Nakasendō in the context of "Shinano Province"

The Tōkaidō road (東海道, Tōkaidō; [to̞ːka̠ido̞ː]), which roughly means "eastern sea route," was the most important of the Five Routes of the Edo period in Japan, connecting Kyoto to the de facto capital of Japan at Edo (modern-day Tokyo). Unlike the inland and less heavily travelled Nakasendō, the Tōkaidō travelled along the sea coast of eastern Honshū, hence the route's name.

The Tōkaidō was first used in ancient times as a route from Kyoto to central Honshu before the Edo period.

Karuizawa (軽井沢町, Karuizawa-machi) is a resort town located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 October 2025, the town had an estimated population of 21,834 in 11,285 households, and a population density of 139 persons per km. The total area of the town is 156.03 km (60.24 sq mi).

Originally, there was a stage station (shukuba) called Karuisawa-shuku on the Nakasendō. The Shin'etsu Line opened in 1888 and the town became popular as a Western-style hill station around that time.

Gifu (岐阜市, Gifu-shi; Japanese pronunciation: [ɡʲi.ɸɯ, ɡʲi.ɸɯ̥ꜜ.ɕi]) is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important strategic role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku period, various warlords used the area as a base in their efforts to unify and control Japan. Among them, Oda Nobunaga, who gave the region the name it is known by today. Gifu continued to flourish even after Japan's unification as both an important shukuba along the Edo period Nakasendō and, later, as one of Japan's fashion centers. It has been designated a core city by the national government. The city is a part of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, centered around Nagoya.

Kakamigahara (各務原市, Kakamigahara-shi) is a city located in southern Gifu Prefecture in Japan. As of 1 January 2019, the city had an estimated population of 148,225, and a population density of 1700 persons per km, in 59,736 households. The total area of the city was 87.81 km (33.90 sq mi).

Situated in the northern part of the Nōbi Plain, what is now Kakamigahara originally thrived as a post station on the Nakasendō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto, being called "Unuma-juku" at the time. In more recent history, the city developed due to the JASDF Gifu base. In addition, Kakamigahara grew as an industrial city and a commuter suburb of Gifu City and Nagoya.

Nagoya Castle (名古屋城, Nagoya-jō) is a Japanese castle located in Nagoya, Japan.

Nagoya Castle was constructed by the Owari Domain in 1612 during the Edo period on the site of an earlier castle of the Oda clan in the Sengoku period. Nagoya Castle was the heart of one of the most important castle towns in Japan, Nagoya-juku, a post station on the Minoji road linking two of the important Edo Five Routes, the Tōkaidō and the Nakasendō. Nagoya Castle became the core of the modern Nagoya and ownership was transferred to the city by the Imperial Household Ministry in 1930. Nagoya Castle was partially destroyed in 1945 during the Pacific War and the reconstruction and repair of the castle has been ongoing since 1957.

Shukuba (宿場) were staging post stations during the Edo period in Japan, generally located on one of the Edo Five Routes or one of its sub-routes. They were also called shuku-eki (宿駅). These stage stations, or "stage station towns (宿場町, shukuba-machi)" developed around them, were places where travelers could rest on their journey around the nation. They were created based on policies for the transportation of goods by horseback that were developed during the Nara and Heian periods.

Karuisawa-shuku (軽井沢宿, Karuisawa-shuku) was the eighteenth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō. It is located in the northern portion of the present-day town of Karuizawa, in the Kitasaku District of Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Karuisawa-shuku is 10 km (6.2 mi) from the preceding post station, Sakamoto-shuku, and 4 km (2.5 mi) from the following one, Kutsukake-shuku.