Day 5 - Tokaido Woodblock Postcard

We both fell asleep early last night, so we're getting this posted here late. Check back again later if you want to see additional images, or check the photo album we linked before!

Before departing, we sent our luggage ahead by overnight courier to our accommodation tomorrow. Trying to pack in just a day pack is proving a challenge but not an insurmountable one. 

Breakfast was a buffet again. Traditional Japanese omelettes, miso soup, and rice porridge alongside a salad bar and pastry. Good and filling.

We transferred by local train on the Tokaido Main

Line, which largely follows the route of the old Tokido highway along the Pacific Ocean coast to Kambara post town. From here we walked to the excellent Tokaido Hiroshige Art Museum to view original woodblock prints. We each made our own woodblock print images, copies of Hiroshige’s famous prints. 

For lunch, just down the street from the museum, we had a traditional lunch of sakura ebi, a shrimp delicacy, pickled vegetables, sashimi (tuna and Sakura - the local tiny shrimp), rice with sakura, soup with sakura, and tempura with sakura and vegetables. We had a great conversation with the group about the Aboriginal people of Australia and the Morie of New Zealand.

Continuing on through the post town of Yui and climbing the Satta Pass through citrus groves we experienced the contemporary juxtaposition of old and new Japan - the Tokido trail which is now partially major roadways and dirt mountain passes. There were times when we were walking through neighborhood back alleys. One of Hiroshige's most famous illustrations of the Tokaido incorporates Mt. Fuji from the viewpoint at the top of Satta pass.  Today Lisa made a replica woodblock print of this piece, and then we got to enjoy the same view from our hike.

We make our way down to Okitsu, a post town made famous by Oliver Statler in his book A Japanese Inn. Our accommodation tonight is a ryokan inn where dinner is a traditional multi-course feast. We bathed in one of the shared shower + hot bath time, and soaked in the hot bath (think hot tub without the bubbles). After two days of walking it felt excellent.