Hakone Kyu Kaido (Old Highway)

In the early Edo Period, the Tokugawa Shogunate developed the Tokaido Road between Tokyo and Kyoto. The section between the two post towns, Mishima and Odawara, is Hakone Old Highway. The 32km road climbs more than 800m, known as the hardest to walk. The difficulty is sung in the children’s song “Hakone Hachiri“ composed in the Meiji Period which describes Mt. Hakone as the world’s sharp sword.

Hakone Old Highway’s icon is the cobblestone road. Rains used to turn it muddy up to the shins. To ease the difficulty of travelers, the Tokugawa Shogunate laid those stones. Also Ichirizuka, milestones to gauge distance, were placed every one ri (about 3.9km), three of which still remain to this day, designated as the national historic sites along with the cobblestone road.

Even though Hakone Old Highway is popular as a hiking course with a historic nostalgia, the steep uphill can be quite hard. The Nishizaka (West Slope) between Hakone Pass and Mishima-juku is a down slope more than the half of the distance. Watch out, for it can take a toll on your legs and feet.