Nakasendo Way (trip)

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Nakasendo Way

  • Kyoto
  • Active & Adventure
Japan

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Period offered: February-July. The provider (view their profile) can provide you with specific departure dates, final prices, and other information.


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from $3,752* per person12 DaysFebruary-July
Comfort accommodations Exertion level: 3
Operator: Walk Japan Limited 12 people max
The Nakasendo Way is now better than ever. We have upgraded it to be fully guided, including more walking between the Nakasendo's beginning in Kyoto to its end in Edo, modern-day Tokyo. The Nakasendo Way is Walk Japan's pioneering walking tour of Japan. A best-seller for over a decade, this tour provides a unique, intimate experience of Japan and its people. Of course, these days it is no longer unique. Walk Japan's Shogun Trail and Kunisaki Buddhist Trek tours also bring Japan up close in different, but no less fascinating contexts.

The Nakasendo Way explores one of Japan's ancient highways, the Nakasendo — literally 'the road through the mountains'. The tour starts in Kyoto, an ancient capital and cultural epicentre of Japan, and follows some of the best preserved parts of the old road deep into the mountains.

In its heyday in the seventeenth century, the Nakasendo was crowded with travellers, including feudal lords, samurai, itinerant merchants and pilgrims. Now largely forgotten and quiet, the road provides a pleasant path through scenic countryside and, also, the history of Japan. We pass through and stay in picturesque, old post towns on route in much the same way that the Japanese traveller of old did. Charming, traditional inns, which have somehow survived into the modern world, provide us with friendly and atmospheric overnight accommodation. In the evenings, in an ambience reminiscent of Hiroshige's woodblock prints of feudal Japan, we relax and enjoy excellent meals.
Nakasendo Waterfall

The Nakasendo Way follows the most enjoyable, scenic and best-preserved parts of the old highway. Seventeenth-century travellers insisted on a reasonably easy route for their journey and so do we. This is a walking tour, not a trek. The average daily walking distance is a moderate 10-26 kilometres. Transport, however, can be arranged for those who desire a more relaxed day. Baggage goes by taxi, except when we travel by train. We climb several passes, but they have fairly gentle inclines and can be taken at a comfortable pace.

We meet in Kyoto and travel through Hikone, Sekigahara, Magome, Tsumago, and Narai (the last three, difficult to find on a map, are to the north and east of Nagoya), before finishing our journey along the Nakasendo in Tokyo. Walk Japan provides detailed instructions on how to get to Kyoto, and travellers make their own arrangements to get to there.

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Itinerary

# Day 1

Meet in Kyoto in our lodging's foyer at 6 pm for tour briefing before going out for dinner and a stroll around Kyoto.

Dinner provided.
# Day 2

A guided tour of the cultural highlights of Kyoto. Visit the Kyoto Museum of Traditional arts for an introduction to the myriad and splendid crafts of the city. Walk to nearby Heian Jingu, a vast Shinto shrine complex that was modelled on an ancient imperial palace. Transfer to Rokuon-ji temple, in the grounds of which is probably Japan's most famous structure Kinkaku, The Golden Pavilion. On to neighbouring Ryoan-ji temple and its world famous Zen garden. Stroll through the Myoshin-ji temple precincts before travelling into central Kyoto. Free time in the afternoon to explore on one's own or stay with the guide for a foray somewhere within Kyoto.

Breakfast and dinner provided.
# Day 3

Travel by train to the feudal-period castle town of Hikone; walk through the city to see the structure of a castle town and visit the castle, one of only a few in Japan that retains its original, spectacular keep. Train to Sekigahara, in 1600 the site of, arguably, the most important battle in Japanese history. It heralded the start of the 270-year Tokugawa dynasty and Edo period. Stay in traditional inn.

Breakfast and dinner provided.
# Day 4

Trains to Mitake followed by a 12 kilometre walk to Hosokute post-town through countryside. Stay in 17th century inn.

Breakfast and dinner provided.
# Day 5

22-kilometre walk to Ena along ridge-top route dating from the 8th Century. Picnic lunch near Okute, home to a 1,200-year old cedar tree. Stay in a modern hotel (2 stars) with private rooms. Coin laundry facilities available.

Breakfast and dinner provided.
# Day 6

Visit the excellent Hiroshige Print Museum in Ena before beginning the day's walk across rolling countryside to Nakatsugawa, an old post town and now a pleasant regional town. Leisurely time here before our afternoon walk in hilly countryside to Shinchaya teahouse, now a refurbished inn. Total walking about 16 kilometers.

Breakfast and dinner provided.
# Day 7

Walk to Magome post-town, home of Japan's first modern novelist, Shimazaki Toson (author of Before the Dawn). On to O-tsumago, a small cluster of inns for a total of about 11 kilometres walking. Stay in traditional inn. Visit the old, high-class inn, now museum, in Tsumago and enjoy an evening bath at a mountaintop hot spring.

Breakfast and dinner provided.
Nakasendo cherry blossom
# Day 8

Walk about 5 kilometres through the post town of Tsumago to Nagiso. Then another 18 kilometres through farm land, forested hills and over a steep pass. Take a train to Kiso-Fukushima and stay in a Japanese ryokan (inn).

Breakfast and dinner provided.
# Day 9

Walk along the Nakasendo through Kiso-Fukushima to visit the reconstructed barrier station. Continue 6 kilometres along the old highway in the Kiso valley. En route, through quiet villages and post towns, we pass by the mid-way point of the Nakasendo between Kyoto and Tokyo before catching a train to Yabuhara. Walk 7 kilometres over the Torii-toge pass to the lovely post town of Narai. Free time to explore, relax in cafes and shop in Narai. Stay in a famous inn of ancient lineage.

Breakfast and dinner provided.
# Day 10

A 6 kilometre walk along the Nakasendo from Narai via Hirasawa to Niekawa. Hirasawa is famous for the production of the region's lacquerware and, given time, we visit the studios of a master craftsman. At Niekawa, a quiet and forgotten post town, we take the train through the grand mountains of Japan's Central Alps for a visit to the Hokkoku Road, another feeder road to the Nakasendo. Stay the night in Ueda, an old castle town and now a small, regional city.

Breakfast provided.
# Day 11

Transfer by train to Naka-Karuizawa, where we rejoin the Nakasendo for a 12 kilometre walk over the Usui-toge Pass to Yokokawa. Lunch at Yokokawa before taking a local train to Takasaki, where we change to the Shinkansen 'Bullet' Train for Tokyo. These trains mostly follow the route of the Nakasendo into the capital. After arriving late afternoon in Tokyo we walk the last two or so kilometres to Nihonbashi bridge, where the Nakasendo terminated, for a fitting finalé to the walk. Our final night's lodging is a 3-star hotel close to Nihonbashi and just a few minutes' walk to Tokyo Station. Also, the Ginza, Japan's shopping heaven, is a five-minute taxi ride away.

Breakfast provided.
# Day 12

Breakfast provided, after which the tour ends.

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