“The wait was tense. The Arai barrier marked the boundary of the province of Mikawa. Lord Kira’s closest allies were in Mikawa. Once Cat and Kasane reached the head of the line, however, they found that the harried officials weren’t checking commoner’s papers very thoroughly.
“By the time they reached Futagawa the sun had almost set. They ignored the shouts and the tugs on their sleeves as the waitresses tried to pull them into teahouses for sake and raw fish. Instead they bought chestnuts from a street vendor and peeled and ate them as they followed the people heading toward the temple gates.”
– The Tokaido Road, Lucia St. Clair Robson, 2005
![Futagawa, Mikawa, c. 1910.](https://www.oldtokyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/scan00071-680x438.jpg)
“Roadside tree”, Futagawa, Mikawa Province (the eastern half of present-day Aichi Prefecture), c. 1910, marking the entrance to the feudal Tokaido highway’s 33rd station.
“Futagawa-juku [inn] was the thirty-third of the fifty-three post stations of the Tōkaidō, located approximately 283 kilometres (176 mi) from Edo’s Nihonbashi, the start of the Tōkaidō. It was the eastern most post station in Mikawa Province when established in 1601.
“During the Meiji Era [1868-1912] when rail lines were being laid, the tracks ran through the town, but there was no station. After realizing the value of the railroad, the town petitioned for a station and Futagawa Station was eventually built between Futagawa and Ōiwa. As the station was built slightly apart from Futagawa, remnants from the Edo period post station can be found approximately two kilometers from the station in what is now the city of Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture.”
– Wikipedia