Odawara City is located in the western part of Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is a city with a rich historical background and is currently designated as a special city under the Local Autonomy Law. Before becoming a city, it belonged to Ashigarakami District and has long played an important role in history, transportation, and tourism.
During Japan’s Sengoku period, Odawara was already a prosperous castle town and served as the political and military center of the Late Hōjō clan. Odawara Castle was a symbol of this era. In the Edo period, Odawara continued to develop as the castle town of the Odawara Domain and served as an important post station called “Odawara-juku” along the Tōkaidō route. It became a key hub for travel and transport to Hakone.
Odawara also served as the administrative center of the former Ashigara Prefecture (which covered what is now western Kanagawa Prefecture and the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture) until 1876. Even today, Odawara remains the central city of the Seisho region, functioning as a regional hub.
In terms of transportation, Odawara has been a strategic point along the Tōkaidō route since ancient times. Today, Odawara Station is a major transportation hub in Kanagawa Prefecture, where several rail lines intersect, including the Shinkansen, conventional lines, and private railways. The Kamonomiya area, part of Odawara, was the site of the “Kamonomiya Test Track” used for trials before the Shinkansen’s launch and is now incorporated into the Tōkaidō Shinkansen line.
As for road transportation, although road improvement projects have been carried out in recent years, Odawara’s geographical location as a key route from Tokyo and Yokohama to Hakone and the Izu region causes frequent traffic congestion on highways during peak tourist seasons and holidays.
