Kaido book & coffee @ Shinagawa: Oct. 25, 2015

As follow-ups of my Tokaido Walk from Tokoy to Kyoto, I sometimes visit spots around Tokaido. I called at “Kaido book & coffee” in Shinagawa.

The shop opened late summer this year. It is both a café and a bookstore. The door is open towards the old Tokaido street in the ground floor. There are about 10 thousand books in the second floor.

The space is often used for the events related to Tokaido and travels.

Shinagawa was the first shukuba station from Nihonbashi, the starting point of the about 500 kilometer Tokaido route to Kyoto, and had nearly 100 inns in the Edo period (1603-1867). The road here has converted into a shopping street.

I saw a ukiyoe picture drawn used in the protection wall of a construction site. The original was drawn by Utagawa Hiroshige, a famous painter in the Edo era. The ukiyoe tells us the scene around here about 200 year ago.

The local community is trying to make good use of the traditional Shinagawa shukuba station to activate the area. The signboards of historic places as well as the visiting center have been built. I saw many flags of the shukuba station at the side of the street.

The new book &coffee shop is another attempt to play up Tokaido.

I enjoyed a cup of coffee.