2024 Walking Tour of Nakasendo and Takayama

This tour will start at Japan's 4th largest city, Nagoya in the central Japan. You can reach here by air or by shinkansen from anywhere in Japan. Journey to the East will offer guidance or arrange your domestic transfer to Nagoya if you require it. It is a great city in its own right. Why not arrive a little early to explore the city?

Tonight you will check in to your hotel, enjoy dinner with your fellow travelers and get to know your guide at a popular local restaurant in Nagoya. Have a good sleep, and be ready to start the first full day of your 2024 Walking Tour of Nakasendo and Takayama. 

*Many of our guests arrive a day or so early to settle in before the tour starts. We can arrange your additional nights accommodation in the same room as the tour. Nagoya is only one and half hour away from Tokyo, and less than one hour from Kyoto or Osaka by shinkansen.

You leave the great city of Nagoya behind, take an express train to the small town of Nakatsugawa in the delightful Kiso Valley.

Today, putting on your walking shoes, you begin the first leg of your hike along the Nakasendo Way, one of Japan’s most scenic routes. The Nakasendo was one of the old highways connecting Edo (today's Tokyo) with Kyoto, passing through the mountainous terrain of the Kiso Valley. Here, some of the historic post-towns where travelers would stay during their long journeys still stand. And in some places, sections of the trail itself remain, allowing visitors to experience walking the Nakasendo for themselves. Going for a stroll on the cobblestone route and the twinkling of the sunlight through the trees really makes you feel like a traveler in the olden days.

Our first stop is the village of Magome, awarded a one-star rating by the Michelin Green Guide Japan. The cobblestone streets are lined with old, lattice-windowed residential houses, museums, tea houses, and old style souvenir shops on both sides, a scene that very much resembles how the post town looked in the Edo period hundreds of years ago.

Here we stay at a charming minshuku guest house and sleep in a traditional Japanese room with futon bedding. You will have a private room, (bathroom facility is shared). Tonight, dinner is a hearty family meal at the minshuku.

(Total walking distance today - about 11 km)

After a hearty homemade breakfast at minshuku, you are back on the Nakasendo Way and walk the 7.8km Magome - Tsumago trail – one of the most popular sections of the route. Magome is relatively unique among the post towns for being located on very precipitous terrain. It is said that the name Magome (written with "horse" and "basket") derives from the fact that travelers were forced to leave their horses at the inns because the road was too steep for horses to climb. You will see the remanence of it on the way. Tsumago is considered one of the best preserved post towns throughout Japan.

In the afternoon, you transfer to your hotel in the mountain. Tonight, you sleep in a modern room with private bathroom, still with the old style Japanese hospitality together with outdoor onsen bath under the gorgeous stars! Soaking in a natural hot springs bath after a day in the fresh air, you’ll soon realise why visiting an onsen remains one of the ultimate pastime for the Japanese!

(Total walking distance today - about 12 km)

Today, firstly you walk from Tsumago to Nagiso Station dropping by a mountain castle ruins and many other interesting historical monuments. You then cross Momosuke Bridge, Japan's longest wooden suspension bridge, designated as Important Notional Cultural Property. It was built in  1922 to transport construction materials to a power plant downstream.  Consisting of three stone piers and four spans, it is 247 meters from end to end. It would have been more economical to build the bridge further downstream, where the river is narrower, but Momosuke Fukuzawa, the flamboyant entrepreneur behind both the bridge and the power station, was less concerned with cost than with aesthetics, and built a longer and elegant looking bridge here.

This afternoon, you will take a local train to tonight destination Kiso Fukushima. You will stay at a small onsen ryokan here.

(Total walking distance today - about 7 km)

A local train transports you to the township of Yabuhara, where you begin your hike along a high mountain pass covered in autumn colour and down a valley to the village of Narai.

Around Yabuhara Station is mainly residential. As you walk along the old Nakasendo, the main road of this quiet town, the buildings slowly begin to age. Every now and then remnants of Yabuhara’s post-town past pop up, like shops selling the town’s specialty, orokugushi combs.

From here, the trail grows steeper and steeper as it approaches Torii Pass. You stop from time to time  as the woods part to reveal splendid scenery of the town below. A third of the way along the trail is the outstanding Ontake Shrine, dedicated to Mt. Ontake, one of Japan's most spiritual mountains. Weary travelers would have stopped here to pray and rest a spell before continuing their journeys. On clear days, you can even see the peak of Mt. Ontake across the valley.

After crossing the highest point of the trail, Torii Pass (1,197m), it slowly descend towards Narai. Narai is another beautifully-preserved post-town where you have time to explore its charming streetscape at your leisure or simply relax in your minshuku-style accommodation.

Alternatively you can visit a nearby town of Hirakawa, to see its local traditional craft lacquerware.  

Dinner will be mountain cuisine at our minshuku made fresh that day from locally-sourced produce. Another rustic stay in a tatami room and shared bathroom.

(Total walking distance today - about 10 km)

Today, you will hop on a private minibus and head to Kaida Kogen (highlands). It is a plateau, 1,100 to 1,300 meters above sea level, and the birthplace of Kiso horses. At around 50 hectares in area, Kiso Horse Land is a place where the dwindling population of Kiso horses are protected and bred. Beautiful views of the majestic Mt. Ontake can be enjoyed from various locations around the highlands.

In the afternoon, you will continue the scenic drive to your final destination, Takayama. An atmospheric town surrounded by mountains and beautiful autumn foliage, Takayama is known for its beautifully preserved streets of merchant houses dating from the late 17th century. You will have a most memorable  evening walking tour of the old town before you have a chance to choose your dinner at some of Takayama's local restaurants.

Takayama’s 200-year old Morning Market is your first stop to check out its farm-fresh produce and handmade crafts. Hida region where Takayama is located retains a lot of rural features outside the town centre, and that is where you spend the rest of today. You will be foraging in the fields and enjoy a cooking lesson from a local lady. The rest of the afternoon is free for you enjoy the relaxing and nostalgic Hida countryside.

If you are interested in more nature walks, we recommend a guided walk along the Utsue Forty-Eight Waterfalls. The other active option is a half-day guided cycling through rice paddy of Hida region. Or you may simply like to stroll around the old merchant district and wander through its old buildings converted into small museums, boutique sake breweries and craft shops selling high-quality woodwork, lacquerware and textiles.

Tonight you will have a farewell dinner enjoying Takayama specialty, Hida wagyu beef at a yakiniku restaurant.

This morning after breakfast, your 2024 Walking Tour of Nakasendo and Takayama concludes.

You may choose to stay in Takayama a little longer, or take a train to Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya. You can also take a local coach to Matsumoto or Kanazawa. The choices are endless.

If you would like to continue your travel in Japan, we will be delighted to plan your personal post-tour extension to show you a different part of Japan. Please see our Extension Model Itineraries for inspiration!

Note: The cost of transfer to your departure airport is not included in our Small Group Tours (as we found many guests choose to stay in Japan a bit longer), but we will be happy to arrange your transfer to next destination or to exit airport. Please see our FAQ for more details.