Upcoming Guided Tours

• April 23-27, 2026

• Maximum of 8 people

• 5 nights & 5 days

• 5 guided hikes

• 4 traditional workshops

• 5 breakfasts & 4 dinners

• Luggage transfers included

• Price = $2,000 USD per person (for double occupancy)

• An additional $500 will be charged for single occupancy

Today is an arrival day. Arrive at your own pace in Nakatsugawa Station. Check into your hotel and head out for a dinner of your choosing and get some rest. Tomorrow the adventure really begins.

Accommodation: Onn Nakatsugawa

The Nakatsugawa to Magome section is by far the most varied hike of the Nakasendo on offer. Starting at Nakatsugawa Station this starts off as an urban walk. After enjoying the small historical city of Nakatsugawa, and its many wagashi-ya (Japanese sweet shops) and coffee shops, the hike heads off into the agricultural suburbs. The hike then enters the small historical post town of Ochiai. After Ochiai the hike starts to feel a lot more rural, and mountainous. From there it’s not long until Ochiai Ishidatami path. This 1.1km stretch of original Edo period (1603-1867) cobblestones is certainly a highlight of the hike. From there, things only get more and more scenic as you enter the Kiso Valley, and the landscape changes again. There you can enjoy wide sweeping mountain views in the background with fertile sun-drenched rice fields in the foreground. Finally, the hike ends at Magome, a beautiful sloping and winding historical village full of ancient inns, traditional street food vendors, and more.

In the middle of the day we will stop to enjoy a calligraphy class in Ochiai, another ancient post town of the Nakasendo. The monk who runs Kofukuji Temple in Ochiai is a master of calligraphy and together you will learn about the meditative art of Japanese calligraphy and Japanese philosophy in general.

Accommodation at Manpukuan Eishoji Temple - Manpukuan is the accommodation attached to Eishoji Temple, the local temple for the people of Magome. This building is over 250 years old and is a simply beautiful, unpretentious, and lovingly run temple accommodation run by the family that runs the temple itself. 

This is the most popular hike on the Nakasendo and for very good reason. It starts and ends with two of the most stunningly well preserved ancient villages in Japan, Magome and Tsumago. Many of the stunning, rickety old wooden buildings of Magome and Tsumago date back to the Edo period (1603-1867), where locals operated inns and tea houses to serve travelers, much as they still do to this day. 

The hike between them is equally as stunning with its varied views of sprawling mountains, ancient forests, crystal clear rivers, cascading waterfalls, and more.

After the hike we will take the time to visit a small village full of traditional craftsmen. This village is famous for Rokuro-zaiku, or traditional Japanese wood spinning. With family lineage of over 1,000 years, the Ogura family will teach you how to spin wood the old fashioned way. Everyone will have a chance to get on a hand powered ancient lathe and hold hand made ancient tools in their hands.

Accommodation is at Tsutamura - This ancient inn of the Nakasendo not only has a storied history, but it is also has been lovingly run by the same family for generations. This small, family run business not keeps the inn in its traditional state, they also rear their own trout, grow their own rice organically and turn it into sake. Such skills are rare these days!

The Seinaiji Kaido is an ancient road developed in the early 1500s by local samurai for military conquests. It connected the Nakasendo in Tsumago Juku with the southern end of the Ina Valley. As the Edo period (1603-1867) began and Japan became relatively stable and peaceful, the Seinaiji Kaido was used by all kinds of people, from local peasants transporting to goods to government officials and pilgrims too-ing and fro-ing around the country. Hiking on the Nakasendo is an exploration of one of the most important roads in Japan during the Edo period. Hiking on the Seinaiji Kaido is akin to hiking on a more minor artery of the country. On the Nakasendo you can feel the life of the Daimyo, the Princess or the Magistrate. On the Seinaiji Kaido you can feel the life of the farmer, the peasant, or the broke pilgrim traveling for travels sake.

At present, this hike is only being guided in English by Really Rural Japan. This is one of our originals and you are unlikely to see another soul on a trail full of twists and surprises.

Accommodation at Keigetsu Ryokan - In the mountainous hot spring town of Hirugami Onsen, tonight you will stay in luxury with a natural hot spring and kaiseki meals (traditional Japanese course meals famous for their presentation and seasonal ingredients). 

In the morning, you will take a walk around the Tenryu Gorge. As the Tenryu River exits the wide, fertile basin of the Ina Valley and disappears deep inside a sheer and steep gorge, the views become truly spectacular. The “gorge”-ous area has inspired poets from all over Japan who came to bask and take inspiration from the place. In the 1960s the town was booming. Traditional Japanese boats called “wasen” which have transported goods up and down stream for hundreds of years and can still be seen here to this day. This morning 5km hike does a figure of 8 around the gorge and provides truly jaw dropping views!

In the afternoon we will try out a really wonderful local cooperative workshop. We will make our own Japanese washi (paper) and then create mizuhiki (colourful chords tied into auspicious, decorate shapes). The two crafts are native to this local village and have a deeply interlocked history. Peel another of the onion back and see how locals love and preserve their culture for future generations.

Accommodation in Ryukyotei Ryokan - Located on the edge of the Tenryu Gorge, the large public onsen area, as well as many of the rooms, has stunning views to be enjoyed. Again natural hot springs and Kaiseki meals await!

Probably the second most popular hike on the Nakasendo, the Torii Pass was named after a torii gate located near the top of the pass. The gate was constructed under the order of Kiso Yoshimoto (1475-1504), who prayed there before he did battle. He subsequently won and built the gate in thanks for the good omens. This section of the Nakasendo was once renowned for being the most treacherous and difficult. But don’t fear, these days, at 7km, it is one of the easier hikes. It finishes in Narai Juku, a historical post town nicknamed “Narai of a thousand inns”. It is 1km in length and absolutely stunning with many of the inns and restaurants from the Edo period still in business today.

After the hike the tour ends at Narai Station and guests are encouraged to choose their next destination to travel to after the hike.