Nakasendo Trail: from Magome to Tsumago
Travel back in time on this route that crosses Japan through the mountains
Among the forested mountains of Nagano is the Kiso Valley. In addition to its mountains and scenery, the Kiso Valley is famous for its picturesque mountain villages. Many of these villages were born years ago when the Nakasendo trail was created.
In the time of the samurai, during the Tokugawa shogunate that unified Japan, several official travel routes to Edo were created. The reason was that under the Tokugawa shogunate, the feudal lords were ordered to live half a year in their domains and half a year in the capital, Edo. In total there were 5 major roads. Among them was the Nakasendo route, which connected Kyoto (the former capital) to Edo, present-day Tokyo. The Nakasendo route is more than 500 kilometers long, so obviously travelers needed areas where they could rest during a journey that would last several weeks. Therefore, along the entire Nakasendo route there are more than 60 small villages that served as rest areas.
The Nakasendo connects Kyoto with Edo (present-day Tokyo), passing through the interior of the Nagano Mountains, and is a whopping 534 km long. It was one of 5 major roads established in the Edo period (1600-1868) under the Tokugawa shogunate to be used as official travel routes to Edo. Along the Nakasendo are 69 post towns that function as rest areas for travelers to take a break from all the walking. They would certainly need it, as walking the entire route from Kyoto would take weeks. Over the years new road where opened and the lords stopped using the old routes. That, at the time, was a problem for local villagers, who were isolated. But it’s also what has allowed many of these villages to be preserved over time.
Today many parts of the trail have been preserved and have become tourist areas (there is even a part of the trail that passes through Tokyo!). In some cases only the small villages have been preserved but not the route itself. The most popular is the part of the Nakasendo trail linking the villages of Magome and Tsumago, which can be done in about 2-4 hours. I recently did this trail myself and was delighted with the experience, and today I would like to share it with you! Let’s travel back in time to the time of the samurai by walking part of the same route they took to return home going from Magome to Tsumago.
Magome
The route can be done either from Magome to Tsumago or the other way around. In our case we did the first option. We arrived in Magome early in the morning, when most of the stores were still closed. Being honest I felt in love of Magome since the first moment. It’s a charming little town. The cobblestones of the main street perfectly placed, the water mills, the stray cats sleeping peacefully in the street, the houses full of plants and flowers… And I can’t talk about Magome and not tell you that they have the most adorable Japan post office I have ever seen!
We spent some time taking pictures and exploring the area, like a small but beautiful shrine a little off the beaten path and little by little the food stalls and souvenir stores started to open, most of them run by lovely and very friendly local elderly people. We stopped at a couple of places to enjoy some typical food of the area and talk to the locals. Many of the food stalls have a bench or a few tables and offer you free tea to enjoy with your meal. While you are sitting there, you can talk a bit with the owner of the store. When we went there were not many people, and I think they like to be able to talk to new people.
Then after filling our bellies we finally got on the road!
Quick tip: the trail is quite easy and can be done with normal sports clothes, nothing very special is needed. In our case we wore sunscreen just in case since it was summer, and we wore hats. Although it looks cloudy especially in summer it is advisable to protect yourself from the sun. We also took water for the road and something to snack on in case we got hungry.
From Magome to Tsumago
The route itself is not something very special. A mountain road, with trees and several rivers and waterfalls. And, according to the signs we found, also bears. All along the way you will see some bells that are set for travelers to ring since the noise scares the bears. Luckily, we didn’t encounter any during our journey.
But it’s a good activity to escape from the big cities and the noise. Or in times like now, where as a result of the situation of recent years more and more people prefer to go to secluded and uncrowded places during the vacations. We went at a leisurely pace, stopping here and there to take pictures or at some of the many rest areas along the way. At a house at the beginning of the trail there were free wooden walking sticks for those who wanted one.