Self Guided Tours

At present Really Rural Japan is not (yet) a travel agency. We are working on it! But in the meantime, we aren’t allowed to sell packaged up self-guided tours to you. In lieu of this, and until we get our licenses in order, we are offering consultations to guests hoping for a self-guided tour on the Nakasendo. During a consultation I can show you how and where to self book accommodation and how to link these all together with hikes and transportation. Many of my guests find self organising a trip in rural Japan, an absolute nightmare, but I am here to help! One hour costs $200 and is usually enough to have you all set and ready to hike the Nakasendo. I will also include a free PDF copy of my guidebook to hiking the Nakasendo.

Nakasendo Self-Guided Tours

nakasendo Kiso valley Magome Tsumago tea house cherry blossom sakura hiking

Nakasendo - 3 Day Self Guided Tour

Nakasendo - 5 Day Self Guided Tour

  • ・Location: Mostly in the Kiso Valley

    ・Season: Year round

    ・Daily distance: 7km - 19km

    ・Elevation gain: 230m - 550m

    Our hiking tours of the Nakasendo, an ancient mountain road which once connected Japan’s two capitals, Tokyo in the East, and Kyoto in the west. Most of the Nakasendo and its stunning Edo period architecture has since been lost to wars, fires, and modernisation. But here in the mountainous, rugged Kiso Valley, the Nakasendo is, in places, almost exactly as it was hundreds of years ago.

    We are one of an extremely tiny handful of local guides. By using our services you are ensuring that the money that you pay goes to, and stays in, the local economy of the Japanese countryside, something too many operators cannot claim.

  • ・Location: Mostly in the Kiso Valley

    ・Season: Year round

    ・Daily distance: 7km - 19km

    ・Elevation gain: 230m - 550m

    Our hiking tours of the Nakasendo, an ancient mountain road which once connected Japan’s two capitals, Tokyo in the East, and Kyoto in the west. Most of the Nakasendo and its stunning Edo period architecture has since been lost to wars, fires, and modernisation. But here in the mountainous, rugged Kiso Valley, the Nakasendo is, in places, almost exactly as it was hundreds of years ago.

    We are one of an extremely tiny handful of local guides. By using our services you are ensuring that the money that you pay goes to, and stays in, the local economy of the Japanese countryside, something too many operators cannot claim.

Nakasendo - 7 Day Self-Guided Tour

  • ・Location: Mostly in the Kiso Valley

    ・Season: Year round

    ・Daily distance: 7km - 19km

    ・Elevation gain: 230m - 550m

    Our hiking tours of the Nakasendo, an ancient mountain road which once connected Japan’s two capitals, Tokyo in the East, and Kyoto in the west. Most of the Nakasendo and its stunning Edo period architecture has since been lost to wars, fires, and modernisation. But here in the mountainous, rugged Kiso Valley, the Nakasendo is, in places, almost exactly as it was hundreds of years ago.

    We are one of an extremely tiny handful of local guides. By using our services you are ensuring that the money that you pay goes to, and stays in, the local economy of the Japanese countryside, something too many operators cannot claim.