Hatago (旅籠) were Edo period lodgings for travelers at shukuba (post stations) along the national highways, including the Edo Five Routes and the subroutes. In addition to a place to rest, hatago also offered meals and other foods to the travelers. They were also called hatagoya (旅籠屋).
Hatago means "traveling basket." The word itself originally derived from baskets that contained food for horses and were carried by travelers. From there, it became a tool with which travelers were carry their own food and goods. Shops that began preparing and selling food for travelers gained the suffix ya (屋), meaning "shop," but this was eventually shortened to just hatago.
Because many post stations along the Tōkaidō, Nakasendō and other historical routes have been either preserved or rebuilt, there are many traditional hatago still in existence today. While some have only been preserved as public buildings and museums, others have continued to operate for the past few hundred years.
The Nakasendō, also called the Kisokaidō (木曾街道), was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo to Kyoto in Japan. There were 69 stations (staging-posts) between Edo and Kyoto, crossing through Musashi, Kōzuke, Shinano, Mino and Ōmi provinces. In addition to Tokyo and Kyoto, the Nakasendō runs through the modern-day prefectures of Saitama, Gunma, Nagano, Gifu and Shiga, with a total distance of about 534 km (332 mi).
Magome-juku was the forty-third of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō connecting Edo with Kyoto in Edo period Japan. It is located in former Mino Province in what is now part of the city of Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It was also the last of eleven stations along the Kisoji, which was the precursor to a part of the Nakasendō, running through the Kiso Valley.
Honjin (本陣) is the Japanese word for an inn for government officials, generally located in post stations (shukuba) during the later part of the Edo period.
The 69 Stations of the Nakasendō are the rest areas along the Nakasendō, which ran from Nihonbashi in Edo to Sanjō Ōhashi in Kyoto. The route stretched approximately 534 km (332 mi) and was an alternate trade route to the Tōkaidō.
Unuma-juku was the fifty-second of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō connecting Edo with Kyoto in Edo period Japan. It is located in former Mino Province in what is now part of the city of Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, Japan.
Shiojiri-shuku was the thirtieth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō. It is located in the central part of the present-day city of Shiojiri, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
Musa-juku (武佐宿) was the sixty-sixth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto in Edo period Japan. It was located in the present-day city of Ōmihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Other kanji used to write "Musa" included 牟佐 and 身狭, but 武佐 became the official kanji in the Edo period.
Fukushima-juku was the thirty-seventh of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto during the Edo period. It was located in the present-day city of Kiso, in the Kiso District of Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It was also numbered as the fifth of eleven stations on the Kisoji highway.
Wada-shuku was the twenty-eighth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto during the Edo period. It was located in the present-day town of Nagawa, in the Chiisagata District of Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
Nagakubo-shuku was the twenty-seventh of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto during the Edo period. It is located in the present-day town of Nagawa, in the Chiisagata District of Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
The Hokkoku Kaidō was a highway in Japan during the Edo period. It was a secondary route, ranked below the Edo Five Routes in importance. Because it was developed for travelers going to Zenkō-ji, it was also called Zenkō-ji Kaidō (善光寺街道). It stretched from the Nakasendō's Oiwake-juku to the Hokurikudō's Takada-shuku. Nowadays, the route is traced by Route 18, stretching between the town of Karuizawa and the city of Jōetsu.
The 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō are the rest areas along the Tōkaidō, which was a coastal route that ran from Nihonbashi in Edo to Sanjō Ōhashi in Kyoto. There were originally 53 government post stations along the Tōkaidō, where travelers had to present traveling permits at each station if wanting to cross.
Honjō-shuku was the tenth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto during the Edo period. It was the largest of the stations in terms of population and number of buildings. It was located in the present-day city of Honjō, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
Okegawa-shuku was the sixth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto during the Edo period. It was located in the present-day city of Okegawa, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
Ai no Shuku were unofficial post stations along historical routes in Japan. These post stations formed organically along routes when the distance between two places was too far or when there were difficult passes nearby. Because they were not officially designated rest areas, travelers along the roads were not allowed to stay in these post stations. Sometimes the Japanese is shortened to 間宿.
Akasaka-juku was the thirty-sixth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in present-day Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It was only 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi) from Goyu-juku, the preceding post station.
Shukuba (宿場) were post stations during the Edo period in Japan, generally located on one of the Edo Five Routes or one of its sub-routes. They were also called shuku-eki (宿駅). These post stations were places where travelers could rest on their journey around the nation. They were created based on policies for the transportation of goods by horseback that were developed during the Nara and Heian periods.
The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaidō or Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Road, is a series of ukiyo-e works created by Utagawa Hiroshige and Keisai Eisen. There are 71 total prints in the series.
Hiratsuka-juku was the seventh of the fifty-three stations (shukuba) of the Tōkaidō. It is located in the present-day city of Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Arai-juku was the thirty-first of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in the city of Kosai, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. During the Edo period, it was located in Tōtōmi Province. The kanji for the post station were originally also written as 荒江 and 荒井 (Arai).