Follow a traveller’s imagined stop at an Edo-period inn.

The idea

街道（かいどう） is a highway and 宿場（しゅくば） a post-station town. 旅人（たびびと） means traveller; 旅籠（はたご） is an inn for travellers. At Yui on the Tōkaidō, inns and tea houses stood in the post station; a 本陣（ほんじん） accommodated officials and daimyō. The examples are imagined and use modern polite Japanese.

Patterns to compare
WordReading
街道かいどう
宿場しゅくば
旅人たびびと
旅籠はたご
本陣ほんじん
一晩ひとばん

Examples

  • 江戸えど時代じだい、旅人たびびとは街道かいどうを歩あるきました。In the Edo period, travellers walked along highways.
  • 宿場しゅくばには旅籠はたごがありました。There were inns at post stations.
  • 旅人たびびとは旅籠はたごに泊とまりました。The traveller stayed at an inn.
  • 宿やどで夕飯ゆうはんを食たべました。I ate dinner at the inn.
  • 明日あしたは次つぎの町まちへ行いきます。Tomorrow I will go to the next town.
  • 部屋へやを一晩ひとばん、お願ねがいします。A room for one night, please.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Not all lodging was alike: a 本陣 was not simply another word for any 旅籠. Meals and arrangements differed by establishment.

Try it yourself

  1. Which is an inn for an overnight stay on a journey? （旅籠はたご／茶屋ちゃや）

    Show answer or example answer

    旅籠

    旅籠 is an inn for lodging; 茶屋 is a tea house.

  2. Which word means a post station town on a highway? （宿場しゅくば／旅人たびびと）

    Show answer or example answer

    宿場

    宿場 is a post-station town; 旅人 is a traveller.

  3. Which word means a traveller? （旅人たびびと／街道かいどう）

    Show answer or example answer

    旅人

    旅人 is a traveller; 街道 is a highway.

Use it today

Imagine a journey along a 街道: name a place to stay and ask for a room for one night.