Chojiya Store

Chojiya Store: A Living Ukiyo-e on the Old Tokaido Road

Nestled along the historic Tokaido highway in the Mariko district of Shizuoka City, Chojiya (丁子屋) is far more than a restaurant—it is a living piece of Japanese history. Founded in 1596 during the final years of the Sengoku period, this venerable teahouse has served its celebrated tororo-jiru (grated yam soup) to travelers for over four centuries without ever changing its location. In 2022, the Chojiya Store building was officially registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property, affirming its significance as an architectural and cultural treasure of the Tokaido road.

Chojiya holds the distinction of being the oldest surviving restaurant in Shizuoka Prefecture, and it is believed to be the very teahouse depicted in Utagawa Hiroshige's famous woodblock print "Mariko: The Famous Teahouse" from his iconic series Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido. Today, visitors can dine on the same specialty dish that nourished Edo-period travelers while sitting inside a thatched-roof farmhouse that evokes the world of Hiroshige's art.

Historical Background

Chojiya was established in the first year of the Keicho era (1596) by its founder, Chojiya Heikichi. At the time, Japan was still in the throes of the turbulent Sengoku period—the armies of Toyotomi Hideyoshi had only recently passed through the nearby Utsunoya Pass on their way to subdue Odawara Castle. From these tumultuous beginnings, the teahouse grew into a beloved fixture of Mariko-juku, the 20th post station on the Tokaido road connecting Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto.

Despite being the smallest post station along the entire Tokaido—with just 211 houses and 24 inns recorded in 1843—Mariko-juku gained fame far beyond its size thanks to its specialty: tororo-jiru. This nourishing dish of grated wild yam (jinenjo) served over barley rice became essential sustenance for travelers preparing to cross the challenging Utsunoya Pass to the west.

The fame of Mariko's tororo-jiru was immortalized by some of Japan's greatest literary and artistic figures. The haiku master Matsuo Basho composed the verse "Ume wakana / Mariko no shuku no / tororo-jiru" (Young plum leaves / at Mariko post station / tororo soup), while Jippensha Ikku featured Chojiya in his comic novel Tokaido-chu Hizakurige (Shank's Mare), where his characters Yaji and Kita famously missed their tororo meal due to a quarrel between the shop's owner and his wife. Most iconically, Utagawa Hiroshige depicted a thatched-roof teahouse serving tororo to travelers in his 1833–34 print of Mariko, creating one of the most beloved images in the entire Fifty-three Stations series.

Why Chojiya Store Is a Registered Cultural Property

The Chojiya Store was registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) on February 17, 2022. The designation recognizes the building's architectural value and its role in preserving the cultural landscape of the Tokaido.

The current building is a single-story wooden structure with a thatched hip roof (yosemune-zukuri kayabuki) and a building area of approximately 190 square meters. The front features an extended eave (geya), while at the rear, a gable-roofed tatami hall with a metal-sheet roof connects perpendicularly to the main structure. The main body of the building incorporates repurposed timber from a nearby farmhouse, and a former Meiji-era dining hall serves as a historical archive room, creating a unified architectural composition that bridges different periods of Japanese building tradition.

The building's design was directly inspired by Hiroshige's print of Mariko-juku. In 1970, the 12th-generation owner Shibayama Nobuo relocated and reconstructed an early Edo-period farmhouse from the nearby Odatara district to the current site, deliberately recreating the thatched-roof appearance depicted in the famous ukiyo-e. This act of cultural preservation—undertaken during Japan's rapid economic growth period when traditional buildings were being demolished in favor of modern construction—represents a remarkable commitment to safeguarding Japan's architectural heritage.

Architectural Highlights and Attractions

The most striking feature of Chojiya is its magnificent thatched roof, which underwent a complete restoration in 2018—the first full re-thatching in approximately 40 years. The work was carried out by Fujisan Kayabuki Sangyo using thatch from Gotemba and bamboo from Mishima, employing traditional techniques that are increasingly rare in modern Japan, with only about 200 thatched-roof craftsmen remaining nationwide.

Inside, the building contains nine dining rooms, each named after historical figures or places associated with Mariko-juku and Shizuoka. The largest room, called "Hiroshige-san no Heya" (Hiroshige's Room), displays reproductions of all 55 prints from Hiroshige's Fifty-three Stations series along its walls. The 12th-generation owner spent 20 years and approximately 40 million yen assembling a complete collection of original Hiroshige prints, which remain part of Chojiya's holdings.

Adjacent to the dining area is a historical archive room exhibiting Edo-period travel implements, original woodblock prints, hanging scrolls, and documents connected to Basho, Ikku, and Hiroshige. This small museum offers visitors a tangible connection to the centuries of travelers who passed through Mariko-juku.

Of course, the culinary experience remains central to any visit. Chojiya's tororo-jiru is prepared using locally grown jinenjo (wild yam) from contracted farms, house-made white miso, and bonito broth—a recipe that has remained essentially unchanged for over 400 years. The restaurant is now in its 14th generation of family ownership under Shibayama Hiroyuki.

Visitor Information

Chojiya is located along the old Tokaido road in the Mariko district of Suruga Ward, Shizuoka City. The thatched-roof building is easily recognizable and serves as a landmark for the area.

The restaurant is open for lunch on weekdays from 11:00 to 14:00 (last order). On weekends and holidays, it also opens for dinner service from 16:30 to 19:00 (last order). The regular closing day is Thursday, with an additional closure on the last Wednesday of each month.

By public transport, take a Shizutetsu Just Line bus from JR Shizuoka Station (North Exit, Platform 7) on the Chubu Kokudo Line toward Fujieda Station or Okabe. Alight at "Mariko-bashi Iriguchi" bus stop after approximately 20 minutes; the restaurant is just steps away. By car, it takes about 15 minutes from JR Shizuoka Station or about 20 minutes from the Shizuoka Interchange on the Tomei Expressway, heading approximately 3 kilometers west on National Route 1. The restaurant has a large parking area accommodating 80 cars and 8 buses.

Set meals featuring the signature tororo-jiru start from around 1,630 yen (tax included). Major credit cards are accepted.

Surrounding Attractions

A visit to Chojiya can easily be combined with exploration of the wider Mariko area, which retains much of the atmosphere of the old Tokaido.

Sunpu Takumi-shuku (Artisan Village), located a short walk further into the valley, is one of Japan's largest traditional craft experience facilities. Here visitors can try their hand at Suruga bamboo ware (Suruga Take Sensuji Zaiku), ceramics, lacquerwork, woodcraft, and textile dyeing.

The Utsunoya Pass trail, connecting Mariko-juku to the neighboring Okabe-juku, offers a scenic hiking route through a landscape described in classical literature from the Ise Monogatari to Ikku's Hizakurige. The well-preserved Utsunoya village, with historical family crests (yago) displayed on house fronts, provides a remarkable glimpse into Edo-period life. The Meiji Tunnel (1876), Japan's first toll road tunnel, is a registered cultural property built of atmospheric red brick.

Nearby Mariko Castle Ruins offer a pleasant hillside walk with views of the surrounding valley, while the Seigan-ji Temple, connected to the famous warrior Katagiri Katsumoto, provides a peaceful detour. The area is also known as the birthplace of Japanese domestic black tea production, and locally grown Mariko Black Tea is a popular souvenir.