The Nakasendo Trail, also known as the Ancient Samurai Trail, has been in my plans for a long time. Unfortunately, they had to be shelved due to COVID outbreak. I finally managed to do it in April this year. And yes, it is well worth the visit! Especially during the Sakura season, the entire trail was dotted with blooming cherry blossom trees. AND you don’t have to fight with 100 other tourists (like in Kyoto) just to take photos of ONE tree.
Due to the language barrier, many people book the Nakasendo Trail with a tour agency just to do this walk. I refuse to believe that it can’t be planned from someone who can’t speak a word of Japanese.
It took me a fair bit of time to scour the internet for literature on it and piece the information together. Some blogs and websites only provided part of the information, so it was like piecing a huge jigsaw together.
I had to email some of the ryokans directly with Google translated Japanese to book the accommodation. But yep, it CAN BE DONE! And at a fraction of the price quoted by the travel agents. I mean, they do have to make a profit over it and you are paying for their time and effort. However, if you find trip planning fun, you can actually do it yourself.
Here’s a breakdown of my itinerary. (it may be different if you are reading this some time later). I want to put all the information together so that you it will save you time from trawling the internet and piecing all the information together.
For travel stories and pictures on my Nakasendo Trail, click here.
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6 Days Nakasendo Trail (March-June, Sep-Nov)
Day 1 : Trailhead Nakatsugawa – Magome 2h Distance 8.8km elevation 374m
Get yourself to the trailhead at Nakatsugawa Juku post town. This is the very first stop of the 6 days. Walk around this charming little town with old wooden buildings built in the Edo period.
- Hazama Sake Brewery, an old sake brewery with a sake tasting area. Especially if you are a fan of sake!
- Kawakami Japanese Confectionary Shop, famed for its local chestnut sweets, the kuri-kinton.
Fill yourself with food, sake, sweets, snacks before you start your walk to Magome.
Start your trail from the Nakatsugawa station. Follow the signpost and it will take you to the next town of Ochiai Juku. Stroll along the quaint old-fashioned street. Next you will find the Ochiai Stone Pavement, a cobbled-stone path winding through bamboo groves. You will soon see Magome Juku, one of the best preserved Edo period town in a distance.
Stroll through the main street and check out the little shops.
- Waki-Honjin Museum, where you can find the history of the village. Entrance fee 300 yen (if you are a history buff)
- Honjin/Tozon memorial, former residence of the writer Shimazaki Toson. Entrance free 550 yen.
- Enjoy a cup of coffee at one of the cafes for a stunning view of the valley.
- Try the Oyaki, a bun with fillings and Gohei-mochi, traditional sweets unique to Kiso Valley.It is made with sweet glutinous rice and various fillings.
- Walk to the Magome’s lookout point at the top of the town for a panoramic view of the Mt Ena (2190m) and the surrounding area.
- Take photos of the iconic watermills.
- Eishoji Temple, made famous by Toson Shimazaki who wrote about it in one of his novels.
- Old Magome notice board, once used by the government for important announcements.
Accommodation : Tajimaya Minshuku (Half board) made through Booking.com. I stayed here. If this is full, try Magome Chaya Minshuku also on Booking.com.
Day 2 : Magome – Tsumago 3h Distance 8.3km elevation 362m ascent 430m descent
Walk along the main street to the top of the town and follow the sign to Tsumago Juku.
You will see bamboo groves and soon you will come to an eatery called Juri. Their specialities are soba (buckwheat noodles) and horsemeat sashimi. It is normally open from 11am-3pm. Try the kale-soba and zaru soba.
Along the way, you will see a lot of bells, these are meant to scare bears away.
You will come to the Magometoge Pass (790m) Toge/Touge means mountain pass.
Soon, you will reach an interesting eatery where they serve free tea. Just drop money (your choice) into the money box.
After leaving the eatery, you will see a little waterfall, followed by a small town called O-Tsumago. This is a smaller town that Tsumago. You can either choose to stay here or at Tsumago. I continued on to Tsumago.
Tsumago has a main street where all the shops are located.
- Local food specialities : Kuri and gohei mochi. Soba noodles. Enjoy a bowl of soba noodles in one of the little restaurants.
- Nagiso History Museum 700 yen
- The rebuilt Wake-Honjin, which was the iconic inn during the Edo period in Tsumago.
- Tsumago’s Town notice board (each post town has its own notice board)
Accommodation : The beautiful Fujioto Ryokan (half board), right smack in the middle of Tsumago. Booked directly from the ryokan’s website. This ryokan only accepts cash. I love it so much.
Alternatively, you can book Daikichi Minshuku from their website.
Day 3 Part 1 : Tsumago – Nagiso 1h distance 3.7km 101m ascent 117m descent
Easy hike to Nagiso. Enjoy the beautiful forest along the way. Trail ends at Nagiso station where there is an old “Hogwarts” train displayed. Cross over and you will see the majestic Momosuke Bridge which is a Japan’s oldest wooden suspension bridge spanning across the Kiso river. If you are there between mid to end April, visit the glorious Azalea Flower Park on the other side of the bridge.
DAY 3 Part 2 : Nagiso – Agematsu by train
From the Agematsu Station, walk south along the Nakasendo Road to Rinsenji Temple. Go into the temple where you will find the access to the Nezamenotoko Gorge. It is an unforgettable scenic spot along the Nakasendo Trail. Walk to the bottom of the gorge to see the geographical wonder up close and personal.
Day 3 Part 3 : Agematsu – Kiso-Fukushima by train
If you are booked into Komanoyu Ryokan, be sure to join their free stargazing tour at night to see the beautiful starry display. They even provide binoculars and a guide with a telescope and star chart!! Highly recommended if you are a star gazing fan!
Accommodation : Komanoyu Ryokan (half board) through Booking.com
If Komanoyu is full, you can try Kiso Mikawaya through Booking.com
Day 4 Kiso-Fukushima – Narai By Train
Explore Kiso-Fukushima which was once the most important post town in the Kiso Valley.
- Visit Kozenji Temple. To access the garden, it’s 500 yen.
- Tamamura Residence
- Try the sake from the local breweries.
- Chill out in the modern cafes housed in the traditional wooden buildings.
- Soak your tired feet in the free outdoor footbaths along the river.
Narai Juku is the post town with the longest street of well preserved old buildings from the Edo period.
- The Nakamura Residence, a well preserved house of a Narai merchant. 300 yen.
- Taihoji Temple and Chosenji Temple. For Chosenji Temple, remember to look up to see the “Dragon’s Great Ceiling Painting” dated back from the Meiji period.
- Narai Juku Old Notice Board
- Cross the 300 year old Kiso Ohashi Bridge. Admire the magnificent woodwork and iron herringbone.
- Treat yourself to soba which is Narai’s specialty.
- Try the apple snack which is only available on the Nakasendo Trail.
Accommodation : Minshuku Shimada (half board) book directly from their website.
If it is full, try Iseya (direct from their website).
Day 5 Part 1 : Narai – Matsumoto by train
Matsumoto is one of the most charming cities in Japan and it offers a view of the Japanese Alps.
- Start from the Yohashira Shrine, which marks the beginning of Matsumoto’s shopping street Nawate-dori.
- Head to the iconic Crow Castle, located in the heart of Matsumoto
- Stroll along Takasago-dori, nicknamed Ningyo-machi-dori (Doll Town Street) because it is famous for the number of doll shops.
- Visit the Ishii Miso Brewery if you want to know how miso is made.
- Nakamachi Street is famous for kimono shops and sacred spring water.
- Matsumoto City Art Museum (To me, this is the highlight of Matsumoto because it houses the most number of Yayoi Kusuma’s pieces. Interesting titbit : Yayoi Kusuma’s hometown is Matsumoto!)
- Visit the Tenjin Fukashi Shrine
Day 5 Part 2 : Matsumoto – Karuizawa by train
Accommodation : Hotel Karuizawa Cross (room only) through Booking.com
Day 6 : Karuizawa – Usui Touge Pass by taxi, Usui Touge Pass – Yokokawa 4.5h 10.7km Descent 862m
Take a taxi from Karuizawa to Usui Touge Pass by taxi because the ascent is not really very scenic. The breathtaking scenery is the descent. This is one of the most beautiful sections of the Nakasendo Trail.
The taxi will drop you off in front of the Kumano Jinja Shrine. On the right, there is a cafe Shigenoya which has a nice view from its deck and was visited by John Lennon and Yoko Ono whose photos are displayed inside.
The Kumano Jinja Shrine at the Usui Touge Pass marks the beginning of the descent to the next town. Some peace and serenity there, away from the bustling crowd, simple because it is not so accessible. There was a huge construction area on the road with lots of “Keep off” sign when I was there (it may be completed by the time you visit). If you see it, just skip around it and walk a little down the road where you will find a signpost pointing you to the correct direction.
There will be lots of signs in the forest, however, when you are in doubt, check your compass or your GPS to make sure you are travelling in the right direction. I made a mistake and did a loop and was wondering why the scenery looked so familiar (anyway, the whole forest looks the same with all the trees…) It so happened that i took note of one of the special tree features and came across it a 2nd time and realised that I did a loop.
You will come to a section where you will see the entire valley under your feet. It felt like I was at the top of the world.
When you reach the foot of the mountain, you will see a little shelter. I was bewildered for a while as I couldn’t find a signpost and didn’t know where to go. I finally discovered that I needed to cross the road and you will find a little trail that will lead you down. Turn right and you will see an old railway line and a tunnel. Follow the abandoned railway line.
Along the way you will see abandoned locomotives and carriages. Eventually, you will reach a fork, turn left at the sign to Usui Sekisho Ato and IGNORE the sign for Yokokawa Station. You will then see the old Sekisho (checkpoint) on your left. Continue straight on until you see another Yokokawa Station sign. Follow the sign and you will find yourself in front of the station.
You have reached the end of the scenic trail. You can board the train from the Yokokawa Station to your next destination. 🙂
I hope this will help you to reduce your planning time by a fair bit and you will enjoy this fabulous walk!
I welcome all comments and feedback so that I can improve on my itinerary presentation. At the same time, it will be great if you can leave some comments if you feel that this has helped you and spread the word.
I will be putting more of my past travel itineraries in the blog but it will take a while as I am not a full time planner but a full time mom of 2 kids. I hope that this will also inspire more people to find the joy in trip planning for more “off the beaten track” adventures!