Discover Hakone Amazake Chaya
Aug 04,2023
Aug 04,2023
Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, developed the Tokaido, a major route connecting Nihonbashi and Kyoto’s Sanjo Bridge, during the Edo period (1603 to 1868). The route was approximately 500 kilometers long. The Hakone Pass was famed as the Tokaido’s most treacherous section. After trudging along steep mountain paths that made their feet unsteady, both the processions of daimyo feudal lords and sole travelers alike sought solace at amazake [a sweet drink made with koji malt] teahouses to recover from the fatigue of their journey. Only a single teahouse remains today, transcending the ages, that still opens its doors for travelers. We spoke with Yamamoto Satoshi, the 13th-generation owner of Hakone Amazake Chaya, which has quenched people’s thirst and soothed their souls for 400 years.
Hakone is one of Kanagawa’s premier hot spring resorts. To reach Hakone Amazake Chaya, hop on a bus from the Hakone-Yumoto train station and climb relentlessly up the steep slopes of the old National Route 1 (now Prefectural Route 732). The teahouse has a long history, dating back to the Edo period.
The eight ri section (about 32 km) along the Tokaido in the Hakone region was so arduous that it was immortalized in song as the Tenka no Ken — the most perilous pass in the nation. Traveling this eight ri section of the route meant climbing from an altitude of about 10 meters at Odawara-juku to the top of the Hakone Pass at 846 meters and then descending to Mishima-shuku at an altitude of some 25 meters. This stretch of road, with its long distances between post stations and demanding mountain crossings, naturally fostered numerous teahouses serving as rest stops. These teahouses served amazake. While recently gaining attention as a fermented food dubbed the drinkable intravenous drip, amazake has been a cherished traditional Japanese energy drink for more than 400 years. The fact that amazake is commonly seen at tourist spots in the area today is likely a holdover of its restorative role from the time when people traveled the route on foot.
Riding the bus up Hakone’s abrupt slopes, it’s astonishing to imagine people in the past walking up these once-unsurfaced, steep inclines on foot.
Thankfully, there is a bus stop right at Amazake Chaya, making it easy to access for modern travelers
A historical signboard describes the history of Amazake Chaya. Long ago, four teahouses stood in this area, serving amazake to help travelers recover from their journeys.
Stepping off the bus, you’re greeted by the solidly-built Hakone Amazake Chaya, nestled within the forest. Its large thatched roof evokes a sense of history, though surprisingly, it was constructed just 14 years ago [as of 2023].
“Many people assume the building is very old, but it’s been rebuilt numerous times due to fires and earthquakes. In 2009, we demolished the previous deteriorating structure, cleared the land, and rebuilt it from the ground up. At the time, we heard from many of our regular customers to keep the building unchanged. Honestly, I briefly considered that if we were rebuilding anyway, adding a convenience store might be better for everyone. But after receiving so many comments from customers, I realized they were right. So our goal was to preserve as much of the old ambience as possible. We reused the fittings and beams and brought in thatched roof craftsmen from Yamanashi. The unique darkness of a Japanese house, the cold in winter, the difficulty of maintenance — it’s all really inconvenient, but I think that’s also part of its charm.”
“We had an elementary school kid who lived in an apartment come in once, and he was so thrilled because it was the first time in his life to see a real fire,” says Yamamoto, gesturing toward the hearth. To maintain the thatched roof, the interior must be smoked out daily with a fire.
The winding, narrow mountain road gives a sense of arrival, of finally making it to the teahouse, even if you don’t come by foot. According to Yamamoto, some people still walk to the teahouse even today.
“Most customers come by car or bus, but there are still a fair number who walk the Tokaido all the way to Kyoto and others who stop by while cycling over the mountain. Just the other day, a woman walked here on her own. If you come from Yumoto, there are several steep slopes to contend with. One of these, called Saru Suberi [Monkey Slide], is so tough that people say even monkeys slip and can’t make it up. She said that after summiting this slope, she saw the Oikomi [Final Push] Slope ahead of her and was on the verge of giving up. But then she saw our amazake banner and was so relieved. We’ve even received more than a few letters from travelers who stopped by during their Tokaido pilgrimage, telling us just how delicious our amazake was, right at the toughest part of the Hakone Pass. So I believe our reason for being here hasn’t changed over all these centuries.”
How people’s hearts must have been soothed at the sight of the amazake banner when at peak exhaustion
The teahouse has always been a haven for travelers passing along the adjacent road. This spirit has never faltered, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are open year-round because traveling knows no holidays. We open at 7 a.m. every day so no one arrives only to find the doors are shut. That’s why even when the state of emergency forced restaurants to shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, we still opened our doors on time. Of course, we couldn’t serve food or drinks, but we wanted to be a place where people could rest their weary bodies, use the phone, or find solace if something had happened during their arduous journey. During the time my grandparents ran the teahouse, the new national highway opened, and for many years, far fewer people came by. My grandfather went out to work elsewhere, leaving my grandmother on her own to run the shop. Yet she kept it open, never closing it down. I think it was surely because she held onto the hope that even one traveler might stop in. If I ever meet her in the afterlife, I’d like to ask her what it felt like, keeping the shop open like that.”
Yamamoto Satoshi, the 13th generation owner of Hakone Amazake Chaya
The specialty at Hakone Amazake Chaya is naturally amazake. The amazake is made with rice and rice koji, using a method passed down from the Edo period. One sip releases a subtle, salty taste that seems to dissolve your fatigue away.
The menu hasn’t changed since the Edo period. Amazake, the most popular item, is also served chilled in the summertime.
Amazake and “fortifying” mochi rice cake [coated in sweet, olive-green uguisu soybean powder], both made using recipes unchanged for centuries
“Everyone says our amazake is delicious. I think that part of the taste is because of drinking it here in this location. It tastes better because you made the effort to come here. The way to make it is incredibly simple. Just add koji to softly cooked rice, mix it with a wooden spatula, and let it rest. There’s no secret recipe. [laughs] We add salt to bring out the sweetness instead of using sugar. Sweetness is what you crave for the most when you’re exhausted. Nowadays, we have chocolate, cookies, all sorts of things, but back then, sugar was incredibly precious. The wisdom of our ancestors — using koji fermentation to draw out the sweetness — is amazing, isn’t it?”
【To be continued in Part 2】