Sweet drink for Exhausted Princess: Stone-pavement and historic Amasake Chaya Café on the 8 Miles Road of Hakone 箱根八里

Now, please check your shoes. No slippery sole? Ready to take the historical 8 Miles Road of Hakone? OK, let’s go! From Kaempfer-Barney Memorial, a nice walking road leads us to the east. In no time, we cross a petit flyover which crosses a community road busy with cars. In November, from the bridge we can admire beautiful autumn color of tall Japanese orixa (Orixa japonica) at the same level of our eyes. Bonus. 😄 The end of the overpass is the beginning of Japanese civil engineering for the 17th Century, i.e., the stone paved road of the 8 Miles Road of Hakone 箱根八里. It’s a sharp climbing, called “Gongen-zaka (Gongen Slope 権現坂). Come to think of it, Lake Ashinoko 芦ノ湖 is a crater lake made by the volcanic eruption 3000 years ago. The slope surrounding the Lake must be very steep. Accept it …

We walk on the overpass from Kaempfer-Barney Memorial.

The pavement begins.

The paved road sometimes runs with stone steps where we encounter little monuments of yesteryear travelers, such as a community Shintoism shrine. After passing the memorial stone for the song of packhorse drivers 箱根馬子唄碑, we reach to the highest altitude point, ASL 800m, of the entire old Tokaido 東海道. When people traveled Tokaido between Osaka / Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo) on foot or horseback, that was the “top of the world.” Actually, Hakone still has the highest altitude point of Route 1, at ASL 874m near Ashino-yu Hotspring 芦之湯. Hmmmmm … the mechanized power certainly makes human voyage easier … In today’s hiking course, up to this point is the only sheer climbing. The rest is mainly going down, with occasional small ascends. Especially this part of 8 Miles Road is busy hiking route so that the pavement is well-treaded and clean. Enjoy your walk of short breath!

Gongen slope

Along the way, there are several educational boards explaining the 8 Miles Road. (Hey, we’re in the National Park!) According to one of them, until 1680 Tokugawa Shogunate Government covered the 8 Miles Road with Pleioblastus chino f. vaginatus, a variant of ubiquitous sasa-bamboo, Pleioblastus chino Makino var chino. F. vaginatus is smaller in size compared with their cousins in lower altitude such as in Yokohama. Sure enough, we find lots of f. vaginatus in both sides of the 8 Miles Road that was constructed by cutting through the hill. The Shogunate soon realized it was extremely expensive to maintain the road that way. Hiring laborers to mow the road, collecting sasa-bamboos, cutting the harvested sasa in proper size, then spreading them for 8 miles so often … Phew. So, they changed their method, and paved all the route of about 3.6m wide with volcanic stones readily available in the area. When Kaempfer came to Hakone in 1691 and 1692, the pavement of the 8 Miles Road was relatively new. No wonder he was so impressed by the shiny artery road of Japan.

Hakone’s sasa bamboos are smaller than those in lower places.

The ancient civil engineering.
 By the way, have you noticed
 people in this photo avoiding the center of the way?
 I tell you why next week.

Both sides of the road beyond the slopes with sasa-bamboos are afforested forests of Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) and Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtuse). Even though, compared with the other parts of Kanagawa Prefecture, in terms of volume the % of afforested conifers is smaller here. It’s because Hakone was registered as a National Park early. Japanese National Park system started in 1934, and Hakone became the one in 1936 before the World War II. So, next to the patches of coniferous afforestation we can frequently meet deciduous broad-leaved trees spared from deforestation, such as large Wedding cake trees (Cornus controversa), Himalayan spindles (Enonymus hamiltonianus), and many others. They were spared from deforestation. It is a particular joy to hike in an old forest of biodiversity. Many deciduous trees have also been important cultural and economic thing for the traditional community we eventually reach. Wait for the next week’s post. 😊

Mixture of conifers and broad-leaved trees

Beautiful Botrychium ternatum

The last time this road underwent an overhaul was in 1863 when Princess Kazu 和宮親子内親王, the 8th daughter of Emperor Ninkoh 仁孝天皇, moved to Edo from Kyoto to be the First Wife of the 14th Tokugawa Shogun, Iemochi 徳川家茂. Later, she played a crucial role to save Edo (Tokyo) from destruction by modern military forces of Meiji Restoration Government 明治維新政府. I imagine how the teenager Princess moved through Hakone in a palanquin … The mountains were deep and precipitous. She must have clung for hours to the supporting rope from ceiling, in order to stay in the wagon. Her palms could have been grazed, possibly blooding … Did she walk? Nah. She was a pure court girl lived her entire life so far only in and around Emperor’s palace in Kyoto. Hiking was not in her resume. Yet, the 8 Miles Road of Hakone is very wide mountain trekking road with pavement, remaining in the 21st Century. Before trains and cars, it had several cafés along the route for travelers to have some rest. The only one remains now.

From the highest altitude point for the 8 Miles Road, after about an hour descend, we cross a pedestrian crossing over the modern prefectural road Route 732. The ancient road still continues to another side for about 5 or so minutes. Then, on our right we meet an old, thatched wooden structure. It’s Amasake Chaya Café 甘酒茶屋, established around the same time for Hakone Checking Point 箱根関所 in the early 17th century. The current owner of the premise is the 13th Master of Amasake Chaya, Mr. Satoshi Yamamoto 山本聡. The café is famous for centuries with its special recipe for Amasake drink. Amasake is sweet drink made of steamed rice fermented by malted rice. Amasake Chaya’s recipe does not add any sugar. Yet, its sweetness is easy for tired body to replenish depleted energy, thanks to lots of natural amino acid, glucose, vitamins, oligosaccharide, and dietary fiber. i.e. The café acted as a water station for long-distance trail walkers/runners for more than 400 years. Today, they serve, in a reasonable price, their almighty Amasake and traditional Japanese snacks which are basically vegan (; the menu is here). Aaaaaaaaaand, they are always open, 7:00-17:30, rain or shine. Their café is standing on this historical artery road of Japan on which lots of travelers come and go. There is no excuse to close the water station for such exhausted passengers, isn’t there?

Amasake Chaya on our right

Amasake Chaya

Their famous Amasake

Now you reach here from Lake Ashinoko. Please enjoy famous Amasake, and light meals as lots of people have done for centuries. Oh, in English Wikipedia, they say Amazake is alcohol drink. WRONG. If we make it as Amasake Chaya does, it does not contain alcohol. Their fermentation method is same for soy source or miso paste, i.e. non-alcoholic, and safe for Muslims to drink. Even a 0-year-old baby can have it when their mom has problem of breast-feeding. Additional info: when you try their rice cake (Mochi) menu in Amasake Chaya, you can combine the flavoring of your choice. They serve a Mochi plate for two pieces of rice cakes. The choice of flavoring is soy source with seaweed (named ‘Isobe いそべ’), sweet kinako topping (called ‘Uguisu うぐいす’), and slightly salty kinako with coarsely ground toasted black sesame (‘Kurogoma 黒ごま‘). You can choose any of these for your two rice cakes, like “One with soy source, and another with sweet kinako.” Please tell your preference at the time of ordering. Their serving system is, you tell your choice at the cashier first, find your place to sit, and wait for the servers to bring your meal. As this is a very old wooden house, air circulation can be perfect, in addition to lots of open-air seats outside. We can enjoy café even under the threat of COVID-19 (+ they provide sanitizing alcohols, wipes et al here and there). And finally, the place is in the middle of municipal garden that has independent structure for lots of toilets! You can catch a commuter bus service (time table here) from here to Hakone-yumoto Station 箱根湯本駅 of Hakone Tozan Railway 箱根登山鉄道, or keep on walking the 8 Miles Road. Actually, to experience the historical 8 Miles Road of Hakone as the yesteryear people did, you ain’t heard nothin’ yet, mate. Please stay tuned for the next week. 😉

I ordered Isobe and Kurogoma for my lunch.

In front of the Café is Amasake Chaya Stop.

Toilets

If you find environmental issues in Hakone, please make a contact with Hakone Visitor Center, Ministry of Environment of Japan.

164 Motohakone, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa 250-0522
Phone: +81-460-84-9981
FAX: +81-460-84-5721
Email: hakone-vc@kanagawa.email.ne.jp
http://hakonevc.sunnyday.jp/shizenjyouhou/gazou/englishindex.html

In Memory of the 17th Century Travelogue: Kaempfer-Barney Memorial on the 8 Miles Road of Hakone 箱根八里

Passing the First Torii 一の鳥居 of Hakone Shrine 箱根神社, and we turn right at Motohakone 元箱根 Traffic light. The road, an asphalted commuter road with cars, starts to go up. In 100m or so from the traffic light, on our left there is a stone monument called Kaempfer-Barney Memorial. The place is a focal point of Kaempfer-Barney Festival that is supposed to be held on Sunday around 15th of April every year … Er, it seems to me Hakone Town won’t have it this year as for the last year. COVID-19 thing, you know … Anyway, it’s a festivity started in 1986 by the volunteers of Hakone Town who were active in nature conservation issues in Hakone. Eventually, the Town Hall became the sponsor of the annual event when kids and volunteers gather in front of this memorial to reassure the determination for environmental protection of their hometown. Why in front of this monument? Well, it’s because the 8 Mile Road of Hakone was the historical main artery route for Japan.

Kaempfer-Barney Memorial

Engelbert Kaempfer was in his early 40s when in 1690 he reached Japan from Germany. He worked for the Dutch Mercantile House in Nagasaki 長崎 as a medical doctor. At that time, Japanese government strictly limited any activity of foreigners in the archipelago. Unlike today’s tourists, especially for Caucasians it was extremely difficult hiding in a crowd to watch Japanese way firsthand. Living in Japan must have been a real “adventure” for Kaempfer. He was secretly enthusiastic to record everything he saw in Japan. I guess he also was a charming person. He had two chances to travel from Nagasaki to Edo (Tokyo), some 1500km apart, to meet the 5th Tokugawa Shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi 徳川綱吉. You know, Tokugawa Shogunate firmly controlled the traffic in and out of Edo, and Hakone was THE choking point. Kaempfer did not have any other way to come to Tokyo other than going through Hakone. Surely, he came here in 1691 and 1692, to the point the memorial stands now, and recorded the natural scenery (; so he thought. You see? The 8 Miles Road was heavily constructed main street of Japan at that time) he found in Hakone. After returning Germany in 1712 he published his first book, “Amoenitates Exoticae,” mainly describing his experience in Persia. He then started writing his second, “The History of Japan,” but died in 1716 before publication. With many twists and turns of history, his manuscript recording his 2 years’ stay in Japan was donated to the Royal Library of Britain and finally published in 1727, not in its original German, but as an English translation. The original of the translated version is now in British Library. It became a long seller. Even Queen Elizabeth II said she read it before her visit to Japan in 1975. I presume now his “The History of Japan” is on a reading list for budding scholars of Japanology.

The 8 Miles Road to Edo
 seen from Kaempfer-Barney Memorial.
 He may have seen the same scenery 300 years ago …

At the opening of “Japan of Today,” English translator of Kaempfer’s manuscript, John G. Scheuchzer introduced his translation to his monarch, King George II (I guess … George I died in June 1727), this way:


    (The book) describes a valiant and invincible Nation,

    a polite, industrious and virtuous People,

    enrich’d by a mutual Commerce among themselves,

    and possess’d of a Country,

    on which Nature hath lavish’d her most valuable Treasures.

 * pp. xxi-xxii, 1993 Reprint of 1906 Edition, Curzon Press, Surrey, UK

Wow. Thank you! You mean, it’s about Japan, don’t you? Fast forward to the 20th century. When Onshi-koen 恩賜公園 was an Imperial summer palace, Hakone was a fashionable resort town with many mansions of celebrities. One of such was a summer house stood on a lakeshore near the First Torii. It was owned by an English merchant, Cyril Montague-Barney, who did well in international trading business from his office in Kobe 神戸. I wonder why a person lived in Kobe commuted every summer to Hakone, ignoring the other beautiful natural sceneries in between ... Anyway, Barney loved Hakone, and he was an excited reader of Kaempfer’s “Japan.” He received a deep inspiration from the above words of Scheuchzer. So, in 1922 he ordered to construct a stone monument inscribing the phrase to decorate his garden observing Lake Ashinoko. He was not shy to show-off his stone to whomever visited his summer residence. In a sense, Barney’s doing was the first public declaration for the importance of nature conservation in Japan ... Yeah, there were many famous Japanese naturalist already at that time, like Kumakusu Minakata 南方熊楠 or Tomitaro Makino 牧野富太郎, but doing PR for the matter was not their forte ... Hmmmmmmm … At the time Kaempfer-Barney Festival began in 1986, Barney’s summer house was gone, but his memorial was moved to the roadside of 8 Miles Road where surely Kaempfer went through. That’s the reason why volunteers for environmental protection in Hakone Town hold the commemorative festival in front of the monument.

The stone monument Barney made

Today, the point where the monument stands has a small open space, and a map and the other bulletin boards explaining Kaempfer, Barney, and the 8 Miles Road of Hakone. Although there is no toilet here, please use the place wisely, as this is the beginning of real “hiking” road of the 8 Miles Road. I think there is one thing important, practically, from here for today’s itinerary. Please make it sure you wear nice walking shoes WITHOUT spikes, ropes or any slippery things on your sole. Also, we don’t need any spats or the like to cover your foot. 8 Miles Road was the artery road of Japan. We don’t have to push our way through low trees and bushes, or paddle in mud. Instead, the entire path is “paved” for which Kaempfer was so impressed in the 17th century. Er, I think, it’s really a matter of point of view. Yeah, maybe, in the 17th century Europe, a mountain road completely paved could have been an astonishment. But … OK, let’s experience it next week. I’ll tell you my 21st century Adventure in Hakone.

If you find environmental issues in Hakone, please make a contact with Hakone Visitor Center, Ministry of Environment of Japan.

164 Motohakone, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa 250-0522
Phone: +81-460-84-9981
FAX: +81-460-84-5721
Email: hakone-vc@kanagawa.email.ne.jp
http://hakonevc.sunnyday.jp/shizenjyouhou/gazou/englishindex.html

In the Long Run, We’re All Dead, or shall they? The cedars lining the 8 Miles Road of Hakone 箱根杉並木

To go down 8 Miles Road of Hakone 箱根八里, let’s start from the south shore of Lake Ashinoko 芦ノ湖. We use commuter bus service between JR/Odakyu Odawara Station 小田原駅 and Hakonemachi-ko 箱根町港 at Lake Ashinoko for “Service Z” of Izu-Hakone Bus Co. 伊豆箱根バス (; its route map is here. Hmmmmmm, the name of the route sounds like a code number for a spy movie …) Here is the time schedule. The Odawara stop is #3 post in the bus terminal of East Exit of Odawara Station. They have constant services between 6:00 to 19:00. Though, if you plan to hike 8 Miles Road, I strongly recommend depart the Station between 8:00 and 10:00. After about an hour bus ride, we can get off the bus at Sekisho-ato 箱根関所跡 stop, or at one stop before the terminal, called Onshi-koen Mae 恩賜公園.

Service Z at Number 3 Post for Odawara Station bus terminal.
 At Odawara Terminal for this route,
 they have conductor service.
 Reasonable approach as this is tourists-heavy route.

“Onshi 恩賜” in Japanese means “Imperial Gift.” Onshi-koen was once a summer palace of Imperial Family. The place hosted many ambassadors and imperial guests. In1946 after Japan lost World War II, the estate was donated to Kanagawa Prefecture for commoners to enjoy the splendor of royal garden. The area around Hakone Checking Station museum (Hakone Sekisho-ato), including Onshi-koen, deserves independent post, I presume. So I save the topic for another day. The point is, when we dive into 8 Miles Road straight forward, getting off the bus at Onshi-koen Mae is more convenient. The remaining ancient road starts from a hillside in front of Onshi-koen. From Onshi-koen bus stop, a paved pedestrian street running north leads us into a forest. Follow it, and soon we find ourselves in an esplanade goes in parallel to Route 1 on the south shore of Lake Ashinoko. Both sides are lined with gigantic old cedars. This is THE 8 Miles Road, created by the Japanese civil engineering of the 17th century.

Walking the path along Route 1 from the bus stop,
 which brings us to

The main street of the 17^th century.
 Welcome to the 8 Miles Road of Hakone!

In general, the road Tokugawa Shogunate 徳川幕府 built between Osaka and Edo (Tokyo), aka Tokaido 東海道, was lined with pines. Only 8 Miles Road of Hakone, that is between Hakone Yumoto 箱根湯本 and Hakone-juku Station 箱根宿 (the inn town located on the other side of Hakone Checking Point 箱根関所), was designed with cedars. The builder who oversaw this part of Tokaido was Matsudaira Masatsuna 松平正綱, who governed in the early 17th century Kamakura 鎌倉 and the neighboring area of present-day Yokohama. In my post on January 6th, 2017, I posted I was surprised to know Yokohama is THE major supplier of coniferous seedlings in Japan. The historical reason was from Matsudaira Masatsuna, the feudal lord for that part of Yokohama. He was a sort of Minister of Finance at the beginning of Tokugawa Shogunate under Tokugawa Ieyasu 徳川家康 (1543-1616). In 1616, Lord Matsudaira began constructing the 8 Miles Road of Hakone lined with cedars from his territory in Yokohama. The precincts of ancient Hakone Shrine 箱根神社 stood along the planned 8 Miles Road, and Japanese approaches to a sacred place were often lined with fragrant conifers … Have you got the reason why Masatsuna planted lots of cedars here? He and the Shogun must have been satisfied with their model for an important road. Their idea later became the tree avenue of Nikko 日光. In 1625, Masatsuna started to donate cedar seedlings to decorate the main approach to Nikko Toshogu 日光東照宮, the shrine announcing his late boss, Ieyasu, was a Shintoism deity. It was the beginning of the avenue listed in the Guinness World Record as the longest tree-lined street. Unfortunately, I must report their idea was splendid only for the first couple of centuries.

The national avenue from the 17^th century

As of 2000, there remain 412 planted cedars in 500m of 8 Miles Road along the shore of Lake Ashinoko. Only 30% of them are healthy enough to stand in coming 2100. It would be because of NOx from traffic heavy Route 1 next to the walkway, or lots of tourists stamping the ground around the trees. Though, there could be additional reasons. When Hakone Town researched the stumps of died cedars along the Road (; their study was made public in 2000), the oldest was 350 years old. Say, if samurai of the 17th century planted the seedlings of 10 years’ old, the afforestation would be around 1660, about 50 years later than the officially written record. i.e. The first generation of Yokohama’s cedars planted in 1616 may not have survived. The botanists noticed the growth of cedars in the area cannot be described “good.” The location is about ASL 723m at the bottom of a north-northeast facing slope. Although the place is humid enough, which cedars love, the microclimate there may not be so kind. During these 400 years, there are records for at least 3 occasions of mass-death of Cryptomeria japonica along the 8 Miles Road. Moreover, in 1904 the planting design was intentionally destructed. When in the early 20th century the authority tried to modernize Tokaido for Route 1 between Hakone-yumoto and the south shore of Lake Ashinoko, they did not have enough money. So, mandarins cut 1024 of “marketable” cedars and pines along the route and widen the path for cars. Later around 1944, when Japan engaged in total wars, Imperial Navy ordered to cut more cedars to manufacture ships (; that’s an episode indicating the desperation of Japanese military). The Town Mayor of Hakone resisted the order as much as he could. Some trees were cut, and Japan got two nukes before the entire street was deforested in Hakone. So the trees we meet now in the 8 Miles Road at Lake Ashinoko are true survivors. But their health is in a critical situation.

We can enjoy the vista of Lake Ashinoko,
 Mt. Fuji, and
 a lot of car traffic from the 8 Miles Road.

The trees must be at least 200 years or more old.
 Though, certainly they look slender,
 just like younger cedars in Yadoriki Water Source Forest
 where we know they were planted around 1910.

In order to preserve the scenery for the 22nd and beyond centuries, Hakone Town and Kanagawa Prefecture are now seriously engaging in the rejuvenation project for the tree-lined path. They are nurturing seedlings from the healthiest trees of the 8 Miles Road in order to replant the dying specimen. The undergrowth of walkway can be easily dominated by Japanese Laurel (Aucuba japonica) and Neolitsea sericea both of which dominate the wild part of Hakone’s forests. Their evergreen broadleaves have robust cuticle layer that can reflect sunshine or block the light to reach to the floor. It makes the biodiversity and the soil of the path poor. Although the place is in the National Park, the Town plans to cut some of these second layer trees to create more diversified ecosystem below centuries’ old cedars. Come to think of it, the boulevard of Nikko is also confronting the dying of old cedars. Both places are the result of road construction some 400 years ago. Their hardship in the 21st century may be due to modern problems of pollution and global warming, but …

Neolitsea sericea is robust and fecund.
 They bear lots of berries for birds to eat and spread
 the tree’s offspring along the historical road.
 They would eventually overwhelm the artificially planted cedars.

Parasenecio farfarifolius var. bulbifer,
 which is Japanese endemic herbaceous.
 It normally thrives near humid stream
 in deep mountain under thick growth.
 We can find it right next to busy Route 1
 in a leisurely strolling here, which is VERY Hakone.

Beautiful autumn color of Lindera praecox under the cedars.
 I hope they won’t cut it …

It’s really difficult to be sure how our interaction with the nature turns out in the LONG run. Er … for a short life of humans it can be said “we’re all dead.” But the other living things, like conifers, can survive more than a millennium. Maybe, dealing with them in the time scale of homo sapience is not wise ... Well, yeah, Keynes himself may not have been so cynical to say that even for human-only world. What’s “Long run” in this COVID world now? Anyway, please proceed the flat esplanade with cedars, returning to Route 1 to pass the First Torii 一の鳥居 of Hakone Shrine, and turn right at Motohakone 元箱根 Traffic light. Soon, we dive ourselves in the hiking course. Please stay tuned for the next week. 😉

The old road soon meets with Route 1.
 Could you see a big red Torii, First Torii of Hakone Shrine?
 The flat headed mountain behind Torii is
 Mt. Komagatke 駒ケ岳 (ASL 1356).

If you find environmental issues in Hakone, please make a contact with Hakone Visitor Center, Ministry of Environment of Japan.

164 Motohakone, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa 250-0522
Phone: +81-460-84-9981
FAX: +81-460-84-5721
Email: hakone-vc@kanagawa.email.ne.jp
http://hakonevc.sunnyday.jp/shizenjyouhou/gazou/englishindex.html

The Most Precipitous in Japan: introduction for hiking “8 Miles Road of Hakone 箱根八里”

Hakone 箱根, one of the best-known tourists’ destinations in Japan, is a historical place. It has reputation such as “the most precipitous in Japan” … I doubt this claim, though … Anyway! still now, when people travel between the West, i.e. Nara 奈良, Kyoto 京都, and Osaka 大阪, and the East, i.e. Kamakura 鎌倉 and Edo 江戸 (Tokyo), Hakone is THE choking point for land route. The area is made of steep cliffs and torrents. The passable routes are limited. Until 802 AD, it even had a popular detour which went around Hakone. The bypass was roughly the same road of present-day Route 246 from Gotemba City 御殿場市 to Matsuda Town 松田町 (the gateway to Yadoriki Forest やどりき水源林) via Ashigara Pass 足柄峠 (; my post on August 4, 2017). Then in the first week of 802, Mt. Fuji erupted and closed the Ashigara Pass. People were forced to use mountainous Hakone Route.

The locational composition of Hakone and Mt. Fuji is like this.
 It’s not at all near …
 This photo was taken on the peak of Mt. Yagura 矢倉岳, near Ashigara Pass.

Since then, there were many records depicting how hard to cross Hakone area (for example, this one). When Tokugawa Ieyasu 徳川家康, the founder of Tokugawa Shogunate Government 江戸幕府, decided in 1600 to make Edo the center of Japanese political system, Hakone offered a clever strategic option to build Fortress Tokyo. As the place is so precipitous, there were very few people ventured alternative routes in Hakone. i.e. The government could control almost perfectly the traffic between the East and the West of Japan at Hakone. It was the main gate to Edo. To defend Tokyo from western enemy attacks via the main route, the idea is perfect, isn’t it? Tokugawa Ieyasu constructed a well-crafted road through the mountainous Hakone suitable for large entourages of delegations sent by the Emperor in Kyoto, or by the King of Joseon Dynasty from Korean Peninsula. This mountain road was named “Hakone 8 Ri 箱根八里” aka “8 Miles Road of Hakone” starting from Hakone Yumoto 箱根湯本 to Lake Ashinoko 芦ノ湖. Ieyasu then located a huge check point called Hakone Checking Station 箱根関所 on the south shore of Lake Ashinoko where 8 Miles Road ends and departs to the next region which was the area for modern Shizuoka Prefecture 静岡県.

The map of 8 Miles Road of Hakone, shown near Lake Ashinoko

Today, Hakone Checking Station is a huge tourist attraction that is an amalgam of history museum and a theme park. Introducing the place will be saved for another occasion … Today, and in the next 2 posts, I tell you my adventure along the 8 Miles Road of Hakone. Yes. The road Tokugawa Ieyasu prepared has largely preserved although it is cut in numerous times by Prefectural Road 732 for cars. The marvel of civil engineering for the 17th century Japan. The ancient route becomes a popular hiking road for the 21st century. Exactly speaking, 8 Miles Road starts from Hakone Yumoto (; my post on ), proceeds through the forest almost in parallel to Route 1 until old Hatajuku Town 畑宿, then crisscrosses with Road 732 to historical Amazake-Jaya Café 甘酒茶屋, and finally goes down to Lake Ashinoko via Kampher-Barney Monument. From there to the Checking Station the road runs along the popular circle road of Lake Ashinoko.

When the 8 Miles Road meets with Lake Ashinoko,
 at the First Torii 一の鳥居 of Hakone Shrine 箱根神社,
 we find these tiny stupas and statues of Buddha
 on both sides of the Circle Lake Road.
 The place is called Sai-no-Kawara 賽の河原
where numerous travelers to Hakone some 1000 to 150 years ago
 built these objects of worship for their peace of mind.
 It had once far more stupas,
 but economic development destroyed so many.
 The place is now designated as a Historic Site by Hakone Town.

When you walk the route in this way, it is almost “one way up” … Hmmmmm, it would be an educational experience to know how hard it was to pass Hakone until some 150 years ago … But, in this age of the 21st Century, let’s use a modern tool called “commuter bus services.” We go Lake Ashinoko first, then follow the path from there to Hakone Yumoto. Yeah, it’s almost “one way down.” Even though, it’s really a day hike. I found going-down is enough to know the difficulty in Hakone on foot or horse-ride if you’re skilled enough perhaps at the level of professional jockey or Olympians … Next week, I start from how to reach Lake Ashinoko by commuter bus. Please stay tuned. 😄 Oh, just one reminder. Hakone is a National Park of Japan. Environmental restrictions are harder than for the other parts of Kanagawa Prefecture. We must behave there. Wow.

If you find environmental issues in Hakone, please make a contact with Hakone Visitor Center, Ministry of Environment of Japan.

164 Motohakone, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa 250-0522
Phone: +81-460-84-9981
FAX: +81-460-84-5721
Email: hakone-vc@kanagawa.email.ne.jp
http://hakonevc.sunnyday.jp/shizenjyouhou/gazou/englishindex.html