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Private Nakasendo Hiking Tours

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The Nakasendo Trail

What is the Nakasendo Trail?

The Nakasendo is the name given to the 534km road running between Kyoto and Edo (the former name of Tokyo). The name of the route literally means central (中) mountain (山) road (道). It was once one of five routes that the Tokugawa Shogunate officially controlled during the Edo period (1603-1868). This network of five routes was officially known as the Gokaido (五街道), literally meaning the five (五) highways (街道). And all of them led to Nihonbashi in central Edo.

Of these five roads, the Tokaido (東海道), not the Nakasendo, was the most heavily trafficked. However, the Nakasendo was the road of choice for the families of the shogun and the emperor, as well as several daimyo. No corners were cut in making their trips as comfortable and lavish as possible. Post towns, known as juku or shuku (宿) were officially established. The Nakasendo had 69 of them, the most of any route of the Gokaido. These post towns were full of beautiful inns known as hatagoya, souvenir shops, food stalls, and more. The post towns of the Nakasendo are probably the best preserved in all Japan. It really is like being back in the Edo period. There is a conscious effort to ensure that the inns, the shops, and the food stalls, etc., have barely changed from hundreds of years ago. Several juku still bustle with tourists on the weekends, as they have done for centuries.

Hikes on the Nakasendo Trail

A lot of the trails on the Nakasendo trail are now all but destroyed. Some have been turned into highways, trainlines, the suburbs, and more. In my own humble opinion, there are only a few hikes that retain the real beauty and character of their past. I am sure that there are many who would disagree with me. But here, in order of location (closest to Kyoto first), is a list of the ones that I think are truly breathtaking:

  1. Mitake to Oi: Duration: 2 Days | Distance: 31km | Uphill 770m | Downhill 770m | Extremely quiet countryside hiking through rural Gifu Prefecture. Some remains of the ancient road are in simply stunning condition!

  2. Nakatsugawa to Magome: Distance: 9km | Uphill 320m | Downhill: 70m | A wonderful cross section of life in rural Japan featuring urban, suburban and rural views. You can see three post towns in one day and the cobblestones of Ochiai are simply wonderful. This hike also has some great food and drink.

  3. Magome to Tsumago: Distance: 8km | Uphill 230m | Downhill: 365m | The most popular hike on the Nakasendo and for very good reason. Two of the most stunning post towns in one day combined with excellent forest hiking, rivers, waterfalls, ancient tea shops, and more. This does not disappoint!

  4. Tsumago to Nojiri: Distance: 19km (15km when departing from Nagiso Station) | Uphill: 625m | Downhill: 520m | Some of the most stunning views of the Japanese countryside that you could imagine. This slightly longer hike takes place on a sub-route of the Nakasendo which was only used when the main route was damaged or impassable.

  5. Yabuhara to Narai: Distance: 7km | Uphill: 320m | Downhill: 305m | Probably the second most popular hike on the Nakasendo, this is a wonderful forest hike going over the Torii Pass and ending in the stunning post town of Narai. It is a short but steep walk, and used to be famously treacherous.

  6. Shimo-Suwa to Wada: Distance: 22km | Uphill: 845m | Downhill: 785m | This is the longest hike on the Nakasendo and goes over the Wada Pass. Of all of the road, this is probably some of the most untouched and unchanged since ancient time. The access to it is tough so plan it needs to be planned properly.

  7. Karuizawa to Sakamoto: Distance: 17km | Uphill: 265m | Downhill: 825m | This is a long, deep forest hike, starting in the luxurious tourist town of Karuizawa in Nagano Prefecture, and ending in Gunma Prefecture. A great hike with wonderful views on a clear day.

  8. Itabashi to Nihonbashi: Distance: 12km | Uphill 55m | Downhill: 70m | Now for something completely different. This is the final leg of the Nakasendo and takes place exclusively in the city. After seeing the truly untouched Nakasendo, it is fun to see it in its completely altered form.

Post Towns of the Nakasendo Trail 

The Nakasendo had 69 post towns that broke up the path on average every 8km. Post towns could be large and comprised of hundreds of households or small and made up of just a few. Of the 69 towns of the Nakasendo, there are only a small handful that weren’t burned to cinders, knocked down for newer buildings, or just generally destroyed.

The main highlights (in order of my own preference) include:

  1. Tsumago-Juku - The gem of the Nakasendo and the town that got the preservation movement started in the 1960s. This small post town was saved by its own socio-economic decay. It’s preservation movement became the model by which other historical towns in Japan are also now protected.

  2. Narai-Juku - Narai-of-1,000-inns is the nickname of this 1km long truly spectacular masterpiece.

  3. Magome-Juku - One of the smallest, quaintest post towns of the Nakasendo. This town has a vibrant, dainty cuteness to it.

  4. Kiso-Fukushima-Juku - While a lot of Kiso-Fukushima was destroyed, the Ue-no-dan region is still gorgeously historical.

  5. Nakatsugawa-Juku - Though much of this town was destroyed, the central section of Nakatsugawa-Juku is still absolutely gorgeous and full of useful signs curating the past.

Outside of these few towns, there are remnants of the past in all of them, maybe an Edo period building here, something left over from centuries ago.