Nakasendo trail

The Nakasendo trail meanders through Japan’s impressive natural scenery and forests, stopping along the way at traditional towns of a bygone era. The Nakasendo trail, also known as the Nakasendo Way is the old trading route between Kyoto and Edo (now Tokyo). Some parts of this historic trail still exist and have been faithfully restored and preserved so that today you can walk the path of traders and samurai of long ago. There are actually 69 post towns along this route. Post towns were separated by about a days walk so that travellers had regular places to stop and find lodgings on their travels across the country. Today the most popular part of this trail is the walk between the two post towns of Magome and Tsumago.

Two other towns on the Nakasendo trail worth visiting are the towns of Narai-juku, the wealthiest of the post towns and marking approximately the halfway point between Kyoto and Edo and the town next to it Kiso-hirasawa, an artisan town well known for its lacquerware. See our separate posts about these towns.

Nakasendo trail Tsumago and Magome

The walk between Tsumago and Magome is the most accessible part of the Nakasendo tail and so it is also the most popular. It’s a decent walk and should be attempted by those with a moderate fitness level. There is a bus that travels between the two towns if you cannot make the walk. There is also a luggage forwarding service so that you don’t need to carry luggage with you. You can walk the route in either direction, however, the walk in the direction from Magome to Tsumago is much easier with less uphill. We researched that it was similar in either direction and walked from Tsumago to Magome, however, it was very clear that this direction had a lot more uphill walking, so unless you want a more challenging walk, we’d recommend walking the direction from Magome to Tsumago! This walk takes about 2.5 to 3 hours plus time to stop for photos and snacks.

The town of Tsumago is the smaller of the two towns, there are a number of shops as well as stalls to grab a bite to eat. Tsumago also has a number of ryokan so that you can stay in this charming town. Before you set off on the walk we’d recommend stopping at the information centre. The centre notice board provides information on the condition of the track and provides maps you can take. They also have a service to drop any luggage at one information centre (between 8:30 and 11:30am) and it will be sent to the opposite town for you to collect (after 1pm). This works from Tsumago to Magome and Magome to Tsumago.

After checking out the information centre postings, we explored the main street and filled up on hot buns with various fillings such as pork, red bean and pumpkin, just perfect for starting our walk.

We then followed a beautiful cobblestone path out of town and into the countryside of rice fields.

And entered the forest.. (I felt like we were in a Ghibli movie!)

We then started the first of many climbs but it was beautiful in the forest!

Dotted along the path were bear bells to scare off the bears, but it just felt like we were ringing the dinner bell…

The trail was well marked and varied from local roads to paths in the forest.

The track winds past waterfalls and rivers, swollen with summer rains and snow melt.

A mandatory stop on this trail is the tea house which serves tea and sweets for a donation. Don’t forget to stop and write your home country on the visitors board. For us it was a welcome break from the rain and humidity.

Just behind the tea house is a 250 year old Cherry tree.

Not long after the tea house we crossed from Nagano prefecture into Gifu prefecture.

We had a short reprieve of downhill before it was all uphill again! It wasn’t much longer and we were outside Magome.

From Magome we picked up our forwarded luggage, bought more pork buns and caught the bus to Nakatsugawa then the Shinato limited express to Nagoya then shinkansen to Osaka.

We would have liked to explore Magome a little more, it is the larger of the two towns but we needed to get to Osaka and the rain was setting in. In fact the rain bucketed down when we were in the train and we were not sure if the line would be closed!

How to get here

Travel to Tsumago on the Chūō Main line from Matsumoto or Nagoya to Nagiso station. Then a bus from Nagiso to Tsumago (timetable here).

Travel to Magome from Nagoya on the JR Chūō Main line to Nakatsugawa (Shinato limited express is the fastest option). From Nakatsugawa there is a bus (about 30min ride) to Magome. Timetable can be found here.

The bus between Tsumago and Magome is the same bus that goes from Nagiso to Tsumago so you can catch it straight to Magome from Nagiso station or back to Nagiso from either Magome or Tsumago at the end of your walk. Nagiso – Tsumago – Magome bus timetable here.

Narai-juku, and Kiso-hirasawa are part of the Nakasendo trail and are well worth the visit for a full experience of the Nakasendo Way. See our separate posts on these towns. To visit all four will require at least one night in the area. Staying in a Ryokan will give you a traditional experience and where better to stay than in one of the post towns that has looked after travelers for hundreds of years.

More Information

Japan guide has translated bus timetables between Nagiso, Magome and Tsumago and from Nakatsugawa and Magome.

The walk between Magome and Tsumago takes between 2.5 and 3 hours. Alternatively, you can catch the bus between the two towns (see link above for timetables).

Narai-juku and Kiso-hirasawa are also worth visiting to fully appreciate the Nakasendo trail, see links to our posts below.

Matsumoto

Kiso-Hirasawa

Narai

Japan Guide