Tokaido, the “Route 66” of Japan

When you take the train from Tokyo to Kyoto, the train line you use is the Tokaido Line. I’ve always liked this name because it recalls the original Tokaido (“eastern sea road”), the historic highway between Japan’s official capitol of Kyoto and Edo, the seat of the Shogun’s government. The official beginning of the Tokaido road (or end, depending on which way you’re traveling) is in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, which is an interesting place to visit, filled with shops to explore and busy merchants selling wares. Happily, the Tokaido was an important subject for popular culture during the Edo Period, and there’s an extensive amount of information detailing what travel was like on the “Route 66” of old Japan, including many ukiyoe woodblock paintings for us to enjoy now.

When you visit Kyoto on the Tokaido Line, you’re traveling over history.