Hamamatsu is famous for its music & motor bike industries (Yamaha & Honda). There is a big festical during "golden week" holidays on May 3rd through 5th. During the festival, people in Hamamatsu enjoy a kite completition using very very big rectangle shaped kites (more than 3 meters in height & width!). It is said that people used to fly kites on the 1st children's day (May 5th) after they had a 1st son in their family. And the tradition became the kite competition on the festival.

Hamamatsu shuku (inn district) was very busy in the Edo period and there were 6 honjin, or officially appointed inns.

Hamamatsu is also well known for Hamamatsu castle where Tokugawa Ieyasu lived for 17 years (from late 20s through 40s). It is said that Ieyas had a very hard time during his stay in Hamamatsu, compare to his Fuchu years. He lost a big war called "mikatagahara no kassen (mikatappara no kassen)" or Mikatagahara war against Takeda Shingen, a great warrior during the civil war. Also, he had to kill his wife and a child due to the order by Oda nobunaga, one of the most well known warrior in Japanese history. The current castle was built in 1958.

During World War II, about 90% of the city was burned in the air raid, but the city was reconstructed rapidly and greatly with the invention and development of motor bike by Honda Soichiro, an establisher of Honda.

• Distance from Nihonbashi: 252.7 km

Mitsuke

Maisaka

Tokaido route

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