飛騨街道

The Hida Kaido is an ancient road that once connected the towns of Takayama and Kiso. The route was treacherous, especially in the winter when heavy snow made the trek particularly dangerous. Nonetheless, in the Edo period (1603-1868), people transporting all kinds of goods, ran along the road all year round. From charcoal and silk, to horses and more, the most famous product to be transported along the ancient highway was the yellowtail, a fish beloved in Japan. At New Years most areas in Japan like to eat salmon, but Kiso and Matsumoto had a divergent culture that preferred yellowtail on New Years Day. As a result, every year runners carrying vast amounts of heavy yellowtail fish were rewarded financially for carrying the fish through heavy snow on the Hida Kaido.

This hike takes you over the Nishono Pass as well as potentially three other passes (the Sekiya Pass, the Nagamine Pass and the Maezaka Pass). The day is customisable to fit the fitness levels and wants of the guests so don’t worry if that sounds like too much for you. The Sekiya Pass and the Nishino Pass combined make a 10km hike with a 400m elevation gain. All four passes become a 17km hike with about 900m of elevation gain and the terrain becomes significantly tougher so please choose the course according to your ability. It is a beautiful, deep nature hike, and is perfectly equipped for forest bathing. Aside from the Nishino Pass, the other three passes are totally unknown to other tour operators and only used by those in the know. The hike is about 80% forest, with 20% of the walk spent in the gorgeous agrarian pastures of the Kaida Plateau. As Really Rural Japan offer two back to back hikes on the Hida Kaido, we are the first to be able to offer a multi-day Hida Kaido adventure. These two hikes are a great addition to a Nakasendo hiking tour and offer a really zoomed in approach to a hiking trip in rural Japan.

During the trip, I will provide hot drinks, and snacks and you can even try on my own handmade waraji (traditional Japanese straw sandals), which I specialize in making.