Hakone Sekisho

The rainy season has arrived. Not every day is rainy, but it’s a good idea to have your rain gear with you all the time. 

On Tuesday, I took the train to Mishima, where I met a friend and we went to Hakone Sekisho. The Tokugawa Shogunate settled 53 checkpoints throughout Japan. Hakone Sekisho (checkpoint) was settled in 1619 and was the largest and most important. The primary purpose of the checkpoints was to control weapons entering Edo (now Tokyo) and women attempting to leave Edo. Hakone Sekisho was known for its strictness, and was primarily responsible for keeping women from escaping Edo. 

The restoration of this checkpoint began in 1999 and opened to the public in April 2004. The project was fully completed in the spring of 2007. The facility is open 7 days a week, 9 am - 5 pm (closing 30 minutes earlier from December - February.) Admission is 500 yen. It was totally worth that fee. I really enjoyed seeing all the well done recreations.

It was a little rainy, but not a downpour. 

Details of the physical features of the inhabitants and the color and design of their clothing is unknown. To avoid giving a false impression to visitors to visitors, the mannequins have been painted in light colors.

After you climb the long stairs, there are more to climb to get to the Lookout. The view was nice, but would have been nicer if it wasn’t rainy.

Photos were not allowed in the exhibition hall. It had a lot of good exhibits inside.

We had a nice/late picnic lunch, then it was time for me to head home on the train.  

The closest JR station to where I live has a piano where anyone can play.  I always hope someone is playing as I pass through.