Tokaido 57 Walk (1) Yamashina Oiwake-Fushimi: March 27, 2025

The Tokaido is widely known as a historical road which connected Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto in the Edo period. As it had 53 shukuba stations between the two cities, it is usually called “the Tokaido 53" (the Tokaido with 53 stations). The road was developed in the early 1600s on the order of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Shogun of the Edo Shogunate. The route is about 500 km long. I walked the entire route between 2010 and 2015.

An additional route was built by the orders of Tokugawa Hidetada, the second Shogun, around 1620. The route is about 50 km long, from just before Kyoto to Osaka. Four additional shukuba stations were established along this route, making a total of 57 stations, including the 53 stations from Edo to Otsu. For this reason, the road from Edo to Osaka is often called the Tokaido with 57 stations.

Ten years after completing my walks from Tokyo to Kyoto, I decided to walk a part of the Tokaido 57 stations from the junction to Osaka.

The fork in the road to Osaka is on the way from Otsu (the 53rd station on the Tokaido) to Kyoto (the goal of Tokaido 53). It is located at Oiwake in Yamashina Waurd, Kyoto City. There is a sign that says Kyoto if you go right, and Osaka if you go left. (See also the top photo)

 

On the road to Osaka, I first walked through Yamashina Ward. The surrounding area is mostly residential, but there are also vegetable fields.

As today is a weekday, I saw scenes of daily life such as people working in stores, nursery teachers taking care of children at a kindergarten, and elderly people taking a walk.

 

Along the road, I found signposts from the Edo period. 

I also found a ruin of milestone.

 

There are also many temples and shrines around the road. Zuishin-in Temple is famous for the legend of Ono no Komachi, a beautiful poet and famous in Japanese history, and for its plum blossoms. (See also the 2nd photo)

 

After walking for about two hours, I entered Fushimi Ward in Kyoto City. There is Fushimi Inari Shrine, which is worldly famous among tourists, in the area.

After a total of about four hours of walking, I arrived at the site of Fushimi-juku, the 54th shukuba station from Edo (Tokyo). Parrs of the area has been converted into a shopping arcade.