Separating the prefectures of Gunma and Nagano and indirectly uniting the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean, the Usui Pass is one of the Kanto region’s most vital transport links.

Surrounded by deep mountain ranges, this former checkpoint stood on the front line of Edo’s defenses, strictly monitoring the movement of travelers.

Abt Road in Annaka, Gunma Prefecture, is a world away from high-speed bullet trains, timely commuter rails and subway systems. The 11.2-kilometer portion of railway on the Usui Main Line between Yokokawa and Karuizawa stations had been active for 104 years until it finally closed on September 30, 1997. The Usui Main Line and others like it connected Gunma, Nagano, and Niigata prefectures to Tokyo, paving the way for travel today. The Usui Line has since opened to visitors in the form of Abt Road, which welcomes hikers, adventurers and history enthusiasts from far and wide to enjoy the historic railway and make new kinds of memories on these tracks.

Along the Nakasendō on the road to Edo, an exclusive rest facility for high-ranking travelers where feudal lords and court nobles once paused, its atmosphere of dignity quietly preserved today.