This 'uchiwa-e' (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige is one of a complete set of six. They are owned by the V&A and show the seven hot springs of Hakone. Hakone is situated in the south-western corner of Kanagawa Prefecture about 40 kilometres from Mount Fuji. It was the 10th post-station along the Tokaido Highway. City dwellers wanting to escape the noise and bustle of Edo (modern Tokyo) could reach it quite easily. Hakone is still one of the most frequently visited resorts in Japan.

Many inns were built around Hakone's hot springs. These were a popular subject for 'ukiyo-e'('pictures of the floating world') artists. They created paintings and woodblocks for the popular urban market. This print has contrasting exterior and interior views of Dogashima and Sokokura. Hiroshige clearly designed it as a frontispiece to the series. It is likely that the six prints would have been sold as a set. The relative simplicity of this first design would have acted as a foil for the richness of colour and detail of the others.