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Though most ''daimyô'' were obliged to perform this journey regularly, some ''tozama daimyô'' were granted exceptions, in most cases due to their great service to the realm in other respects, or after successfully arguing for the excessiveness of the burden. These included [[Tsushima han]] which governed relations and trade with [[Joseon|Korea]], and [[Fukuoka han|Fukuoka]] and [[Saga han]], which contributed to the defense of the port of [[Nagasaki]]. Some northern domains which contributed to responses to Russian incursions also received temporary exemptions at times.<ref>[[Mark Ravina]], ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan'', Stanford University Press (1999), 152.</ref> For much of the Edo period, the lords of Tsushima were obliged to travel to Edo only once every three years; those of [[Matsumae han]] in [[Ezo]] only once every six years.<ref>Gallery labels, Futagawa-juku honjin shiryôkan.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/45389881465/in/photostream/]</ref> Further, about thirty ''daimyô'', including the lord of the [[Mito Tokugawa clan]] and the members of the ''[[roju|rôjû]]'', were of a status known as ''jôfu'' (定府), and were primarily based in Edo, not spending any considerable amount of time in their domains.<ref>Ogawa, 78.</ref> ''Daimyô'' could also request, and be granted, exceptions from ''sankin kôtai'' on a one-time basis, when the lord was ill or the Edo mansion had burned down, or when the domain was fulfilling its obligations to the shogunate through corvée contributions to public works that year.<ref name=nagairei/>

Though most ''daimyô'' were obliged to perform this journey regularly, some ''tozama daimyô'' were granted exceptions, in most cases due to their great service to the realm in other respects, or after successfully arguing for the excessiveness of the burden. These included [[Tsushima han]] which governed relations and trade with [[Joseon|Korea]], and [[Fukuoka han|Fukuoka]] and [[Saga han]], which contributed to the defense of the port of [[Nagasaki]]. Some northern domains which contributed to responses to Russian incursions also received temporary exemptions at times.<ref>[[Mark Ravina]], ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan'', Stanford University Press (1999), 152.</ref> For much of the Edo period, the lords of Tsushima were obliged to travel to Edo only once every three years; those of [[Matsumae han]] in [[Ezo]] only once every six years.<ref>Gallery labels, Futagawa-juku honjin shiryôkan.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/45389881465/in/photostream/]</ref> Further, about thirty ''daimyô'', including the lord of the [[Mito Tokugawa clan]] and the members of the ''[[roju|rôjû]]'', were of a status known as ''jôfu'' (定府), and were primarily based in Edo, not spending any considerable amount of time in their domains.<ref>Ogawa, 78.</ref> ''Daimyô'' could also request, and be granted, exceptions from ''sankin kôtai'' on a one-time basis, when the lord was ill or the Edo mansion had burned down, or when the domain was fulfilling its obligations to the shogunate through corvée contributions to public works that year.<ref name=nagairei/>

The ''sankin kôtai'' system ensured a reliable flow of considerable numbers of elite travelers across the country, contributing considerably to both official and private construction of [[post-stations]] and inns (and their surrounding towns), lighthouses and port facilities, maintenance of highways, and expansion of travel-related services, such as networks of [[hikyaku|messengers]], [[toiyaba|porters, and horses]]. The Tôkaidô saw 146 ''sankin kôtai'' groups every year, in addition to Imperial envoys, shogunal officials, and others.<ref>Miyamoto, ''Nihon no shuku'', 174. Meanwhile, the Mutsu Highway (''Mutsu Dôchû'') saw 37 ''sankin kôtai'' groups each year, the [[Nakasendo|Nakasendô]] 30, the Mito Dôchû 23, the Nikkô Dôchû four, and the [[Koshu Kaido|Kôshû Kaidô]] three. Miyamoto, ''Daimyô no tabi'', 57.</ref> The routes to be taken by ''daimyô'' and other elites were predetermined by the shogunate, and it was illegal for such official entourages to travel by other routes without authorization.<ref>Gallery labels, Futagawa-juku honjin shiryôkan.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/31363646157/in/photostream/].</ref> Such entourages typically moved about ten ''[[Japanese Measurements|ri]]'' a day,<ref>Yamamoto Hirofumi, ''Sankin kôtai'', Kodansha gendai shinsho (1998), 110.</ref> often passing through several post-stations where they stopped for lunch, tea, or short breaks, as they made their way to the station where they would spend the night. Special elite lodgings known as ''[[honjin]]'' and ''waki-honjin'', employed chiefly by ''daimyô'' traveling on ''sankin kôtai'', and by others of similar status, quickly became standard sights in most post-towns after the 1642 expansion of ''sankin kôtai'' obligations.<ref name=honjin53>Watanabe, 53.</ref> [[Corvee|Corvée]] labor was employed to provide a considerable portion of the porters, boatmen, and the like. Barrier checkpoints called ''[[sekisho]]'' were established along the highways to regulate travel; among their functions, too, was to enforce that firearms not be carried into Edo (so as to help prevent rebellion), and that women (who might be hostage members of ''daimyô'' families) not be allowed to leave.

The ''sankin kôtai'' system ensured a reliable flow of considerable numbers of elite travelers across the country, contributing considerably to both official and private construction of [[post-stations]] and inns (and their surrounding towns), lighthouses and port facilities, maintenance of highways, and expansion of travel-related services, such as networks of [[hikyaku|messengers]], [[toiyaba|porters, and horses]]. The Tôkaidô saw 146 ''sankin kôtai'' groups every year, in addition to Imperial envoys, shogunal officials, and others.<ref>Miyamoto, ''Nihon no shuku'', 174. Meanwhile, the Mutsu Highway (''Mutsu Dôchû'') saw 37 ''sankin kôtai'' groups each year, the [[Nakasendo|Nakasendô]] 30, the Mito Dôchû 23, the Nikkô Dôchû four, and the [[Koshu Kaido|Kôshû Kaidô]] three. Miyamoto, ''Daimyô no tabi'', 57.</ref> The routes to be taken by ''daimyô'' and other elites were predetermined by the shogunate, and it was illegal for such official entourages to travel by other routes without authorization.<ref>Gallery labels, Futagawa-juku honjin shiryôkan.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/31363646157/in/photostream/].</ref> Such entourages typically moved about ten ''[[Japanese Measurements|ri]]'' a day,<ref>Yamamoto Hirofumi, ''Sankin kôtai'', Kodansha gendai shinsho (1998), 110.</ref> setting out around 7 or 6 ''[[Telling Time|koku]]'' (before or around dawn),<ref name=kusatsu37>''Kokushitei shiseki Kusatsu-juku honjin'', Kusatsu, Shiga: Shiseki Kusatsujuku honjin (2014), 37.</ref> and passing through several post-stations where they stopped for lunch, tea, or short breaks, as they made their way to the station where they would spend the night. Many entourages stopped for "lunch" or a rest both before and after noon, having begun their travels so early in the morning each day.<ref name=kusatsu37/> Special elite lodgings known as ''[[honjin]]'' and ''waki-honjin'', employed chiefly by ''daimyô'' traveling on ''sankin kôtai'', and by others of similar status, quickly became standard sights in most post-towns after the 1642 expansion of ''sankin kôtai'' obligations.<ref name=honjin53>Watanabe, 53.</ref> [[Corvee|Corvée]] labor was employed to provide a considerable portion of the porters, boatmen, and the like. Barrier checkpoints called ''[[sekisho]]'' were established along the highways to regulate travel; among their functions, too, was to enforce that firearms not be carried into Edo (so as to help prevent rebellion), and that women (who might be hostage members of ''daimyô'' families) not be allowed to leave.

''Daimyô'' quickly came to establish regular schedules of reservations with particular ''honjin'', which knew to expect them on or around particular dates every year, and knew to prepare a reception in a particular fashion, with the ''daimyô'' paying a set amount of money in gratitude; by making this a regular, established, pattern, it helped avoid difficulties which might emerge from attempting to negotiate and re-negotiate dates, accommodations, and/or payment.<ref name=honjin53/> A larger ''honjin'' might provide lodgings for the ''daimyô'' and as many as sixty of his more esteemed retainers, while additional members of a samurai entourage (or [[Ryukyuan embassies to Edo|Ryukyuan]] or [[Korean embassies to Edo|Korean embassy]]) would stay at ''waki-honjin'', ''[[hatagoya]]'' (regular inns, also patronized by individual travelers), private homes, Buddhist temples, and/or Shinto shrines.<ref name=honjin53/> ''Honjin'' generally charged rates they themselves considered quite low, depending on supplemental payments of "''reikin''," or "gratitude money" - essentially, tips - and/or by gifts of special products from the ''daimyô's'' home province. However, for ''daimyô'' struggling with financial difficulties, these additional costs - paid to every ''honjin'' along the journey - could be quite a burden. From the mid-Edo period onwards, many ''daimyô'' began skipping mid-day rests at ''honjin'' along their travel routes, and stopping for food, tea, or a rest at roadside teashops and the like instead, in an effort to save money.<ref name=honjin54>Watanabe, 54.</ref>

''Daimyô'' quickly came to establish regular schedules of reservations with particular ''honjin'', which knew to expect them on or around particular dates every year, and knew to prepare a reception in a particular fashion, with the ''daimyô'' paying a set amount of money in gratitude; by making this a regular, established, pattern, it helped avoid difficulties which might emerge from attempting to negotiate and re-negotiate dates, accommodations, and/or payment.<ref name=honjin53/> A larger ''honjin'' might provide lodgings for the ''daimyô'' and as many as sixty of his more esteemed retainers, while additional members of a samurai entourage (or [[Ryukyuan embassies to Edo|Ryukyuan]] or [[Korean embassies to Edo|Korean embassy]]) would stay at ''waki-honjin'', ''[[hatagoya]]'' (regular inns, also patronized by individual travelers), private homes, Buddhist temples, and/or Shinto shrines.<ref name=honjin53/> ''Honjin'' generally charged rates they themselves considered quite low, depending on supplemental payments of "''reikin''," or "gratitude money" - essentially, tips - and/or by gifts of special products from the ''daimyô's'' home province. However, for ''daimyô'' struggling with financial difficulties, these additional costs - paid to every ''honjin'' along the journey - could be quite a burden. From the mid-Edo period onwards, many ''daimyô'' began skipping mid-day rests at ''honjin'' along their travel routes, and stopping for food, tea, or a rest at roadside teashops and the like instead, in an effort to save money.<ref name=honjin54>Watanabe, 54.</ref>