According to a 2008 interview of the proprietor, Tatsuo Yamamoto, the Amazake-chaya Teahouse was established in the early 1600s during the Edo Period (1603 to 1867) to provide relief and refreshments to travelers on the ancient Tokaido Road, a cobblestone “highway” that linked the imperial court in Kyoto with seat of the Shogunate in Edo (modern-day Tokyo).