Nakasendo Walk (29) Akasaka(56/69)-Tarui(57/69)-Sekigahara(58/69): May6, 2018

The walk started today at the east side  of Akasaka, the 56th shukuba station.

Akasaka was a crossing point of roads and river transportation in the Edo era. A river port was built on Kuise River. It flourished through the Meiji era. A fire watch tower stands behind.

They produce limestones in the era. 

A railroad was developed to bring cargo and people in 1919. They still operate the railways, but some stations were closed.

The Battle of Sekigahara, which determined Tokugawa Ieyasu to be the ruler of Japan, took place in 1600. Total 200 thousand soldiers gathered in the area.

Akasaka is about 10 kilometers from Sekigahara. Tokugawa Ieyasu　placed his first battle headquarters in Akasaka. The place is now called Kachiyama (mountain of victory).

Akasaka is also conceived as a place of good fortune because of .a victory of Tokugawa Ieyasu in Sekigahara. Such information is displayed in many places in Akasaka shukuba station. In

There is a huge ancient kofun tomb called in the wests of Akasaka. It is called Hirui-Otsuka kofun.  It is keyhole-shaped -- square at the front and rounded in the rear – and 150-meter length.

We can see Sekigahara from the top of the tomb.

I walked westward and entered Tarui Town. The town is famous for its honey production. I found a honey shop along the street.

There usually spread wide lotus flower field in this season. They have, however, less lotus flowers this year because of a plant disease. They produce honey from other flowers.

I met many flying carps at the entrance of Tarui shukuba station. This event is nationwide famous. It continue about two months in this season. (See also the top photo)

There remain various historical buildings and monuments in Tarui station. The Kamemaru-ya inn has continued operation for about 200 years.

The Tarui spring produces clean water.

The walls of the buildings are used as the boards of outdoor exhibitions.

Tarui is about 5 kilometers from Sekigaghara. Many feudal loads (and military leaders) laced their battle headquarters here. (See the 2nd photo from the top)

I entered Sakigawhara Town. I walked along a row of pine trees. 

JR railways, JR bullet train, and Meishin expressway run along Nakasendo.

Sekigahara is surrounded by many mountains. People need to go through a narrow valley to move between east and wast. It is why various important battles, including the battle of Sekigahara in 1600, took place here.

One of the battle headquarters of Tokugawa Ieyasu was here. The place was a battle headquarters of Prince Oama in 672 in the Jinshin War. Oama won the war and became Emperor Tenmu. (See also the 3rd photo from the top)

Many other military leaders, in addition to Tokugawa Ieyasu, opened their battle headquarters.

The signs on the electric poles say: “The whole parts of the town stand on the old battle fields.”

I often felt history here.

Nakasendo Walk(28)Kano(53/69)-Godo(54/69)-Mieji(55/69)-Akasaka(56/69): May 5, 2018

Today's walk started at Kano, the 53th shukuba station.　It is quite near from JR Gifu Station.

Old buildings related to Nakasendo have disappeared hear. Residential and commercial areas spread along the street. The JR Tokaido Line runs along Nakasendo.

Today’s Gifu is famous for Oda Nobunaga, one of most popular heroes in Japanese history, and Gifu Castle. See also the top photo)

A golden statue of Oda Nobunaga stands in front of JR Gifu station.

(See Gifu and Ogaki: May 4, 2018)

I had about an hour walk and arrived in Nagara River.

It took a few minutes to cross the river and I entered into Godo shukuba, the 54^th station from Nihonbashi. The station lies at the side of a huge river bank of Nagara River.

There have been many flood disasters in the area. People built special banks which surrounded the residential areas to protect themselves from the floods. The areas were called waju.

The buildings of shukuba station were destroyed after the Meiji Revolution and were rebuilt. Some monuments remain.

I walked westward and entered into Mizuho City. The signboard said that it was a city of persimmons and flowers.

I found many greenhouses of cactuses along the street. Mizuho City is one of the biggest cactus producing areas in Japan. (See also the 3rd photo from the top)

I moved forward and arrived in Mieji shukuba station, the 55^th from Nihonbashi. It was a small station. The area lies between Nagara River and Ibi River.

The Mie Shrine locates in the center of the area.

I found many persimmon trees around here. 

The water was calm and beautiful today.

The situation should quite different when there is a flood. I found a signboard places at the side of a rice field. It showed how high the water flood reached in 1976.

I moved westward and crossed the Ibi River. 

Old housed remain in the western side of the river or Roku area.  Many houses here are built on the lands lifted with stone walls. It tells the history of the battle with water flood.

Nakasendo goes through Godo Town with about 1000 people and entered into Ogaki City.

There is a pond where small fish hariyo, one of endangered species are alive at the side of the street.

It is not far away from Akaasaka, the 56th station.

Gifu and Ogaki (off Tokyo): May 4, 2018

I walked around Gifu City during my Nakasendo walk.

Gifu is famous for Oda Nobunaga, a hero who ended Japan’s medieval period and opened a way to the early modern period in the 16^th century. He is often seen as the greatest figure in Japanese history.

The Gufu castle was built on the top of Mt. Kinkazan (Mt. Inabayama). It is 329 meters high. (See also the top photo)

The castle was originally built as in the 12^th century. Oda Nobunaga took the castle in 1567 and developed the castle as a symbol of his power.

The castle was later destroyed in the early 17^th century. A modern concrete castle was made in the 1950s.

There were so many visitors in the area as it is the golden Week holiday season. People needed to wait more than an hour to take a ropeway to the top. I walked up a steep mountainous way.

There was a house of Oda Nobunaga at the foot of the mountain. It is now a park.

The Nagara River flows in the city. It is one of the three large rivers which flow into Ise Bay.

The scene from the top of Gifu Castle was beautiful. (See the 2nd photo from the top)

There is a tradition of catching fish using trained cormorants in the river. It is now performed for tourists.

Old buildings remain along the river near the castle.

Yanagase used to be the busiest shopping areas. It is now less busy. I saw small number of shoppers in the streets.

I found that the buses were painted with Oda Nobunaga.

I also visited Ogaki City, the second biggest city in Gifu Prefecture. It is known as a city of water, Ogaki Castle and haiku poet Matsuo Baho.

The city was surrounded with canals. They used to be the moats of Ogaki Castle.

They operated tub boats for the tourists. The water was clean. (See also the 3rd photo from the top)

Matsuo Basho finished his Oku-no-hosomich travel here. Basho traveled from Edo (Tokyo) through Tohoku and Hokuriku areas to Ogaki in 1689 and created many haiku poems. It was about 2000 kilometer distance.

The statues of him and his supporter stand at the side of a moat.

Some of his haiku poems were curved in the stones.

Ogaki Castle was one of the important castles as strategic points in the 16^th century. 

We can see Sekigahara, a famous battle fields, from the top of the castle.