A city stage where the history of the old road ofTokaidoremains on the west bank of Lake Hamana. Kosai is located in the westernmost point of the prefecture ofShizuoka. You can enjoy activities around Lake Hamana (a brackish lake where the sea and lake cross), and the Pacific Ocean where you can contemplate the horizon. This city is home to two stages of the 53rd Tokaido Road: Arai-shuku and Shirasuka-Shuku.
Checkpoint Arai
In 1854, the Arai barrier was severely damaged by an earthquake and subsequently rebuilt, so that the buildings that can be seen today date from the mid-19th century. In 1869, all checkpoints were abolished with the fall of the Tokugawa regime.
Today, only the main office, the guest room, the library and the clerk’s room remain. The inspection process is recreated inside the rooms by mannequins in period clothing. Behind the ticket office is a fascinating two-storey museum – the Arai Sekisho Museum – which exhibits documents, passports, weapons, clothing and wood engravings related to the checkpoint.
It is possible to buy a combined ticket for the Arai checkpoint with the nearby Kinokuniya Inn – Edo period accommodation and a Kishu clan favourite. The Kinokuniya Inn features original furniture, parchments, a kamado oven and a nice garden. The current building at Kinokuniya Inn dates back to the 1870s, although a hostel has been on the site for much longer. The combined ticket costs 410 yen.
Hatago Kinokunya Museum
The Hatago Kinokuniya Museum is the largest of the 25 hatagos (similar to modern inns and hotels) once present in Arai-juku. Its date of creation is unknown, but it is known that it was frequented by the Kishu Tokugawa family during the Edo period. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1874, but was rebuilt and expanded into a two-storey building immediately after, and operated for more than 250 years until its closure in 1959. The building now serves as a museum that preserves the culture of Hatago and Tokaido Inns.
Komatsurou
From the Taisho period (1912-1926), an entertainment district developed on the south side of Arai Sekisho. Komatsuro worked as a geisha house as well as a Japanese folk restaurant from the Taisho years until the 1940s.
Tezutsu Hanabi
This fireworks festival has more than 300 years of history and is known as one of Tokaido’s most original festivals. It takes place for two days in Arai-machi in the town of Kosai, west of Hamamatsu. These fireworks have the peculiarity of being held by hand, more accurately placed in bamboo cylinders that participants wear after ignition.
Hand-made fireworks consist of a bamboo tube wrapped around a rope and held by a person to light up.
People holding the fireworks chant “Soradase, daseyo!” and walk around with sparks with a smile while a man in Tengu’s costume blows a conch to the sound of flutes and drums that accompany him.
Hamanako
Lake Hamana has been fed since the 1498 earthquake. Hamanako is a very popular summer for boat excursions as well as water skiing, kayaking, windsurfing, climbing parachute and, of course, fishing. Hamanako is famous for its eels and oysters. In addition, both the Fugu and the congre pike (hamo) are caught off the coast of Enshu Nada. Hamanako is also known for its delicious strawberries and oranges, and visitors can pick and buy theirs in a number of places near Mikkabi, on the northwest edge of the lake. In addition to the local specialities, Lake Hamana has a number of donsonsens in nearby towns of Bentenjima, Kanzanji and Mikkabi.
Getting to Kosai
From Shizuoka, just take a shinkansen for Hamamatsu (about 20 minutes) then take a local train to Toyohashi and stop at the Arimachi stop.
Kosai is a step in the discovery of theChubu. Close to Shizuoka, it can be discovered in one to two days.
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