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Private Nakasendo Hiking Tours
Luggage Transfers on the Nakasendo
For longer hikes on the Nakasendo, luggage transfers is one of the hardest things of all to arrange. Thankfully there are services that are starting to provide the services necessary. This is our guide to luggage transfer on the Nakasendo.
Magome to Tsumago
The most popular hike on the Nakasendo has a dedicated luggage transfer service between the towns of Magome and Tsumago run by the tourism offices of the towns. Simply bring your bags in the morning (before 11:00) to the tourism information center of Tsumago or Magome. There you will pay 1,000 JPY per item and attach your name and contact information to the bags. When you arrive in the afternoon (before 17:00) your bags will be waiting for you in the corresponding towns tourism information center. Just show them your name tags and collect your belongings.
Elsewhere
Traditional courier services fall flat when it comes to same-day, hotel-to-hotel delivery. They usually require you to open up at least a night or two from when you send your luggage to guarantee it arrives on time. This doesn’t really help when you are out hiking everyday and needing new supplies.
There are now a couple of providers offering same-day hotel-to-hotel luggage delivery in the Kiso Valley. One of them is the Kiso Ontake Tourism Office. The other is a local lady who started up the service seeing that there was a need for it.
To actually take advantage of these systems can still be tough. You can contact the Kiso Ontake Tourism Office here. Or learn about the local ladies private system here. Alternatively, for guests who are booking guided tours with Really Rural Japan, we can arrange these details on your behalf. Contact us to find out more.