7th Station: Hirastsuka

This scene does not depict the post station at all, but a courier running along a zigzag road passing two other travelers. At this point the Tokaido runs along a low causeway by the ocean. The man seen running is one of the professional couriers who worked in relays and covered the distance of about 310 miles between Edo and Kyoto in about 90 hours. In the background there is a dark, rounded hill, behind which a white Mount Fuji appears in the distance.

During a census in 1843, the post station had a population of 2,114 people and contained 443 houses.