Sakawa River near Odawara

In the Sakawa River in the foreground, bare-chested porters carry rendai (platforms for carrying passengers and palanquins) and carry travelers on their shoulders across the river. There was no bridge over the Sakawa River, and travelers crossed on foot with the help of river porters. When the water rose to chest height the crossing was closed, and travelers waited at inns for the water to go down.

On the gravel bank of the opposite shore are people who have finished crossing and others waiting their turn, with reeds continuing behind them. In the middle ground a finely drawn castle and town can be seen, which are Odawara Castle and its castle town.

The mountains in the background are boldly painted in color planes of indigo, pink, and green, looking more like a pattern than realism. The movement of the tiny people and the flat, vivid shapes of the mountains make a contrast, creating a scene of the post station just before the crossing of Hakone.

Odawara was a large post station that was also a castle town, and leaving it, the Tokaido enters the mountain road of Hakone. The mountains towering in the back of this print suggest the pass crossing awaiting beyond. The river's flow is a deeper blue in the foreground and paler toward the far bank, conveying the width of the river. On the gravel bank, people waiting to cross rest in a circle, with a rendai set on the ground.