Turn around here. The road is shaped like a crank, so you can’t see very far down it.

Although it’s a little bit different on the map, it was made into a curved shape long ago. When Old Yoshida relocated here in 1572, it was during the Warring States Period, and skirmishes over land were common. It was understood then that towns with straight roads could be easily attacked.

And so, they purposefully constructed a road that twisted and turned, and that could not be visible over long distances.

Because of the tumultuous times, the people had to defend their towns themselves. That’s partially why there are moats to the east and the west of the town; they were also meant to protect it from invasion. The moats are actually valleys that were eroded naturally by the melting ice and snow from Mt. Fuji, and the people chose to use them as natural defenses for their town.