Old Tokaido - Hiking

Tokaido - translated as 'Eastern Sea Road' - was one of the 5 major routes of the Edo period (17th to 19th century) between Tokyo and Kyoto. Today, not much of it remains. A 3 km long stretch with large stone paving is still preserved in Hakone (between Hakone-Yumoto and Motohakone / Lake Ashinoko). Some of the stones are arranged so randomly that it is hard to imagine that carriers, carts, and palanquins passed through here for centuries. Signs along the way explain that the route was destroyed twice by earthquakes in the 20th century and only sparsely rebuilt.

Uphill, uneven path and especially slippery stones (it had rained at night) really gave me a hard time. :D I sweated so much that I had beads of sweat on my knees (!) and I was cold :) Just before reaching the destination, the sun came out and I basked in it like a lizard.

On the way there, I hardly met any people, but on the way back, I met a few more. Japanese people are not really a hiking nation :D