Kanbara Post Town. The good folks of Kanbara have been serving lunch to hungry Tokaido travellers for half a millennium, but that won’t dent the warmth of their welcome to you. One of the mysteries of Hiroshige is that he painted Kanbara in a snow blizzard, but it’s location near the Pacific coast (in Suruga Bay) means that actually it has a rather subtropical climate. That’s journalism for you.
Kanbara Post Town, Hiroshige, 19C, Tokaido Station #15
Kanbara retains a lot of feudal and immediate post-feudal period architecture. Enjoy Izumi Ryokan and the Shida Residence. Kanbara has an impressive “Honjin”, which in all Tokaido post towns was the high-end accommodation where important officials and wealthy travelers stayed. The small Tokaido museum at Kanbara has some delightful exhibits of real Tokaido bits and pieces. And be sure to drop into Yamashichi for delicious cherry shrimp, a local Shizuoka seafood delicacy. You can here also find beautiful souvenirs depicting Tokaido scenes hand-made from antique silk.
Enjoy staying at Tsubame Backpackers, where you can have your own private mini bunkroom complete with tatami floor. The floors outside your bunkroom are made of freshly felled sustainably grown plantation Japanese Cedar, giving the place a rich woody aroma. Tsubame means Sparrow, because guests fly back each year. tsubamenoyado@gmail.com
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