Make sure to check out my Tokaido Crossroads Guide for Expert Travelers!
The Tier List
- Musubi (Power 48)
- Takeru (Power 42)
- Misaki (Power 42)
- Kinko (Power 41)
- Hirotada (Power 35)
- Ayumu (Power 35)
- Yoshiyasu (Power 32)
- Zen-emon (Power 32)
- Jirocho (Power 28.5)
- Chuubei (Power 27.5)
- Titia (Power 27)
- Matsumi (Power 27)
- Mitsukuni (Power 27)
- Yashima (Power 27)
- Kushinada (Power 27)
- Gotozaemon (Power 27)
- Sasayakko (Power 26)
- Satsuki (Power 25.5)
- Marihito (Power 25)
- Daigoro (Power 24.5)
- Umegae (Power 23)
- Rakuren (Power 23)
- Kidzuna (Power 23)
- Hiroshige (Power 23)
- Chihaya (Power 21.5)
- Iyasaka (Power 21)
- Kita (Power 21)
- Mari (Power 21)
- Suseri (Power 21)
- Miyataka (Power 18)
- Kamui (Power 18)
- Nampo (Power 16)
Using this guide
When I first got the idea of rating every character I thought it would be impossible. There is just too much random stuff going on to get that specific. As my Tokaido Guide for Expert Travelers approached completion I realized that it’s possible to get a pretty good pulse on all the random events in the game, and it actually is possible to give characters a power level. Here is how I did it:
Points per coin
Based on the analysis I did in the previous guide, generating 3 points per coin should be pretty common and typical. When calculating a characters power level, the “coin” value is simply 3 points for each starting coin. Earning more than 3 points per coin is one of the ways you can get ahead, but as a floor, this feels right.
Rich
Characters who start with 6 or more coins are considered rich. This number was chosen because it means you can set aside 3 coins to pay for any meal at the intermediate inn and still have 3 coins to spend during the adventure which ensures you have enough to do everything like buy an expensive souvenir or donate the maximum to the temple all without needing a farmhouse. Other characters need to think very seriously before skipping a farmhouse spot, but rich characters can do so easily. This lets them be more flexible in their strategy of choice. These characters are generally less likely to ever go broke and they are more capable of pouncing on opportunities. This flexibility earn rich characters get +3 points.
Consistent
Consistent characters benefit from an unblockable special ability. For example, Kita gets to use both options at an encounter spot. This is a good ability, but it depends on her stopping at encounter spots, something other players will actively try to prevent her from doing. Chuubei, on the other hand, gains a free encounter at every intermediate inn. This is guaranteed and cannot be prevented. Consistency is worth +3 points.
Accomplishment boost
Some characters get a jump start on scoring an accomplishment. I have scored this as +2. The accomplishment is worth 3 points, and I am suggesting that a character with an accomplishment boost should win that accomplishment at leas 66% of the time.
Tie breakers
If two or more characters end up with the same ability scores, ties are broken by starting coins. Because it’s possible to score more than 3 points per coin, having more coins offers more opportunities for higher scores. Characters with more coins have a higher point ceiling.
Character Rankings
32. Nampo the Gourmet
Set: Crossroads
Ability: Scores 1 point for each coin spent on meals
Coins: 2
Power: 16pts
(6 coins + 8 ability + 2 accomplishment boost)
The most Nampo can earn from his special ability is 12 points if he purchases all 3-cost meals. This high-end reward is pretty optimistic, Nampo only starts with 2 coins so he can’t even afford the first expensive meal without help, let alone all four. I am only giving Nampo credit for buying an average of 2-cost meals for 4 dinners, giving him 8 bonus points.
If you are eating expensive meals, you are probably a favorite for the Gourmet accomplishment which gives him a small boost.
Playing Nampo – Difficulty: Hard
Nampo is a paradox. He has an incentive to buy expensive food, but he only starts with 2 coins. Lots of work is required to purchase all those tasty meals and still find time to donate to the temple and buy a few trinkets.
It’s true Nampo actually wants to buy expensive food but even with his ability getting 3-cost meals isn’t very efficient. Think of it this way, you can spend 3 coins to score 9 points (6 for food + 3 for his ability). This is a reasonable 3pts/coin. But you could have spent 2 coins to score 8 points which is a more impressive 4pts/coin and you still kept a coin!
Just like any other character, spending only 1 coin for a meal is still the best even for Nampo, and is often the best play. However one of the gameplay goals for Nampo will be to utilize the Hospitality amulet to keep your meal cost average as high as possible
Utilizing amulets should be Nampo’s primary goal. The Hospitality amulet will let you gobble up all those expensive meals for free, while still scoring points. The Devotion amulet will let you sneak in a large temple donation while you are munching on a nice expensive dinner.
You cannot use both hospitality and devotion at the same time because Devotion triggers on “coins spent” and using Hospitality means you spend 0 on the meal. So you will use them separately.
If you walk into an inn without a nice coin cushion and without an amulet, consider forgetting about his ability and just getting the cheapest meal. The meager amount of points his ability grants you isn’t worth handicapping yourself by going broke. Slow and steady wins the race with Nampo… Good luck with this guy! He is for advanced users only.
31. Kamui the vagabond
Set: Matsuri
Ability: When stoping at the intermediate inns and at the last inn, Kamui scores 3 points if he doesn’t buy a meal card.
Coins: 3
Power: 18pts
(9 coins + 6 ability + 3 consistent)
I am assuming Kamui skips all of his meals, even the 1-cost meals in order to maximize his free points. This means over the course of the game he will actually lose 12 points from his missed meals (4 meals at a 3 point loss each).
However he gets to keep all the coins he would have spent on those meals. In this case I went with 6 total saved coins. Using our 3 points per coin benchmark, he should be able to convert these 6 coins into 18 points. Which is a net profit of 6 points from using his ability.
You might be asking why I am recommending skipping even 1-cost meals, isn’t 6pts/coin very good value? Sure is, but if you skip the meal you get 3 points, and you can get more than 3 points on the coins you saved which will actually make it worth 7+ points. Making that happen is on you, and that is what makes this character hard.
Playing Kamui – Difficulty: Hard
To fully utilize his ability to you need to extract maximum value. Each coin you save is actually a gamble, you need your coins to do BETTER than the guaranteed points they would have been worth if you spent them on a meal.
Getting the Fasting calligraphy is a no-brainer for Kamui because that means he loses no points for missing all those meals! If you get fasting that means essentially he just started with +5 coins which you can now spend on whatever you need.
Most normal characters have no interest in the Fasting calligraphy so you can usually pick it up as your second. You should feel somewhat comfortable taking Nostalgia or Contemplation first. Keep your eyes on characters that missed a meal however, because that makes them serious threats to your plan.
30. Miyataka the Superstitious Woman
Set: Crossroads
Ability: Can perform both actions at temple stops
Coins: 4
Power: 18pts
(12 coins + 4 ability)
Most characters who stop at a temple are doing so to get an amulet, and so should Miyataka. Her ability lets her also donate coins as a bonus. The donation goal is 3 coins since that is usually enough to get first or second at the temple. She is able to kill two birds with one stone when she makes temple stops but after you take the temple lead, there isn’t much reason to keep throwing money in. This is why her ability isn’t very strong. It’s only worth 4 points because while other characters have to stop at the temple just to donate, she is buying an amulet instead. This amulet is worth 4.
Playing Miyataka – Difficulty: Hard
She starts with only 4 coins and if she manages to hit a temple and utilize her ability she must spend at least 2 coins to do it (purchase amulet and donate at least 1 to the temple). It’s tough for any character to scrounge up 2 coins every time they want to use an ability, but for one who starts with only 4 you need to be extra careful.
Leaning on coin-generating amulets like Fortune, Hospitality and Friendship (with a farmhouse spot) can help her sustain constant temple visits. Her ability is expensive so trying to split attention between hitting the temple and buying souvenirs is very risky so I would recommend giving up on the village with Miya.
29. Suseri the erudite
Set: Matsuri
Ability: At the end of the game Suseri scores 1 point for each different type of card in her collection.
Coins: 3
Power: 21pts
(9 coins + 11 ability)
There are 12 different types of cards she can collect over the course of the journey. You might be wondering why I am only giving her 11 points for her ability score. I am doing that because one of her points comes from finishing the game with an unused amulet in her inventory. If you collect that particular point, that means you spent a coin on an amulet and scored exactly 1 point for it. That would be a blunder. You would be better off spending the coin on something else or sing the amulet for value.
Playing Suseri – Difficulty: Hard
Suseri is one of my favorite new characters. She isn’t very powerful but she is fun and thematic, wanting to get the most out of her vacations. I actually had to look up what erudite means:
Erudite:
having or showing great knowledge or learning.
What a classy way to connect flavor and gameplay! Collecting knowledge and learning in Tokaido isn’t as easy as it sounds. For Sesuri to get all her points she has to make 4 panorama stops, 2 encounter stops, 2 bathhouse stops, 2 village stops and hit enough farmhouses to afford all of that! She also probably needs to make it to the temple to put in a donation. That’s a lot of work, and a lot of planning. Making all these stops makes it very hard for her to focus on any one thing.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
- As stated above, do not focus on ending the game with an amulet, that is negative value
- She wants to spend a coin at a bathhouse which isn’t great value either, save this for last and don’t feel bad if you miss it
- Cherry blossoms have an expiration date and once the 6th one is taken she misses the opportunity to get this point, so make sure to grab at least one
- Encounter stops are good for her because Anniabito (all three versions) and Shokunin knock two unique items off her list and potentially save you a stop
- The health amulet will let you double up on stops (hot springs and bathhouse, encounter and calligraphy etc) which can take some of the pressure off making them later
The most important thing to remember is getting unique cards is a bonus and not a goal. You very well might find yourself scoring more points completing the blue panorama or getting some lucky hits at the village.
28. Mari the poet
Set: Matsuri
Ability: When stopping at a temple space, Mari scores 2 points instead of 1 for each coin she donates to the temple. If she decides to buy an amulet, Mari can take it for free.
Coins: 4
Power: 21pts
(12 coins + 9 ability)
All players should work hard to donate 3 coins to the temple, if Mari does this she earns an addition 3 points from her ability. She also buys amulets for free, so I gave her credit for saving 2 coins on amulet purchases over the course of the game for a total ability score of 9.
Playing Mari – Difficulty: Medium
If you use the Devotion amulet to donate 3 coins through a purchase of food or a legendary sword, you get those bonus points from her ability. You should focus on making this combo happen as it is one of Mari’s greatest tools for value.
She takes amulets for free which increases the value of those amulets drastically so try to take advantage of as many temple stops as you can for this purpose.
27. Kita the old woman
Set: Crossroads
Ability: Can perform both actions at encounter stops.
Coins: 4
Power: 21pts
(12 coins + 7 ability + 2 Accomplishment Boost)
Doing both choices at a stop is like getting two stops for the price of one. So if Kita makes two encounter stops, she basically gets two more encounter stops for free! Generally you will be buying a calligraphy card on your first two encounter stops, so Kita is getting meet a friend as a bonus. Meet a friend is worth 3.5 pts on average so she earns 7 points from that. Her double dipping gives her a boost toward Chatterbox.
Playing Kita – Difficulty: Hard
The first calligraphy card worth grabbing is probably Perfection which gives you a point for calligraphy cards and accomplishments. She is already scoring double encounters for Chatterbox so that is logical. After that purchase whatever best matches your game flow.
Starting with only 4 coins, it’s pretty tricky to maximize your value on the multiple calligraphy cards you will inevitably get. Most characters will get 1 calligraphy and lean on free encounter stops after that unless they have plenty of money. Kita doesn’t want to miss out on her value so she is compelled to spend the coins even if she doesn’t really want a calligraphy card.
Late in the game Kita will often have the opportunity to pick up calligraphy cards other people have passed on like Patience and Fasting. If you see this happening plan ahead. Feel free to skip a meal knowing you will recoup some lost value, or get Vitality or Friendship amulets to maximize Patience.
26. Iyasaka the manual worker
Set: Matsuri
Ability: When stopping at a farmhouse Iyasaka receives 1 extra coin if he chooses to receive 3 coins or Iyasaka can choose to re-roll the fortune die if he chooses to gamble.
Coins: 5
Power: 21pts
(15 coins + 6 ability)
If Iyasaka makes 2 stops at farmhouses and takes the guaranteed 4 coins, he ends up with 2 extra coins over the course of the journey. This is worth 6 points. Farmhouses are obviously coveted spots, but if you can land on more than 2 that’s a great bonus.
“What about the gamble!” you might be asking. Here is the thing about gambling, even with this character. If he hits x3, that means he is only collecting a profit of 4 coins. But he is already guaranteed to get 4 coins just by stoping at the farmhouse.
Of the possible gamble outcomes (0, x1, x2, x3, x3, x4) he literally only profits on the x4. That’s only 1/6 chance to do better than just taking 4. Even with his free re-roll, gambling with him is absolutely terrible.
Playing Iyasaka – Difficulty: Easy
You want to jam as many farmhouses as possible. If you happen to pick up lots of early money, consider grabbing the Foresight calligraphy. Otherwise focus on converting your coins into points at the souvenir shops.
25. Chihaya the bather
Set: Matsuri
Ability: When stopping at the intermediate inns, Chihaya receives a hot springs card.
Coins: 3
Power: 21.5pts
(9 coins + 7.5 ability + 3 consistent + 2 accomplishment boost)
Chihaya is a straight-forward character who is guaranteed to get 3 hot springs cards. These cards are worth 2.5 points each for 7.5. Having 3 hot spring cards in the bag makes the Bather accomplishment an easy grab.
Playing Chihaya – Difficulty: Easy
The Perfection calligraphy might be a good first purchase since she is a favorite to win Bather. Try to shoot for Chatterbox as well, since it’s free and she is poor. There isn’t much to playing Chihaya other than spending your 3 starting coins wisely and don’t go broke!
24. Hiroshige the Artist
Set: Base
Ability: Gains his choice of panorama card at each intermediate inn
Coins: 3
Power: 23pts
(9 coins + 7.5 ability + 3 consistent + 3.5 Accomplishment Boost)
Most characters get +2 for accomplishment boost, but Hiroshige is getting +3.5 because he can reasonably get 2 completed panoramas thanks to his ability.
Playing Hiroshige – Difficulty: Medium
Grabbing the Contemplation calligraphy is a great idea with this character. If your gameplan is developing well and you are on your way to a couple completed panoramas you can also consider getting Perfection.
Choosing which panorama card to pick up when you get to each inn isn’t always easy. The trick is you don’t want to finish one too soon because that will make it impossible for you to utilize a potential stop. It might be tempting to lock in that 5th blue panorama on the 3rd inn but maybe you should take the more elusive grey. You might be able to push your luck and get both!
23. Kidzuna the cook
Set: Matsuri
Ability: When stopping at the intermediate inns, Kidsuzna can buy another meal in addition to her usual meal. First reveal the top card from the stack and choose to buy it at the indicated cost. Kidzuna then proceeds to eat with the rest of the group.
Coins: 3
Power: 23pts
(9 coins + 12 ability + 2 accomplishment boost)
It is possible for Kidzuna to eat a full 3 extra meals over normal travelers earning her 18 extra points. The problem is there are only three 1-cost meals for her to get, then she has to pony up 2-3 coins. She only starts with 3 coins so this is easier said than done.
For additional hardship, the random meal she flips might be a duplicate of one she already ate. Eating 3 extra meals really is the dream, but eating just two is pretty good. So I am giving her credit for eating two extra meals for +12 points and giving her an accomplishment boost toward Gourmet.
Playing Kidzuna – Difficulty: Hard
You might be noticing a trend that characters who start with 3 or less coins end up being hard to play. Like Nampo before her, Kidzuna is going to have a very hard time eating extra meals with her limited funds. Making calculated jumps to farmhouses and utilizing the hospitality amulet will be required to get full value from Kidzuna.
Make good use of cherry blossoms early in the game. The hospitality amulet can be used on her first random meal, or her second standard meal so this is a very valuable amulet for her as it will let her secure double meals with ease.
If you have the wiggle room to grab a calligraphy card, she is probably a shoe-in for Gourmet so consider that one first.
22. Rakuren the collector
Set: Matsuri
Ability: When stopping at a shop space Rakuren can randomly draw 4 souvenir cards and 1 legendary object card instead of the usual choices. He can choose to purchase any number of these cards.
Coins: 5
Power: 23pts
(15 coins + 8 ability)
To quantify Rakuren’s ability I am giving him credit for “doubling” his village stops and giving those extra stops a value of 4 pts. This is somewhat random because it depends on what souvenirs and legendary items are pulled, but because of his larger sample size he is pretty likely to complete a set and get some relevant legendary items.
Playing Rakuren – Difficulty: Medium
Rakuren starts with a reasonable amount of coins and great prospects for scoring well at the village. Try to make a village stop as soon as you see the opportunity. Otherwise grab the Nostalgia calligraphy.
If your first legendary item is a sword, I would recommend not buying it, and just spending your coins on standard souvenirs instead. Spending 3 early is too limiting. If either of the other legendary items are pulled, buy those and try to focus on generating more coins to keep buying souvenirs.
Note that Rakuren’s ability is a “may” effect and he can choose to use the village stop normally. This would come in handy if your set of 4 souvenirs is already complete and you are focusing on getting the 2-cost legendary souvenir to extend your set. No need to roll for a random legendary in that situation.
21. Umegae the street entertainer
Set: Base
Ability: Gain 1 point and 1 coin at encounter stops
Coins: 5
Power: 23pts
(15 coins + 8 ability)
The bonus Umagae gets from an encounter is 1 coins (3 points) and another point. I give her credit for making a minimum of two encounter stops for an 8 point ability bonus.
Playing Umegae – Difficulty: Medium
Having an alternative way to earn coins is strong. In the early game Umagae will earn coins at the farmhouse, cherry blossom and the encounter spot. How awesome!
Look for opportunities to purchase the Friendship amulet and use it to double up on encounter spots. This gives you back the coin you spend on the amulet and gives you a free roll for an extra point and an encounter. Or you can get a bunch of calligraphy cards and hope for some major scoring.
20. Daigoro the kid
Set: Crossroads
Ability: At every intermediate it gain a random souvenir
Coins: 3
Power: 24.5pts
(9 coins + 10.5 ability + 3 consistent + 2 Accomplishment Boost)
I put a 2.5 point value on a random souvenir when evaluating it in my guide. But in this case I am giving Daigoro 3.5 per souvenir because he knows he is going to get at least 3, and he can easily plan ahead and convert them into a set (or more).
To break this down further Daigoro has ~42.68% chance of getting 3 souvenirs from 3 categories. He has a ~3.9% chance of getting 3 souvenirs from the same category. Finally he has a ~53.42% of getting any other outcome of one duplicate souvenir and one different souvenir.
42.68% = 9pts
53.42% = 5pts
3.9% = 3pts
Those are the free points Diagoro would earn if he did nothing else at the village. But if you land one a couple of village stops you can work magic.
Playing Daigoro – Difficulty: Easy
Daigoro has it pretty easy. Very little decision making is required, and even if he gets blocked from most of the villages he can still complete a set with only 1 stop.
With Diagoro you might feel compelled to hit the nearest shop and start building up your set. This is a great start, however if you hit an early shop do NOT buy souvenirs to build up your set, instead go for the legendary items. The first souvenir Diagoro should buy is a legendary Emaki or Shodo for 1 coin. These cheap legendary souvenirs are going to offer a guaranteed 3 points and likely many more. The 2-coin legendary items, Ema and Buppatsu, are also great pickups because they will never interfere with the free items Daigoro is getting.
Purchasing standard souvenirs isn’t as efficient because he might end up getting duplicate items when he triggers his ability at the inns. Try to use the last couple of stops to complete your item sets. Especially the very last day when the risk of getting a duplicates has passed. Utilize the Friendship amulet to land on the critical final village.
The obvious calligraphy choice for Daigoro is Nostalgia since he is a lock for getting 3 pts from his ability alone, and you will be buying additional souvenirs throughout the journey. Perfection is a good second since he also has a big leg up on getting the Collector accomplishment. If you purchased the friendship (or vitality) amulet to grab the last village stop the patience calligraphy might also be worthwhile.
19. Marihito the writer
Set: Matsuri
Ability: At the end of the game, Marihito can double one of the calligraphy cards in his collection.
Coins: 5
Power: 25pts
(15 coins + 10 ability)
Marihito gets his 15 points for coins, and then I am giving him another +10 for doubling a calligraphy card. The calligraphy cards are a big variable because it could earn some explosive scores. Foresight in particular can be really insane for Marihito.
Playing Marihito – Difficulty: Medium
In order to take advantage of his ability he must grab a (good) calligraphy card. The best ones are Foresight (which ensures every coins you hold is worth 4 points, an amazing value) followed by the usual suspects: Nostalgia, Contemplation.
Once you get your hands on a good calligraphy, you still need to maximize your score on it. Nothing about Marihito’s play is easy. It requires some thought, and doubling the value of certain things messes with your math. On the other hand, he does start with a comfortable 5 coins and has a very high point ceiling.
Worth noting that if you do get Foresight, your second grab should almost certainly be fasting and then start skipping meals.
18. Satsuki the orphan
Set: Base
Ability: At each inn has option to eat random meal for free
Coins: 2
Power: 25.5pts
(6 coins + 18 ability + 3 consistent)
Satsuki gets to eat for free, so this will save at minimum 5 coins (the three cheap meals, and a 2 cost meal). I am giving Setsuki credit for saving 6 coins over the course of her journey eating meals when calculating power level.
Playing Satsuki – Difficulty: Easy
She starts out pretty poor, but after a farmhouse and a few cherry blossoms she can swing with the rich boys as they spend money on feed.
Her ability has an upshot and a downside. The upshot is she might catch some expensive meals and accidentally win the gourmet accomplishment! Keep your eyes on other character’s food spending on the last meal. You might consider skipping her free meal and actually buying one expensive one to lock the accomplishment up.
The downside is that she might pull a meal she has already eaten and be forced to pay for a different one. Which is often no problem but if you are going in broke, you do take a bit of risk.
17. Sasayakko the geisha
Set: Base
Ability: When purchasing two or more souvenirs, she gets the cheapest for free (must be able to afford all purchases)
Coins: 5
Power: 26pts
(15 coins + 9 ability + 2 Accomplishment Boost)
Sasayakko is a favorite to save about 3 coins at village stops over the course of the game. Her ability to buy multiple souvenirs at once means she can accumulate a large number of them even if they aren’t all going toward a set. This gives her a substantial boost toward the Collector accomplishment.
Playing Sasayakko – Difficulty: Medium
The problem is