DAY 2 1:00 PM Take a break at "Amazake Chaya."
After walking for about another hour, the “Amazake Chaya” came into view. The thatched-roof building retains its original Edo-period appearance. While there were once as many as 13 teahouses in this area, this is the only one remaining. It is currently run by the 13th-generation owner.
“I hear that during the war, there were times when they only had one customer every ten days. My grandfather worked at a nearby inn to earn cash, while my grandmother ran the shop,” says Kaneko. ‘While the area is now bustling with tourists from both Japan and abroad, if this single shop were to disappear, a piece of history would vanish, so we must continue our efforts to preserve it,’ says Kaneko. The three of us sit on the veranda and enjoy amazake and ‘Chikara Mochi’—mochi cakes plumply grilled over binchotan charcoal. It really soaks into our tired bodies—so delicious!”
Leaving the Amazake Tea House behind, we found ourselves on a road lined with cedar trees over 30 meters tall on both sides. “There’s a reason this road follows the valley,” Mr. Kaneko added. “Tokugawa Ieyasu deliberately chose this winding valley route to make it difficult for enemies to invade and to defend Edo.”
If they walk along the ridgeline, they’ll be completely exposed. If they make them walk through the valley, we can buy time and even intercept them from the top of the mountain. In other words, military strategy determined the shape of this path. “The more I learn, the more I realize just how incredibly smart Ieyasu was. I feel like all the routes on the map I was shown at the beginning are finally coming together,” says Mr. Yata happily.
