Arai Barrier, Special Historic Site checkpoint in Kosai, Japan
The Arai Barrier is a checkpoint station positioned between Lake Hamana and the Pacific Ocean, consisting of a single-story building with traditional tiled roofing and several inspection rooms arranged in sequence. The layout reflects how officials worked to examine people and goods moving along the main highway.
This checkpoint was established in 1600 by the Tokugawa Shogunate to monitor movement along the Tokaido highway connecting Edo and Kyoto. It functioned for over 260 years until the system ended in 1869 with the arrival of new government policies.
The building displays life-sized figures showing how inspections worked when travelers passed through. These scenes give visitors a sense of how thorough the checks were and what officials looked for in their work.
The site is located at 1227-5 Arai in Kosai City and welcomes visitors during regular hours. It is best to plan your visit around the closure days, as the site closes on certain weekdays and during the year-end and New Year holidays.
This is the only surviving checkpoint building from the Edo period still standing in Japan and holds the status of a Special National Historic Site. Its preservation through centuries of change makes it a rare window into the infrastructure that once controlled travel across the country.
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