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From Nihonbashi to Nikko on foot! I recommend walking along the highway
It's moss.
How much do you know about the road named "◯◯ Kaido" or "◯◯ Road"?
In a famous place, many people think of the five highways starting from Nihonbashi (Tokaido, Nakasendo, Koshu Kaido, Nikko Kaido, Oshu Kaido).
Actually, the other day, I crossed Nikko Kaido, one of these five highways, from Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku to Nikko with a rosary connection!
What does it mean to "travel with a rosary"? I think there are many people who think that it is, so this time we will introduce how to enjoy "walking on the highway".
Road walking is a hybrid of "walking" and "traveling"
To put it simply, "walking on a certain fixed road."
There is no clear definition, but I think walking on a certain fixed road is different from walking.
As long as it was before the Edo period, there are historical buildings and historical sites such as post offices and milestone along the way, so it is emotional to walk while imagining the appearance of the past.
Also, depending on the road, old roads may remain, so if you walk a little rough road, you can enjoy the old atmosphere.
When walking in places that you don't usually visit, you can taste the delicious local food, buy specialty products, and enjoy it as a form of travel.
If you have plenty of time and physical strength, you can walk from the starting point to the end point of the highway while staying, like a traveler, but it is very difficult for many people at present.
What appears there is a method called "Rosary Tsunagi".
One day, walk from point A to point B, and from there return home by train. Next, when the timing is reached, walk from point B to point C and return home. By repeating this, when you reach the goal point, you will have walked all along the way from the start to the goal.
For example, if you live in Tokyo and walk on the Tokaido, if you do a rosary on a day trip, you will have a time loss between the time of going and returning, so if you are west of a certain point, consider accommodation I think it is better.
My Nikko Kaido Road
In this Nikko Kaido walk, we all traversed rosary on a day trip.
・Start (Nihonbashi): February, 2021
・Goal (Nikko): May, 2023
・Number of days I walked: 17th
・Road distance: Approx. 140km
・Post Office: (Nihonbashi) / Senju / Soka / Koshigaya / Kasukabe / Sugito / Satte / Kurihashi / Nakata / Furukawa / Nogi / Mamada / Koyama / Nitta / Koganei / Suzumenomiya / Suzumenomiya / Utsunomiya / Tokujiro / Osawa / Imaichi / bowl stone / (Nikko)
By the way, as a policy of walking along the highway, I am
・If the old road remains, walk along the old road as much as possible.
・Don't walk more than 30km a day
・I don't go walking on bad weather days
I decided to walk casually while establishing basic policies such as this.
Looking at the information of those who walked along the Nikko Kaido on the Internet, etc., most people seem to have completed the walk in about a few days.
Nikko Kaido is a road designed to connect Edo with Nikko Toshogu Shrine, which is also the burial ground of Ieyasu Tokugawa.
It was the shortest of the five highways and there is no section over the mountains, so it basically goes on a flat road, so it was a very easy way to walk from beginning to end.
Shortly after entering Saitama Prefecture, the rural scenery spread and experienced the magnificence of the Kanto Plain.
On the way
・"Furukawa Castle Ruins" was the home of Koga Furukawa.
・Place where the military council "Koyama rating" determined the victory of the Eastern Army in the battle of Sekigahara was performed
・The birthplace of Kunpei Gamo, one of the three strange people in Edo, and burial ground
I actually visited historical places, such as, and indulge in thought.
As you approach Nikko, you will see a long old cedar tree-lined road.
From the cedar trees, which are also designated as special natural monuments, I caught the sunlight of the goal approaching while bathing in pleasant sunshine through the sunbeams.
Why don't you walk along the highway?
The method of walking along the highway introduced this time is just an example.
You can bypass the road that is easy to walk without sticking to the old road, and I think it's a good idea to pick up only the sections you are interested in and walk.
Recently, many guide maps for walking along the highway have been published, so I hope you can refer to routes and visiting spots along the way.
As a one-point advice, if you try to look around all the places listed on the guide map, you may run out of time no matter how much time you have.
・Determine the "place you want to visit" to some extent.
・Determine the theme within yourself, such as "Gourmet" and "Building".
・Determine my rule, "Walking a day to the next post office."
It is recommended that you customize the road walk on your own and work freely and casually.
If you are interested, please take care of heat stroke in the coming season!