Hectic Tokyo
The Nakasendo trail is the old postal route between Kyoto and Tokyo. The part in the Kiso Valley between Magome and Tsumago has been preserved. This 7.8 kilometer hike has been one of the most rewarding experiences during my visit to Japan.
The best place to start is Magome, since you’ll be mostly walking downhill from here. Both towns have a luggage forwarding system, for ¥500 you can drop you backpack or suitcase and pick it up at the other end. The hike goes through villages, along farmlands, waterfalls, and forests. Every few hundred meters you’ll find a bell along the trail, of course I had to ring every bell I came across. The true purpose was to keep bears at bay, although we were more afraid of any killer wasps that might could come get us.
Along the way we stopped at one of these villages to enjoy a well deserved ice cream. We enjoyed talking to the friendly owner in semi Engish, semi Japanese, but with her little girl that kept waving at us not a lot of words needed to be spoken 🙂
How to get here?
Take the Shinkansen from Tokyo or Kyoto to Nagoya, transfer to the express train and get off at Nakatsugawa, from here you take the bus to Magome. At the end of the trail in Tsumago you get on the bus to Nagiso where you can get the local train back to Nagoya or go forward to Matsumoto.
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