shinmach shukuba station, Kuragano station and Takasaki, the 13^th sukuba station. It was about 25 kilometer walk.

Large fields of vegetables spread in the border area between Fukaya and Honjo cities. They produce Welsh onion (famous as Fukaya negi), broccoli, and other products. Tens of power transmission towers stand in the fields. There are many green houses in the fields. They produce cucumber and other vegetables.

The area locates between the Tone River and the Arakawa River. The land is rich and much water is available (There was always a fear of water flood in the old times).

It is nearly 100 kilometers from the seashore (in Tokyo) here, but the altitude is less than 100 meter. I reaffirmed how the Kanto Plane is wide.

Honjo was the biggest shukuba station of Nakasend in the Edo period. Only few historical buildings remain.

I passed the border between Saitama and Gunma prefectures and moved into Shinmachi station. It was built in the mid-17^th century, about 50 years after the open of other stations.

The Nakasendo goes on the river bank of Karasu River between Shinmachi and Kuragano. The river is a branch of the Tone River. 

Transport boats went up to Suragano station in the Edo era. The boats carried goods between Edo and other regions.

I moved forward to the central part of Takasaki, where old Takasaki shukuba station located. I found a boxed lunch factory along the road. They use the daruma doll-shape lunchbox for the food. Takasaki is famous for the production of the daruma doll.