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Private Nakasendo Hiking Tours

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How to get to the Kiso Valley

The facetious answer goes as follows: Traditionally you could come ① by horse, ② by palanquin, ③ partially by boat, and then ④on foot, wearing a strapping pair of waraji (straw sandals). And yes, waraji do have straps, so it is a double entendre, and … I win.

②

④

①

③

I know, I know! Side-splitting humor! Hilarious jokes aside now. Here are the best ways to access the Kiso Valley, Magome Juku, Tsumago Juku, and the best spots on the Nakasendo:

  1. Train

One thing that makes the Kiso Valley so great for hiking and traveling is its location on the JR Chuo Main Line. This line is actually a long snaking beast going all the way from Tokyo to Nagoya. This line is extremely slow going, which is not a bad way to spend a day when the weather is nice and the views are pretty. But expect to spend about 4-5 hours getting from Shinjuku to Nagiso Station, if using the JR Chuo Line just by itself.

However, if that sounds too long and you fancy something quicker, did somebody say “bullet train”? Yes, the Tokaido Shinkansen Line takes you from Shinagawa Station in Tokyo to Nagoya in about 90 minutes, and then travel onto Nagiso Station takes about an hour from Nagoya on the Shinano Limited Express. With transfers and waiting time included this will take around 3 hours. You could also come on a Shinkansen to the north and travel down from Nagano City and honestly, I think mobile phones can do a much better job of telling you the route than I can.

The main takeaways are:

  1. To get to Nagiso Station: from Tokyo it will take around 3 hours, from Osaka it will take around 2 hours, from Nagoya it will take about 1 hour.

  2. If you decide to go the slower route and take the JR Chuo Main Line, it will take 4-5 hours.

  3. You can do any route using a JR Rail Pass, but remember you can’t catch a Nozomi Shinkansen using the pass!

2. Car

Most Japanese travelers to the Kiso Valley will drive there simply because … they can. Traveler’s habits differ wildly from nationality to nationality, and many like to rent a car and travel freely that way. I can’ honestly recommend this for the Kiso Valley. The A to B nature of the hikes makes it more of a hindrance having a car than not. You’ll end up having to catch a train back to your car anyway. Or walking back the way you came. Either way, if that is how you come, it does give you more freedom to explore more spots in one day and I understand the appeal. From Tokyo expect it to take 4-5 hours. From Osaka 3-4 hours. From Nagoya under 2 hours. You will have to pay for parking at Tsumago Juku (500JPY) and Magome Juku (varies), though Magome has some free parking and the charges are seasonal so it really depends.

3. Bus

One of the lesser-used options is buses. You can catch a bus from Shinjuku which will take you to the Misaka Parking Area which is a 30-minute walk to Magome Juku. It takes about 5 hours but isn’t covered on the JR Rail Pass. These are more difficult to navigate and less charming than trains, so I go with trains as my best option!

Getting to Magome Juku, Tsumago Juku and Narai Juku

The top attractions of the Kiso Valley, Magome and Tsumago, don’t actually have train stations. So this is how to get to them:

  1. Magome: First of all you need to arrive at Nakatsugawa Station which is on the JR Chuo Main Line. From there, to put it simply, you could walk. The 9km walk from Nakatsugawa to Magome takes about 2-3 hours and is really quite stunning. You’ll see three historic post towns and some simply awesome views of the countryside, the Ochiai Cobblestone Path is a big highlight. Contact us to book a private guided tour of this very route, it can also be combined with the Magome to Tsumago hike in one day for a longer, extremely action-packed day!

    The other option is to catch a bus or a taxi. Buses leave from right in front of Nakatsugawa Station, leaving around once every hour from 7:30/8:00 to around 17:00/18:00. Buses take about 25 minutes.

  2. Tsumago: The closest station to Tsumago Juku is Nagiso Station, also on the Chuo Main Line. From Nagiso Station, the best option is to walk. It is about a 4km walk and is well signposted. Again, I live there and offer private guided tours of the area so get in touch if that appeals to you. The alternative is buses and taxis. The buses are a lot more infrequent here. Just a few every day. Taxi’s will have you there in 10 minutes so you could consider it a good option if the bus times aren’t on your side.

  3. Narai: Narai Juku is rare. It is a beautiful historical post town, but it has a station! To get there … catch a train. It’s also on the Chuo Main Line. Or catch a train to Yabuhara and walk to Narai on the Torii Pass. So many options!