Hakone was one of the stations of the Tkaid, the famous route connecting Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto. It was used by the Daimy who made the long trek from their domain to Tokyo. To commemorate this part of the city's history, Hakone hosts a Daimy procession every year, with about 170 person dressed in historic costumes.

Daimyo were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land hold