{"id":4119,"date":"2025-11-11T15:19:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T06:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fujieda-life-trip.com\/?post_type=toukaidou-shukuba&p=4119"},"modified":"2025-11-11T15:19:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T06:19:16","slug":"tiryu-juku","status":"publish","type":"toukaidou-shukuba","link":"https:\/\/fujieda-life-trip.com\/en\/toukaidou-shukuba\/tiryu-juku\/","title":{"rendered":"No.39 Chiry\u016b-juku to Okehazama: A Leisurely Cycling Stroll"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hello everyone~<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just the other day, the Dodgers won the World Series. Ohtani and Yamamoto were incredible, weren’t they~<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Ohtani… his performance was unbelievable, like something out of a poorly drawn manga by an elementary school kid lol<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time, I visited the old Tokaido post town of Chiryu-shuku and the nearby Okehazama historic battlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at a map, the area around Chiryu City in Aichi Prefecture is roughly midway between Nagoya and Okazaki. On the Tokaido Fifty-Three Stations, it corresponds to the 39th post station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s a bit west of Shizuoka, but walking along the old Tokaido here, you really feel the distinct atmosphere of the \u201cChukyo\u201d region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The old townscape blends seamlessly with the modern city, making it an area where you can truly experience the \u201creal present\u201d of the ancient road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Starting from Chiryu Station! Ride along the old highway on a rental bike.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First stop was Meitetsu Line’s Chiryu Station. As usual, I rented a bike here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I rent bikes in all sorts of places, haha. In Chiryu City, you can use rental bikes for free at the \u201cStation Front Parking Lot (City-run Bike Parking)\u201d or through the city hall rental service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWait, free?\u201d you’re thinking. Yep, it’s free for sightseeing or leisurely rides. There’s a caveat though: it’s not allowed for commuting to work or school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That day, I thought, \u201cMaybe I’ll just casually ride around the old Tokaido Road,\u201d so I rented one quickly with minimal luggage. Just got the key and checked in at the counter, then started off. Super easygoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once I started riding the rented bike, the air felt like, \u201cI’m on a journey!\u201d and my spirits lifted. My destinations were a post town and a battlefield. Both were \u201cdistances you could walk, but feel great by bike.\u201d With plenty of stamina and time to spare, I made my way leisurely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chiritsu Pine Avenue<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First, I headed to the \u201cChiry\u016b Pine Tree Avenue\u201d along the old T\u014dkaid\u014d road. Pine trees are practically guaranteed along the T\u014dkaid\u014d route (including Fujieda City, of course), so I figured, \u201cWell, might as well check it out?\u201d \ud83d\udca6<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then, there they were\u2014rows upon rows of pine trees lining a perfectly straight road stretching ahead. Just seeing this scene made me think, \u201cAh, travelers of old must have passed through here too.\u201d You really don’t get it until you see it for yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riding my bike through it, the light filtering through the pine branches swayed gently. It felt like the \u201cpresent\u201d mingled with the \u201cpast\u201d\u2014a strange sensation. I took tons of photos (lol).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at the photos I took, the pine shadows stretch long across the ground, the sky is blue, and I think they really capture that \u201cright now, this very moment\u201d feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walking is fine too, but on roads like this, cycling lets you \u201cfeel the wind\u201d as you go\u2014it’s a slow-burn recommendation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Old T\u014dkaid\u014d Road<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Monument to the Horse Market<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Next to the Chiry\u016b Pine Avenue stands the Horse Market Monument. Chiry\u016b wasn’t just any post town; it seems horse trading flourished here during the Edo period. Learning about its deep history changes how you feel when walking down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An information board near this monument states, \u201cA horse market was once held in this area.\u201d Come to think of it, Hiroshige’s ukiyo-e prints also depict horse markets! \u201cHmm, I see,\u201d I nodded to myself. Discoveries like this are what make traveling so enjoyable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chiryu Castle Ruins<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After a short ride, I also stopped by the Chiry\u016b Old Castle Ruins (an ancient castle site). It’s now maintained like a park and feels quiet. But somehow, there’s also a sense of tension… or so it seems. Thinking, \u201cThere was a castle here during the Warring States period,\u201d I parked my bike and took a short break on a bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usually, \u201ccastle ruins = stone walls!\u201d is the image, but here, the stone walls aren’t preserved on a large scale. It’s the type where you understand \u201cthis is the castle site\u201d from the terrain and the information boards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems to be the site of a palace where shoguns stayed overnight and also a place where Emperor Meiji took a short break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Site of the Former Inn Where Carp and Crucian Carp Dwelt<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

And here is the site of the Honjin Inn at Chiry\u016bfushiyado. During the Edo period, this post station had a \u201cHonjin\u201d where not only travelers but also feudal lords and officials stayed, and this is its former location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…It feels like it’s been squeezed into a tiny spot \ud83d\ude2d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the reading \u201cChiry\u016b\u201d is unique too, right? \u201c\u6c60\u30fb\u9bc9\u30fb\u9b92\u201d\u2014looking at each character, it’s \u201cpond, carp, crucian carp.\u201d Somehow seeing these creatures lined up together is heartwarming. There’s a theory the name comes from \u201cponds teeming with carp and crucian carp.\u201d Walking the highway sparks curiosity about readings and origins, making the journey feel a bit deeper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Okehazama Historic Battlefield Legendary Site<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After Ike-ko-fu-shuku, we head a little further to the historic stage of Okehazama. It’s a place that really resonates with fans of the Warring States period. This is the famous battlefield where Oda Nobunaga defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto in the Battle of Okehazama (1560).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing at this spot, considered a \u201clegendary site\u201d near Chukyo Racecourse Station, you can’t help but want to feel even a hint of the Warring States wind. There’s an information board too. Reading the explanation, I imagined for a moment, \u201cWas Nobunaga really here…?\u201d and got a chill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’d imagined it being much larger, but it was surprisingly compact. A little way from this legendary site is a park called \u201cOkehazama Battlefield Park.\u201d I wonder if that’s actually the more well-known spot. It was definitely too far to visit that one though \ud83d\udca6<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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K\u014dtoku-in<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This Kotoku-in temple seems to have been relocated from Koyasan to the site adjacent to the ancient battlefield of Okehazama in 1894.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what a magnificent temple this was~<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stone monument marking the site of Imagawa Yoshimoto’s headquarters and the tombstone of Matsui Munenobu remain here. There’s also a pine tree planted by imperial family members, making it full of points of interest!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And above all, the bamboo grove! There’s a beautifully maintained bamboo grove that encircles the back of K\u014dtoku-in Temple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is truly a sight to behold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Highly recommended \ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u3010Summary\u3011My Impressions After Running Along the Old Tokaido Road at Ikofunajuku<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This time, we visited Chiryu-shuku, the 39th post town along the Tokaido Road. Located right at the midpoint of the main artery connecting Edo and Kyoto, it seems to have been a bustling place since ancient times, thronged with travelers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The post town’s history is long; by the beginning of the Edo period, it already had a honjin (main inn for officials), a wakihonjin (auxiliary inn), and a toniyaba (wholesale market). It was particularly renowned for its thriving horse market, attracting people and horses from across the nation as a trading hub. It wasn’t merely a place to stay overnight; it was a vital hub supporting transportation and logistics of the time. I only truly understood this after visiting myself, haha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walking through present-day Chiryu, you encounter scattered remnants of \u201cold roadways\u201d and stone monuments amidst modern residential areas. In those fleeting moments, you feel the \u201clayers of time\u201d overlapping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the old Tokaido’s pine tree avenue, for instance. Pines that watched over travelers from Edo for centuries still stand in rows. Simply cycling beneath their shadows makes you instinctively straighten your back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, sites like the honjin (main inn) ruins and horse market monuments\u2014stopping to read the information boards makes you realize, \u201cAh, this town wasn’t just a passing point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And west of Ike-ko-funa-juku lies that famous battlefield, Okehazama. The stage where history shifted with Nobunaga’s surprise attack (even I know that). The charm of this route lies in experiencing both the culture of the post town and the history of war in a single day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the free rental bicycle I borrowed at Chiryu Station was incredibly convenient. It allowed me to move freely and was a huge help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn’t flashy like typical tourist spots, but it was a journey through Ike-Koifu-juku where you could quietly sense the lingering scent of Edo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n