Image: Toyohashi City Museum of Art and History
The Toyohashi City Museum of Art and History has announced the discovery of remains believed to be part of the ancient and medieval Tokaido road at the Akumi archaeological site in Toyohashi Park. The find emerged during excavations connected to construction of a multipurpose indoor facility on the east side of Toyohashi Park, according to the museum’s July 21 notice.
The museum said the remains are considered a road that survived from the Heian period through the Sengoku period, spanning roughly the 9th to the 16th century. The discovery is described as the first time the ancient Tokaido has been found in Aichi Prefecture and only the third such case in the Tokai region, following the Magarikane Kita site in Shizuoka City and the Hirata site in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, where the route has been suggested.
The Tokaido was one of Japan’s major historical roads, and the Akumi site evidence adds a new reference point for understanding how that route passed through the Toyohashi area. The museum’s notice identifies the road remains as crossing the excavation area diagonally, with side ditches extending alongside part of the route. The announcement does not state whether the remains will remain exposed or be preserved in place, but it does say the discovery will be made public through on-site explanation sessions.
Two public explanation sessions are scheduled for July 25, 2026, at the excavation site in Toyohashi Park, at 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Each session is expected to last about 60 minutes. Attendance is free, open to anyone, and does not require advance registration. The program will include an explanation of the excavation results, distribution of materials, and display of excavated objects.
The museum listed the venue as the excavation site for the multipurpose indoor facility project at 3-1 Imahashi-cho in Toyohashi Park. Visitors are asked to use public transportation. The notice also directs inquiries to the Toyohashi City Cultural Properties Center, which is handling the excavation-related announcement.
The discovery comes through the city museum’s cultural properties work rather than an exhibition announcement, but it places a significant archaeological result in the public domain with direct access to the site. For Toyohashi, the remains connect an urban construction project with a road network that has long been central to historical movement across Japan, and the July 25 sessions will offer the first public look at the newly identified trace of the route.
