Arai-juku

Travelers crossed the lake to reach Maisaka-juku, the previous post station on the Tōkaidō.

Both the checkpoint and post station were often damaged from earthquakes and tsunami, which led to them both being moved to different locations.

The Kii-no-kuni-ya (紀伊の国屋), a preserved hatago (旅籠) still remaining today, served as a rest spot for official travelers coming from Kii Province further south.

[1] The classic ukiyo-e print by Andō Hiroshige (Hoeido edition) from 1831–1834 depicts a daimyō procession on sankin-kōtai crossing between Maisaka-juku and Arai-juku by boat.

The daimyō is in a large vessel with his family crest, while his retainers follow in a smaller boat with the baggage.

Arai-juku in the 1830s, as depicted by Hiroshige in The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō