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).
Original ishidatami (stone paving) on the Nakasendō
Along the Nakasendō between Tsumago and Magome.
A modern-day guidepost for the Nakasendō near Takamiya-juku
Odaki waterfall west of Tsumago-juku
The Five Routes , sometimes translated as "Five Highways", were the five centrally administered routes, or kaidō, that connected the de facto capital of Japan at Edo with the outer provinces during the Edo period (1603–1868). The most important of the routes was the Tōkaidō, which linked Edo and Kyoto. Tokugawa Ieyasu started the construction of these five routes to increase his control over the country in 1601, but it was Tokugawa Ietsuna, the 4th shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate and Ieyasu's great-grandson, who declared them as major routes. Post stations were set up along the route for travelers to rest and buy supplies. The routes thrived due to the policy of sankin-kōtai, that required the daimyō to travel in alternate years along the routes to Edo.
Nihonbashi's highway distance marker, marking the beginning of the five routes
The Tōkaidō in 1865
Nakasendō's Magome-juku