Travel Scenes Prints (502)
Travel scenes document journeys along Japan's historic roads, sea routes, and pilgrimage paths, forming one of the woodblock print tradition's most commercially successful and artistically significant genres. The meisho-e (famous places) format, which presented sequential views of notable sites along a route, generated some of ukiyo-e's greatest masterworks and established templates that artists followed for generations. Hiroshige's "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido" (1833-34), depicting the post stations along the great road connecting Edo and Kyoto, became the bestselling print series of the Edo period and defined the travel-scene genre. Its success spawned dozens of road series by Hiroshige himself and his contemporaries, documenting the Kisokaido, Nikko road, and other major routes. These prints served dual purposes — as art objects and as practical references for travelers, capturing the character of inns, teahouses, and scenic viewpoints along each route. The travel-scene tradition continued into the modern era as artists documented Japan's expanding railway network and new tourist destinations. Shin-hanga publishers like Watanabe Shozaburo commissioned series of famous views specifically targeting the tourist market, both domestic and international, creating prints that continue to define visual expectations of Japan's most celebrated landscapes.
Artists Known for Travel Scenes
Hamamatsu: Winter Scene (Hamamatsu, fuyugare no zu), from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi no uchi)," also known as the Hoeido Tokaido
c. 1833/34
Color woodblock print; oban
Beach Shed at Himi in Etchū Province
September 6, 1921
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Shinjuku Station (Shinjuku eki), from the series "Scenery of Shinjuku (Gashu Shinjuku fukei)"
1930
Color lithograph
Nagoya Castle
Woodblock print
Tokaido Kusatsu Night Moon
1930
Woodblock print
Traveler on Moonlit Shore
Not set
Woodblock print
Nachi Waterfall (Nachi no taki), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho no uchi
Woodblock print
Kageishi in the Mountains of Hakone (Hakone sanchû Kageishi), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho no uchi
Woodblock print
Fuji from Kanaya on the Tokaido (Tokaido Kanaya no Fuji), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)
Untitled, Pilgrim
Woodblock print
Road on the Hill
Woodblock print
Morning View of the Numazu Station on Tōkaidō Road
19th century
Lithograph on paper
A Journey
20th century
Color woodblock print
No 31,Maisaka Imagire kaijofune-watashi / Tokaido Gojusan-tsugi no uchi
Woodblock print
![A Boat Laden with Masonry, Awa Province (Ishizumu fune [Boshu]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, First Series (Tabi miyage dai isshu)" by Kawase Hasui](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/1d1e45a7-2153-e530-e16e-4ea11472525c/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
A Boat Laden with Masonry, Awa Province (Ishizumu fune [Boshu]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, First Series (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Ishizumu fune [Boshu]
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
In the Snow, Nakayama-shichiri Road, Hida, from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series" (Tabi miyage dai sanshu, Hida Nakayama-shichiri)
1924
Color woodblock print
Kansanomiya Shrine at Tazawa Lake (Tazawako Kansanomiyagu), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshu)"
Tazawako Kansanomiyagu
1927
Color woodblock print; oban
Karasu Marsh, Akita (Akita Karasunuma), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshu)"
Akita Karasunuma
1927
Color woodblock print; oban
Kintai Bridge in Suo Province (Suo Kintaikyo), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshu)"
Suo Kintaikyo
1924
Color woodblock print; oban
Ikazuma (Ikaruga Road to Horyu-ji)
Woodblock print
Matsue, Izumo, from the series Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshū)
1924
Color woodblock print
![Misty Moonlight at Matsue in Izumo Province (Izumo Matsue [oborozuki]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshu)" by Kawase Hasui](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/7b184838-7c8e-01f1-cefe-43fe3e3bc339/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
Misty Moonlight at Matsue in Izumo Province (Izumo Matsue [oborozuki]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshu)"
Izumo Matsue [oborozuki]
1924
Color woodblock print; oban
Road to Ikaruga C (Ikaruga michi C)
1970
Woodblock print; edition 20/50
Shimohonda-machi, Kanazawa, from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
Some River, Koshu (Koshu Somegawa), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"
Koshu Somegawa
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
![Starlit Night at Miyajima (Hoshizukiyo [Miyajima]), from the series Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshu) by Kawase Hasui](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/f570c5b4-b857-817b-b674-bf6c8f1576a6/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
Starlit Night at Miyajima (Hoshizukiyo [Miyajima]), from the series Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshu)
Hoshizukiyo [Miyajima]
1928
Color woodblock print; oban
Tokyo Station
Woodblock print
Snow on the Tokaido
東海道の雪
c. 1930
Color woodblock print
In the station
1959
(Road)
Woodblock print
Road (Michi)
1957 (printed 1959)
Color woodblock print; edition 4/10
Tokyo Station
Woodblock print
Fujisawa: Pampas Grass Road
Woodblock print
Karuizawa New Road
Woodblock print
Mountain Road
20th century
Color woodblock print
Amanohashidate in Snow (Yuki no Hashidate), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: Night View of Shinbashi Station
Woodblock print
Kisokaido Kano
Woodblock print
KISOKAIDO MIE DERA
Woodblock print
No Series Kisokaido Kano
Woodblock print
End of the Road (69/75)
Woodblock print
Fujisawa: Yugyo Temple (Fujisawa, Yugyoji), from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Road (Tokaido gojusan tsugi no uchi)," also known as the Hoeido Tokaido
c. 1833/34
Color woodblock print; oban
Kameyama: Weather Clearing after Snow (Kameyama, yukibare), from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi no uchi)," also known as the Hoeido Tokaido
c. 1833/34
Color woodblock print; oban
![Cloudy Day at Matsue in Izumo Province (Izumo Matsue [kumoribi]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshu)" by Kawase Hasui](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/80666b94-49f5-a25f-4092-f5e7828ad48f/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
Cloudy Day at Matsue in Izumo Province (Izumo Matsue [kumoribi]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshu)"
Izumo Matsue [kumoribi]
1924
Color woodblock print; oban
![Snow on a Fine Day at Miyajima (Seiten no yuki [Miyajima]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)" by Kawase Hasui](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/528ee6ba-453a-0502-d9f7-6f5364378a11/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
Snow on a Fine Day at Miyajima (Seiten no yuki [Miyajima]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"
Seiten no yuki [Miyajima]
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
Tenno Temple, Osaka (Osaka Tennōji), from the series Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshu)
Osaka Tennōji
1927
Color woodblock print
Anba Road — 鞍馬道
Not set
Woodblock print
Kurama Road - 鞍馬道
Not set
Woodblock print
TAKAGAMINE ROAD IN KYOTO
Not set
Woodblock print
Bamboo Road
1912
Color woodcut
Road throuh the Forest at Nikko
1916
Woodblock print
Country Road No.3
1981
Etching
Winter - Cold Camellia Road
2022
Mezzotint
Kawasaki, from the series 53 Stations of the Tokaido
Woodblock print
Kuwana, from the series "New Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Shin Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"
1964
Color woodblock print
Minakuchi, from the series 53 Stations of the Tokaido
Woodblock print
Mitsuke / Tokaido gojusan tsugi ('Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Road)
Woodblock print
Odawara, from the series "New Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Shin Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"
1961
Color woodblock print
Otsu, from the series 53 Stations of the Tokaido
Woodblock print
Seki, from the series "New Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Shin Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"
1969
Color woodblock print
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Travel scenes document journeys along Japan's historic roads, sea routes, and pilgrimage paths, forming one of the woodblock print tradition's most commercially successful and artistically significant genres. The meisho-e (famous places) format, which presented sequential views of notable sites along a route, generated some of ukiyo-e's greatest masterworks and established templates that artists followed for generations.
Kawase Hasui, Jun'ichiro Sekino, and Utagawa Hiroshige are among the artists most associated with travel scenes in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 502 prints tagged with travel scenes, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.