Registered cultural assets
Registered cultural assets
（１）Edoguchi Mitsuke
National Historic Site
A wooden gate was built as the entrance to Odawara-juku, and a guardhouse was placed there. A small amount of the landscape from that time remains at the north and south of National Route 1.
（２）Hojo Inari
This Inari Shrine is said to have been built by Hojo Ujimasa and served as a symbol of the entrance to Odawara-juku. The part of the road that goes around to the west of Inari Shrine was the Tokaido at that time.
（３）Matsubara Shrine
It was highly revered by the Hojo clan during the Sengoku period, and during the Edo period it was the guardian deity of the 19 districts in the post town, where travelers prayed for their safety.
（４）Shimizu Kinzaemon Honjin（The remain of the lodging place for the Emperor Meiji）
The head of four honjins (accommodations for government officials) in Odawara-juku.
（５）Kataoka Honjin（The remain of lodging place for the Emperor Meiji in Honcho）
Along with Shimizu Kinzaemon Honjin, it is a historic site in the city as the place where Emperor Meiji stayed.
（６）Odawara Castle Ruins
National Historic Site
Odawara was a castle town developed by the Hojo clan. It was one of the largest post towns along the Tokaido in the Edo period. The Okubo clan and Inaba clan governed the area to protect Edo to the east, and the administrative headquarters of Odawara Domain was installed there. Stone walls, white plaster walls, a restored castle tower, and castle gates convey the atmosphere from the Edo period as symbolic features of Odawara Post Town. Akagane Gate is the front gate of the outer bailey. It was restored in 1997. The name of the gate “Akagane” literally means “red metal” which came from the use of copper to decorate the large gate doors. Umadashi Gate is located along a large road. It was an important gate to protect the outer bailey of Odawara Castle and restored in 2009.
（７）Odawara Lanterns
Since it was made from cedar grew at the temple, it was good as a talisman against evil spirits, and it was hard to tear and durable enough to be carried in one’s pocket, which made it considered to be “Santoku (three merits)”. It was a travel utensil that originated in Odawara and was not only a practical tool but also a talisman for traveling.
（８）Kamaboko street
Once someone connected with fishing – perhaps even by the local head fisherman – produced kamaboko, or cooked fish paste, from fresh fish caught in Sagami Bay. Sales channels with hot spring inns in the Hakone area were later established, and over time kamaboko developed into one of the Odawara local specialties. Long-established stores in historic wooden buildings remain along Kamaboko street.
（９）Odawara Kamaboko
Odawara is blessed with abundant resources in Sagami Bay, and has developed fishing and seafood processing industries since ancient times. It is known as a major production area for kamaboko (fish cake), and there are records showing that it was sold not only served to the travelers and sold as souvenirs in the post town, but it was also sold in Edo via the Tokaido.
（10）Konishi Pharmacy
A long-established store that has been selling medicinal products on the Tokaido since the early Edo period. The current store, which was completed around 1925 using materials from the old store that collapsed in the Great Kanto Earthquake, still retains in its stately style.
（11）Uiro
Uiro is an apothecary at the entrance to Hakone which has been in business since the Sengoku period (late 15th to late 16th century). The Uiro family moved to Odawara upon the invitation by Hojo Soun. Members of the Uiro family served as the chief vassal in the Edo period. While they sold medicines based on their family traditions, they also produced and sold uiro, or sweet rice jelly. The Uiro family was widely known among the travelers of the Tokaido. In a storehouse at the back of the building – which has white plaster walls and a tiled yatsumune (complicated)-style roof – a museum has been created, which displays references passed down over generations.
（12）Odawara Umeboshi
From 1804 to 1830, pickled plums were actively produced in Odawara-juku, where they were often used in the lunch boxes for travelers crossing Hakone. It is also introduced as a specialty of Odawara in “Tokaido Chuuhizakurige”.
（13）Odawara irrigation water
The water supply system built a waterway along the Tokaido and ran it down to the castle town. It is considered to be the oldest water supply system in Japan.
（14）Hatajuku Community
Hatajuku Community is one of the villages that was located between post towns back in the Edo period. The community provided teahouses for Hakone travelers to rest. Feudal lords and delegates of the Dutch Trading Post who rested at Myogaya Teahouse in Hatajuku described the area in their travel records to visit Edo.
（15）Yoseki-zaiku (marquetry – art and design using wooden veneer)
The skill of yoseki-zaiku was reportedly established by Ishikawa Jinbei of Hatajuku in the late Edo period. Wood crafts of yosegi with the mosaic work created by applying different types of wood in small pieces were widely known among the Hakone travelers as a fine souvenir.
（16）Hatajuku Milestone
National Historic Site
The 23rd milestone from Nihonbashi in Edo. It was built by stacking stones in a cone shape with a diameter of about nine meters at the base, placing pebbles above them, and covering it with soil. Fir and Japanese zelkova trees were planted on the mound as a sign of the milestone. Milestones were found at three locations, Yumoto Teahouse, Hatajuku, and Hakone in Hakone Town.
（17）Saikachi Slope
National Historic Site
Coming from Edo in the east, it is an short uphill slope of about 120 meters, but the slope is so steep that people used to say that if you slipped off it, you would fall into a bottomless valley.
（18）Amazake Teahouse
This teahouse beside the route has been there since the Edo period. There used to be multiple roadside teahouses nearby for travelers passing through the steep ridge.
The teahouse has an irori, a traditional Japanese sunken hearth, and a thatched roof, and offers two specialties; amazake, a sweet low-alcohol sake drink, and chikara mochi – a type of rice cake.
（19）Hakone Old Road (stone pavement)
In 1680, the Tokaido, which had a reputation to be a rough road where you could get soaked up to your shins on rainy days, was paved with stones to become a cobblestone road. The scale of the stone pavement on the mountain pass road was the largest in Japan at the time.
（20）Lake Ashinoko and Hakone Shrine
Against the backdrop of Mt. Fuji, Lake Ashinoko is filled with clear water and surrounded by the Hakone mountains. This is the scenic beauty that travelers of the Edo period longed to see. Hakone Shrine, located on the shores of Lake Ashinoko, was established in the Nara period (710 AD to 794 AD) by the monk Mangan. Samurai lords such as Minamoto Yoritomo and Tokugawa Ieyasu offered prayers at Hakone Shrine after the Kamakura period (1185 to 1333).
（21）（22）Japanese cedar trees along the former Hakone road
National Historic Site
This section of road beside Lake Ashinoko is the only one that remains along the Tokaido that is still bordered by Japanese cedar trees – about 400 tall trees line the route. The rows of trees were planted in 1604 to define the road width, and to protect travelers from the sun and heat in summer, and wind and snow in winter. Pine trees were initially planted but later replanted with Japanese cedar.
（23） Hakone Checkpoint Ruins
National Historic Site
The Hakone Checkpoint was installed at this location in the Edo period to monitor those passing through the area. The Tokugawa shogunate placed great importance on the steep Hakone mountains as a way to protect Edo. The Odawara clan administered the Hakone Checkpoint. Officials there specifically watched out for de-onna (literally “exiting women”) who were fleeing Edo after being taken there as hostages by the Tokugawa shogunate. The checkpoint has been restored based on documents from the Egawa Bunko (Egawa family historical collection). Egawa Hidetatsu, a Tokugawa shogunate intendant (public official), was in charge of domains in this area.
（24）Kabuto-ishi Slope
National Historic Site
Kabuto-ishi Slope literally means ‘the slope with samurai helmet-shaped stone’, and was named after the unusually shaped stone that used to be located on the slope. This is a tasteful slope where Hakone bamboo overshadows the stone pavement.
（25）Yamanaka Milestone
National Historic Site
This milestone remains on the south side of the former route. Records from the Edo period indicates that there was no tree on top of the mound.
（26）Gango-ji Tempe area cobblestones
National Historic Site
The drawing of the West Slope from the Edo period depicts stone bridges at six locations. One of the two stone bridges in the Gango-ji Temple area, “the stone bridge with a lone cedar tree” still remains in its original condition.
（27）Yamanaka Castle Ruins
National Historic Site
The Hojo clan constructed this castle on the slopes of the mountain in the 1560s to protect Odawara. In 1590, the castle fell during the attack on Odawara by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Moats with obstacles at the bottom and ridge-shaped moats constructed with the most sophisticated technology of Hojo-style castle construction techniques still remain. This is also a scenic spot with a great view of Mt. Fuji and Suruga Bay.
（28）Koshimaki area cobblestones
National Historic Site
Ruins of the moats of the Yamanaka Castle were unearthed from beneath the stone pavement of the Koshimaki area. The route was presumed to be constructed by burying a section of the moat of Daisaki Demaru, a small walled area protruding from the main walls of Yamanaka Castle.
（29）Stone Pavement in Sengendaira District
It was also described as a vantage point for Mt. Fuji in travel diaries from the Edo period. In some sections, the cobblestone pavement has been restored over the tunnel.
（30）The view from Fujimidaira
A famous view spot of Mt. Fuji widely known among travelers of the Tokaido in the Edo period. The splendid view was often recorded in travel journals and pictures back then. The monument to a haiku poem by Matsuo Basho about his travels in Hakone can be found nearby.
（31）Stone Pavement in Kaminagasaka District
The diagonal drainage canals still remains today. In some sections, the cobblestone pavement has been restored over the tunnel.
（32）Sasahara area cobblestones
National Historic Site
Sasahara Shinden was one of the five Shinden communities established along with the construction of the Tokaido. The vista opens when travelers descend the slope to this area, and a sweeping view of Mt. Fuji and Suruga Bay appears.
（33）Sasahara Milestone
National Historic Site
This milestone remains on the south hill slightly above the stone pavement of the former route. Trees such as chestnut trees are growing on the mound today, but a record from the Edo period says pine trees were planted there.
（34）A view from an upland farming area
Residents of the Shinden community along the former route cultivated the west slope of Mt. Hakone when the flow of travelers decreased in the Meiji period (1868~1912). They expanded their farms and made a life out of farming. Hanging Daikon radish to dry with Mt. Fuji in the background is one of the famous winter iconic images of this area.
（35）Fumonan Buddha Statue
It enshrines the largest Bodhisattva statue in the Izu Peninsula.
（36）（37）Nishikida Milestone
National Historic Site
A pair of milestones remain in original condition at both sides of the former route. Only seven pairs of milestones remain along the Tokaido, including these milestones in Nishikida. Hackberry trees are now planted on the mounds. Yet, according to records from the Edo period, a hackberry tree was planted on the south milestone only, while a pine tree was on the north milestone.
（38）Rows of pine trees along the former Hakone route
National Historic Site
When descending the West Slope in the direction of Mishima Post Town, rows of pine trees remain along the former route leading to Mishima Taisha Shrine. The pine trees continue for about one kilometer, which is the longest along the current Tokaido. A location name of Hatsunegahara – which is connected to Minamoto Yoritomo – remains nearby. This is also a scenic spot with a great view of Mt. Fuji.
（39）Mishima Calendar and Mishima Calendar Master’s House
It has been known as Japan’s oldest calendar printed in kana characters. It was praised for the beauty of the letters and the delicateness of the lines, and was also known as a Tokaido souvenir.
（40）Mishima Taisha Shrine
National important cultural property
Mishima Taisha Shrine is the top shrine in Izu Province, and samurai lords such as Minamoto Yoritomo offered prayers there. The main shrine, the offering hall, and the worship hall are registered as important national cultural properties. The ancient fragrant orange-colored olive tree in the grounds of the shrine is designated as a national natural monument. The treasure museum exhibits artifacts registered as important national cultural properties.
（41）Spring Water Stream of Mishima-juku
It is a clear stream that comes from a spring of Mt. Fuji, and was used for daily life and irrigation by the people at the post town. Travelers also quenched their thirst with this spring and cooled down by the water in the summer.
（42）The Time Telling Bell at Mitsuishi Shrine
It was built in the grounds of Mitsuishi Shrine between 1624 and 1643 to tell the time in Mishima-juku. It has been cherished by travelers and the people of Mishima-juku since the Edo period, and was counted as one of the Eight Great Views of Mishima.
（43）Eel dishes
Residents of Mishima Post Town have long protected eels as the messengers of the god of Mishima Taisha Shrine. Eating eel only became popular after soldiers from the west – the Satsuma (from Kagoshima) and the Choshu (from Yamaguchi) who had travelled along the Tokaido in the late Edo period, ate eel and avoided divine punishment. Many eel restaurants still operate in the Mishima area.
