Shimada: the 23rd Station of Tokaido

It is June 29, 2013 - 1st day of my summer vacation.

I had worked really hard at the end of the quarter, so I decided to reward myself with a little time off.

This time, my trip starts from Shimada, the place I left off when I walked the Tokaido during Goldenweek.

Shimada-shuku does not have very many signs, so I just found the Enterance to the west.  Today, this is where I leave the Shimada-shuku.

I walked down the Tokaido until is parted from the modern day main road - towards the left, heading for Ooikawagoe  site.

Ooi River is a very large and dangerous river, and long ago there were no bridges.  So people crossed the river either carried on the sholder or by the carriage carried by "Kawagoe Ninsoku."

The government at that time had created a government ruled system that allowed towns by the river to charge for the service to cross the river.

Here, they have preserved many houses where people who worked in the system lived and worked.

I am in modern age, so I used this.

Scary, isn't it?  It is a long long bridge that people usually cycle across.  

I have no choice but to walk, so I enjoyed the view crossing the river.

These are rapid waters - I can see why people needed to be skilled in order to walk across the river.

Then, I walked through a local village to get to the next station, Kanaya-shuku.