Nakasendō

Summary

The Nakasendō , also called the Kisokaidō (木曾街道), was one of the centrally administered five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected the de facto capital of Japan at Edo to Kyoto. 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).