Sawayaka Walking and the Old Tokaido Road

For the past few years, JR (Japan Rail) has been organizing hikes and walks around a variety of areas in Shizuoka Prefecture (that's us) on most weekends. They advertise their planned walks (and hikes for the more adventurous)　in a new flyer every two months. On the day of the walk there are JR people at a "registration desk" at or near the starting point to give you a map and a little pin (naturally depicting a cute little character); even if you can't read a map, though, you don't have to worry - JR marks the trail very clearly with arrows and "Sawayaka Walking" signs, so as long as you watch for the arrows, you can't really get lost.

Find a walk near you: http://walking.jr-central.co.jp/index.html

Brian and I participated in one such Sawakaya Walk on Sunday, with two co-workers whose idea it was to try the JR Sawayaka Walking. We started the walk from Abekawa station (about an hour and a half on the local train from our apartment, and very near Shizuoka city). We did a 10km walk along the river, where we bought some mikans to snack on mid-way. We wended our way along the old Tokaido road and ate some chestnuts at the station-cum-teahouse-cum-tourist attraction.

The teahouse on the (Old)Tokaido Road - 2006:



Tokaido translates as "East Sea Road", and the old road ran basically from Kyoto (the old capital of Japan) to Edo (Tokyo), the new capital, passing through many smaller towns along the way (such as Mishima and Numazu, which are just down the road from us). The Tokaido train line (and the Tomei highway) roughly follows the same route as the Old Tokaido Road (but it's much less bumpy now). Brian and I occasionally find ourselves walking on part of the old road when we take day trips to Hakone and other little places. Some parts of the road are just new highway, but other parts are old, slippery stone paths that wind through the woods. It's awesome to imagine the history of the old road...

Mariko Station (now the teahouse above) as Hiroshige saw it, c.1840:



Our walk also took us past the lovely Bai-en (梅園) or Plum Blossom Park; we stopped in the park to enjoy the plum blossoms and other lovely sights. This kimono-clad girl made us feel like we really were on the Old Tokaido Road!




We continued on the route for a while longer, passing other walkers on the way, and we finally reached the goal at 3:15 pm.When you reach the goal, you get a little stamp in your Sawayaka Walking card - when you get enough stamps you can redeem them for prizes, such as a towel.

The walk was very gentle, and though we generally prefer a more rigorous, off-road hike, this walk was perfect to enjoy the sunshine and give Brian's still-painful knee some easy exercise. Though it was not a strenuous walk, at the end, we were rather tired:




These outings are free, but you have to take the train to get there (they ARE organized by Japan Rail, after all!). If you're interested in the Sawayaka Walking (or more adventurous hiking), check out the JR site here (in Japanese):

http://www.jr-central.co.jp/station.nsf/doc/SawayakaWalkingMenu