Nakasendo trail day 3/19: Hiking from Echigawa to Kashiwabara post towns
Day 3 of our Nakasendo trip took us from Echigawa to Kashiwabara, hiking through the post towns of Takamiya, Toriimoto, Banba, and Samegai. Despite the rain, we saw the birthplace of Goushu Ondo, the inn where the Meiji Emperor stayed, the setting of the anime K-On!, and enjoyed a home-cooked lunch.
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Trip summary
The Nakasendo stations we'll visit today are Echigawa, Takamiya, Toriimoto, Banba, Samegai and Kashiwabara. To view our trip breakdown, please refer to our introduction post here.
The lined-up container rooms at the Hotel R9 Higashi Omi (left), the parking and the reception container (middle), and the navigation for day 3 on our Garmin watch (right).
After a quiet night at the hotel (read our day two post to see what the room looks like), we made our way to a restaurant for breakfast. We found a chain beef rice restaurant called Matsuya (松屋), which serves breakfast from 5 am to 11 am, which was perfect given the long day ahead of us.
A small park with a traditional lantern in the Gokasho area in Higashi Omi (left), and a street we took in a residential area to get to the restaurant.
We made a quick stop at a convenience store to buy a nail clipper we had forgotten, then we started our hike on the Nakasendo Trail in the Gokasho area towards Matsuya.
Once arrived, we picked our options from the ticket vending machine. I ordered grilled salmon for breakfast, and my husband chose beef bibimbap with grilled salmon. This chain restaurant’s main menu item is Gyudon, a sweet-and-savoury stewed beef dish served over rice. Their menu is mostly Japanese, but it’s worth trying once. Their menu is reasonably priced, but the food tastes good.
The vending machine's ordering system is similar to that of fast food chains, such as McDonald’s or KFC. Choose the menu from the vending machine, then you receive the tickets, and wait at the table. The number will be displayed on a screen in the restaurant. Once it’s ready to pick up, hand over the ticket to the staff and get your food.
Kevin is crossing the Miyuki bridge over the Echi River.
Echi River and the rail bridge track (left), and the Echi River sign (right).
Energy fully charged, and we are ready to start our hike for today properly!
Crossing the Echi River and following the Nakasendo trail for 10 minutes. We saw a big gate sign written “Nakasendo Echigawa post town (中山道 愛知川宿)”. We loved how obvious it is. So here we are, we have arrived at Echigawa post town.
Once we passed the gate, we noticed that the streetlights were like those of the people who walked on Nakasendo during the Edo period. I love it!
"Nomazugawa bridge (不飲川橋)" means "not drinkable". It was named after a bloody historical episode. (left), and the direction sign on the ground; "wholesaler shop ruin (90m to the left)", "Ise road (straight), "old inn ruin (90m to the right)". (right).
Takeheirou restaurant (left) and the memorial statue of the Meiji Emperor who stayed here (right).
9:20 am Not far from the gate, there is a traditional Japanese restaurant called “Takeheirou (竹平楼)”. The restaurant began operating as an inn in 1758. In 1878, when the Meiji Emperor was travelling around Japan to meet the people, they stayed at this inn. Now, they run their business as a restaurant, but if you dine there, you can see inside the building, which has been well-maintained since the Meiji period. The reception room and the hall in this building have been registered as Japan’s cultural property by the Agency for Cultural Affairs in Japan since 2000.
Since we were there in the morning, we couldn’t stop by. However, we would love to return to Takeheirou to enjoy their food and explore the building.
The Echigawa tourist information centre and the explanation about its building and the history of the post town.
The local area map (left), Nakasendo Echigawa post town sign pole (middle), and the ukiyo-e drawing of Echigawa from the Edo period (right).
Aha! We found a great-looking Japanese sweet shop in Echigawa! We have to go inside and find what they have.
We were surprised at what they have in the shop. On the right-hand side, they have all the sweets, and on the left-hand side, they put a lot of old things, such as notes and coins, card games, dolls, a sweets mould, etc. We felt like we were in a small museum. The shop has been in operation since 1865, and the items sure look like they are from around that era, too. They are well-kept and beautiful.
I told the shop lady that we are walking on Nakasendo and I want to try something very local or Nakasendo-related. She told us that the sweet called “Komedokoro (米どころ)”, which means the place where good quality rice grows. As they named the sweets this way, they use the local rice called “Omi rice (近江米)” to make them. She also recommended their kumquat daifuku to us, which isn't a common item but is one of their best-selling mochi sweets. Now I regret not buying the kumquat daifuku. I chose their strawberry daifuku instead because, as you may recall from our previous post, I was eager to try different strawberry daifuku from various shops along the Nakasendo trip. I should have bought both! Well, I will go back one day.
In the end, we purchased the Komedokoro, strawberry daifuku, another monaka sweet called “Shirohei Monaka,” and a chestnut bun. We will have them when we take a break somewhere.
Behind the buildings, we could see the stunning mountain, with its snow-covered peak.
We said goodbye to the shop lady at the Shirohei Roho sweet shop and set out for our next stop.
We were enjoying a walk towards the beautiful mountain with snow on top, when we found this stone monument inscribed with the words “The birthplace of Goushu Ondo (江州音頭)”. Ondo (音頭) means a traditional Japanese dance song. Goushu Ondo was born in the Omi area, which was formerly known as Goushu. It was the Omi merchants who spread that dance throughout Japan.
"Yutaka Kaikan (豊会館)", the local history museum (left), and a Nakasendo Ichirizuka milestone in front of it (right).
"The Tortoise and the Hare" on the street lamp in Tougou town (left), "Tobidashi Boya (飛び出し坊や)" with the anime school uniform outfit (middle), and the ruin of Ichirizuka.
I can say that this place is one of the few that we were curious to visit. Perhaps our readers aren’t familiar with Japanese anime, but I have been aware of this anime since I was a teenager. The anime is called “K-On! (けいおん!)”. This elementary school was in the anime as a high school where the girls were. The school building is also used to film various other TV series in Japan.
The map of the school buildings and the sign read "Be aware that we close the gate at 6 pm".
Isn't this cute? The school used "The Tortoise and the Hare" from Aesop's Fables to warn kids not to rush up the school’s stairs.
The building was constructed in 1937 by an American architect and has been designated as a cultural property since 2007.
One of the historical photos in the museum (left), and the video theatre where you can learn about the building's history (right).
Old pine trees and the statues of travellers with the message written "Welcome to Hikone City (おいでやす 彦根市)" in their dialect.
They are open only on Saturdays. Phew! We were lucky.
We were looking for a place to eat, but most of the restaurants were either opening at 12 pm or were small cafes that couldn’t replenish our energy.
Luckily, we found a local restaurant called “Aina Shokudo (愛菜食堂),” which is run by a kind and lovely lady. It was a little bit off our route (just a few minutes' walk), but we arrived at 11:30, and the restaurant was open from 11:30 am.
The note reads "Welcome!! I'm really sorry, but please help yourself to the tea".
Once we ordered our meal, a few more people came in, and then some more afterwards, so the lady got very busy. She had to prepare the meal and take orders. It took about half an hour to get our meal, but look at that. The meal is massive!
Warm and hearty meal at Aina Shokudo. "Today's set meal" (left), and the "smaller" option (right).
My husband ordered the regular daily lunch, and I ordered the smaller one. I was relieved I ordered the smaller version, but I was also worried about the ladies sitting next to our table, who had ordered the regular size.
The lady filled it with different authentic Japanese home meals. We loved it so much. It was perfect, especially since we still had a long distance ahead of us. It was as if our mum cooked for us, an absolute comfort food. I would love to go back and tell her how much her food gave us some energy and comfort.
12:40 Leaving the restaurant
It was so comfy, but we have to go. According to the weather forecast, rain was expected from 1 pm. So we prepared ourselves for the weather, thanked the lady, and headed to Takamiya post town.
The first sign where we saw written "Nakasendo Takamiya post town"
After a few minutes walk from the restaurant, we reached the famous Muchin Bridge (無賃橋). Muchin means “free of charge”. In 1832, you needed to pay to cross a bridge over a river, but this one was free; that is why it’s called the Muchin Bridge.
The bridge was rebuilt in 1932, so it remains a historic and impressive structure.
💡
To visit Hikone Castle, take a train from Takamiya, Toyosato, or even Echigawa Station directly with Omi Tetsudo (local train company) to Hikone Station.
Initially, we wanted to stop by Hikone to see the castle, but we didn’t have enough time. We enjoyed visiting Shiga Prefecture, so we hope to be back next time.
A few minutes walk after crossing the bridge, we found a sign showing that the Meiji Emperor stayed here in front of the Enshoji temple (円照寺) in Takamiya post town. This temple is also famous for the place where the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu stopped to take a break in 1614.
We could also see the sign written “中山道 高宮宿 (Nakasendo Takamiya post town)” right next to the torii gate. We love this kind of sign, especially since we are following the Nakasendo, and it gives us great satisfaction to know we have come this far!
Traditional handmade lantern shop (left), and a cafe in a classic house run by the students from the University of Shiga prefecture (right).
1:40 pm Grocery shopping for dinner at Friend Mart
When we checked the map, we didn’t see many grocery stores afterwards, so we decided to do it now. We bought some sushi rolls, yakitori (grilled skewered chicken), and small tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) for dinner, as well as some bread for breakfast.
The quiet road after the shopping (left). There was a local soy sauce factory (middle). Just before reaching Ono town, we came across a mysterious pass called "Tsunoji". We don't know where it will take you.
The Ono no Komachi memorial place in Ono town. The monkey and the rabbit are playing the drums in the drawing.
This place is famous as the birthplace of Ono no Komachi (小野小町). She is known as one of the three historical beauties in Japan, along with Cleopatra and Yang Guifei.
This place was also a post town when Tokugawa Ieyasu maintained the Nakasendo in 1602. When Hikone Castle was built in 1603, the post town was relocated to Toriimoto.
There was an old-looking but beautiful waterway along the road. As you can see in the third photo, it was raining.
"Raincoat red" and "Akadama medicine red" are part of the three reds. We missed the "Watermelon red", which was on the other side of the bench.
The name, “San-aka”, means Three (san) Red (aka), and their three local specialities are all related to the red colour:
The red stomach medicine, called Jinkyogan (神教丸).
Their traditional raincoat was red because tannin from bitter persimmon was used to dye it, making the paper water-resistant.
Watermelon.
Since it was raining, we decided to take a break with some sweets from Echigawa. Inside the building, there were some historical items related to the traditional raincoat, which was produced in this area until the 70’s (one of the red local specialities!).
Hand-drawn Toriimoto post town map (left), and the explanation board of different post towns (right).
There was also an explanation board of different post towns, and a clean toilet.
Former raincoat shop "Matsuya (松屋)".
Former Waki (sub) Honjin (left), and the Toriimoto rail station from a distance (right).
Former Honjin Teramura Family. The family used to run the Honjin in Ono post town and continued to do so when the post town moved to Toriimoto.
Former raincoat shop "Momenya (木綿屋)" (left), and the 350-year-old Arikawa pharmacy, famous for the medicine called "Akadama Shinkyougan (赤玉神教丸)".
A Nakasendo sign (left), and the statues of travellers with the message "come again (またおいでやす)' in Shiga dialect.
After about a 20-minute walk from the information centre, we reached the starting point of the Surihari mountain pass. This mountain pass will be the first mountain pass on the Nakasendo when you are coming from the Kyoto side.
It was short, but since we had been walking only on the concrete pavement this whole time, we felt so good to be in the woods. The path was well-maintained and easy to walk on, but there was some rubbish on the ground, though.
After about 10 minutes of walking in the woods, we were back on the concrete road, so in total, it took less than 20 minutes to cross the mountain pass.
A sign on "Surihari mountain pass Hikone (摺針峠 彦根)" on the left and a "Naksendo (中山道)" sign on the right.3:48 pm Following the pass, we can see the motorway and Mount Ibuki.
After about 20 minutes of walking and a brief chat with an old local lady, we came across the first stone sign, which read “Nakasendo Banba post town (中山道 番場宿)”.
Since we stopped a few times, we were starting to get late on our schedule, and it began to rain again, so we couldn’t stop for long at this post town.
The museum on our list unfortunately closed at 4 pm, but most of the historical items are located outside, so we still took time to take photos and headed to the next post town, Samegai.
Nishi Banba community centre (left), and the place used to have a wholesale building, where the Meiji Emperor stayed when he visited Banba in 1878.
When we reached Samegai post town, it was already dark and raining! Regardless, we could see how beautiful the town along the Jizo River is.
"Baikamo" habitats in the Jizo River
Samegai is famous for a plant called “Japanese water crowfoot” or “water buttercup”, and in Japanese, Baikamo (梅花藻). The plant grows in the river, and every summer it blooms with its white flowers.
This information board describes the protected and endangered fish known as "Hariyo (Smallhead stickleback)" that lives in the Jizo River.
Another thing that is very famous here is the fish, which come to the plant to lay their eggs. This fish is called the “Smallhead stickleback” in Japanese, ”Hariyo (ハリヨ)”. Hariyo is registered as an endangered species by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment.
I wanted to go to the sweets shop, but it might have been closed at that time. We didn’t see any shops with lights, or perhaps we missed them because we rushed due to the rain. There was a lot to see! Hopefully, we can return when the Japanese water crowfoot is blooming in the Jizo River and enjoy a local trout dish.
Nakasendo sign with the direction to Kashiwabara to the right
When we arrived, the owner was very kind and welcomed us by preparing towels for us to dry ourselves, and we apologised for being late. We were soaked, so we paid the 100 JPY fee to fill the bathtub and took a bath straight away to warm ourselves. The guesthouse has a shared bathroom, but it was clean, which was a relief.
Meguruya’s cosy ambience in the shared area
The guesthouse also has a shared kitchen and living room, so we could reheat our dinner that we had bought earlier at the supermarket.
The room we stayed at Meguruya. We took this photo right before leaving the next day.
Our room was massive, so much so that we could easily dry our laundry in it after washing it at their coin laundry in the room adjacent to ours. Even though the room was big, we had an air conditioner, so we could quickly warm it up.
The Los Angeles Dodgers vs the Yomiuri Giants game is on TV
We did some stretching while watching a baseball game on TV, then we went to bed to recharge ourselves for tomorrow.
Closing words
The distance on Day 3 was 33.73 km in 7h53m! Due to the weather and distance, we couldn’t see everything, but we will return to catch what we missed this time.
Weren’t those post towns we passed through quite attractive? Even if you can’t spend as much time as we did, there are train stations near each post town accessible from Kyoto by changing lines, and it’s not complicated. So, you can go there to explore! We highly recommend it! You can use our offline track available to our subscribers, so you know exactly where to go.
The next Nakasendo hiking trip is our Day 4 out of 19. On this day, we pass through Kashiwabara, Imasu (Gifu Prefecture), Sekigahara, Tarui, and Akasaka. Yes, we are entering another prefecture! Gifu Prefecture also has many historical sites, including the famous battlefield called “Sekigahara (関ヶ原)”.
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