In Japan's early Edo period five highways were rejuvenated and formally nominated as official routes for the use of the shogun and his feudal lords (daimyo). They provided the communications network that the shogunate needed to stabilize and rule the country. One of these highways was the Nakasendo (Middle Mountain Way) stretching from Kyoto, where the emperor exercised nominal authority, through the central mountain ranges of Honshu Island and on to Edo (Tokyo), from where the shogun wielded the real power. Some of the remaining and best-preserved sections of the Nakasendo still offer a delightful walk through rural Honshu.
For an outstanding and comprehensive description of the Nakasendo Highway see http://hkuhist2.hku.hk/nakasendo/