Top›Report Articles›Walking through the former Tokaido Kuwana-juku.

Walking around the former Tokaido Kuwana-juku.

掲載日：2011.06.12

I took a Kintetsu train and took a stroll through the old Tokaido townscape that remains in KuwanaCity. During the Edo period, Kuwana-juku flourished as a post town at the gateway to Ise Province. Travelers visiting Kuwana from Owari Province by sea first arrived at Shichiri no Watari and saw this large torii gate. (March 2010)

We arrived at Kuwana Station. Speaking of Kuwana, Nagashima Resort and TadoTaishaShrine are famous, but today I would like to trace the vestiges of the old Tokaido and Kuwana-juku.
There is a Kuwana KuwanaCity tourist information center on the 2nd floor of the Sunfare building in front of the station, so it is very convenient to get walking maps and other information.

After about a 15 minute walk from Kuwana Station, we arrived at Shichiri Watari, the entrance to Kuwana-juku on the old Tokaido. It is called ``Shichiri no Watari'' because there was a sea route of seven miles from Atsuta no Miya to Kuwana.

name

Shichiri no Watari

address

511-0011 Funamacho senbacho KuwanaCity

telephone number

0594-24-1361

Official URL

http://kanko.city.kuwana.mie.jp/machi/shichiri/

Access by public transportation

・About 20 minutes on foot from JR/Kintetsu "Kuwana Station"
Or get off at the community bus “senbacho” stop and walk for about 3 minutes.

Access by car

・About 25 minutes by car from Higashi-Meihan Expressway "Kuwana IC"

Click here for details!

Currently, the area around the Shichiri no Watashi site is maintained as a park, and you can see the area around the mouth of the Ibi River.

Near the ruins of Shichiri no Watashi, I discovered a stone monument with poems and lanterns. According to the explanation, the Meiji era literary great Kyoka Izumi, who stayed in Kuwana on a business trip, wrote a literary work called Uta Andon based on her impressions from that time.

name

Song and lantern monument

address

511-0011 Funamacho senbacho KuwanaCity

telephone number

0594-24-1361

Official URL

http://kanko.city.kuwana.mie.jp/

Access by public transportation

From JR/Kintetsu Kuwana Station, take the city loop bus and get off at Honmachi stop, 5 minutes walk.

Click here for details!

The old Tokaido is now a residential area and no longer has the bustle of the Edo period, but you can still feel the vestiges of the old road in places.

When you think of Kuwana, you think of clams, and when you think of clams, you think of Kuwana. For lunch, we had clam nigiri at Tawara Sushi (Tel: 0594-21-5454), a long-established restaurant that has been around for over 100 years. The more you chew, the more the taste of the clam spreads in your mouth, making it very delicious.

After dinner, we took a walk through KyukaPark. At the entrance to the park, we were greeted by a statue of Tadakatsu Honda, the first lord of the Kuwana domain. Lord Tadakatsu was a famous general known as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Tokugawa.

KyukaPark is known as one of the best cherry blossom viewing spots in Mie Prefecture, but on this day the cherry blossoms were still in bud.

name

Kuwana Castle Ruins/ KyukaPark

address

KuwanaCity

telephone number

0594-21-5416

Official URL

https://www.city.kuwana.lg.jp/kanko/miru/kankospot/kanko006.html

parking

Please use Kakiyasu Community Park (charges apply)
Please check the KuwanaCity website for fees and operating hours.
http://www.city.kuwana.lg.jp/index.cfm/24,10646,225,352,html

Access by public transportation

<Railway> 15 minutes walk from JR/Kintetsu/Yoro Railway "Kuwana" station, Sangi Railway Hokusei Line "Nishi-Kuwana" station
<Bus> From Kuwana Station, get off at City A Loop Bus "Honmachi" and walk 5 minutes

Access by car

15 minutes from Higashi-Meihan Expressway “Kuwana” IC, 15 minutes from Isewangan Expressway “Wangan Kuwana” IC

Click here for details!

I went to the KuwanaCity Museum, which is about a 5-minute walk from KyukaPark. On this day, a special exhibition titled ``Six Battles Illustrated History'' was open to the public. The Six Battles refer to the six battles fought by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and maps of the battles created by geographers from the Edo period are on display. Admission is free, except for special exhibitions.

name

KuwanaCity Museum

address

37-1 Kyomachi, KuwanaCity 511-0039

telephone number

0594-21-3171

Official URL

http://www.city.kuwana.lg.jp/

Fee

free

business hours

9:30-17:00 (Admission until 16:30)

holiday

Mondays, the day after holidays, year-end and New Year holidays, and exhibition replacement periods

parking

can be

Access by public transportation

From JR/Kintetsu Kuwana Station, get off at City A Loop Bus Miyadori and walk 2 minutes.

Access by car

20 minutes from Higashi-Meihan Expressway Kuwana IC
Or 15 minutes from Isewangan Expressway Wangan Kuwana IC

Click here for details!

I decided to use JR on my way back. After buying a ticket and waiting for the train on the down platform, I found a monument with a poem written by Chuya Nakahara. ``It was dark at Kuwana Station, and frogs were croaking...''
In half a day, I learned not only about the history of the old Tokaido, but also that KuwanaCity was the setting for a literary work, so it was a meaningful trip.

*The information posted is as of April 2012.