Shimada - Dai Ōi-gawa (Shimada - The mighty Ōi River)

Shimada is the twenty-fourth station on the Tōkaidō, the second station after Okabe (above). The Ōi River was one of the most powerful large rivers the Tōkaidō passed over, and was deliberately unbridged (to retard the movement of armies), necessitating travellers to ford it, as seen here. In periods of heavy rain, the river became a fierce torrent, and was officially closed to traffic when it became more than 1.4 metres deep; travellers would have to wait at the stations on either side until the water receded, or sometimes backtrack to a town to find lodging.