29 July 2023
Distance - 9.6 km
Total time taken - 4.5 hrs (day hike)
Difficulty - 1/5 easy (mostly flat paths with some slight uphill for the first part)
Trail type - Forest trails and cobble path
Requirements - None
The Nakasendo Trail is a 400 year-old trail built during the Edo Period connecting Tokyo and Kyoto and was used by feudal lords and samurais during that time. We were mesmerised by the rustic charm of the old towns and countryside roads and we wanted to walk in the footsteps of the ancient samurais! The entire length of the trail spanning from Tokyo to Kyoto is 500 km, which would take about a month to accomplish! So to keep ourselves sane, we decided to do a day hike between 2 popular post towns on this trail Magomejuku and Tsumagojuku.
Trip Planning
You can either arrive at Magomejuku in the early morning to start the hike or like us, stay a night at an old inn in the post town to immerse in the beautiful charm of the old town. There are only a couple of inns in the town so do book early to avoid disappointment! We booked a room at Magome Chaya at the heart of Magomejuku. We only packed a bag for the overnight stay and day hike so we carried our own backpack while we hiked from Magomejuku to Tsumagojuku. But if you have a heavier luggage you can opt for your luggage to be delivered to the next town, so can travel light.
Costs
Accommodation at Magome Chaya - JPY 4,840
(Not inclusive of dinner and breakfast)
cost indicated is per pax
Getting There
It was quite a bit of a journey getting to Magomejuku: we travelled to Nagoya via Shinkansen then transferred to the JR Shinano Limited Express to get to Nakatsugawa, the closest train station to Magomejuku. From there you can take a bus to the town, but do note that the bus has a low frequency, and comes only once every hour or so, so do plan the trip in advance. We ended up taking a taxi from Nakatsugawa to Magomejuku because we missed the bus and had to make it to the inn for our dinner.
Day 0 - Night at Magome Chaya
1800 | Arrive at Magome Chaya for dinner |
1900 | Check-in and rest for the night |
1800 | Dinner at Magome Chaya
We reached Magomejuku on a rainy evening after a long journey of back to back train transfers. We opted to take a taxi to get to the Inn from Nagatsugawa train station so we wouldn't miss our dinner. We were beyond excited when we alighted to see a beautiful quaint old town built along a cobbled path that ran up steep slope. At Magome Chaya, the inn we booked for the night, dinner was already laid out in a spread as we sat down at the communal dining area. Food was simple but tasted really good. Since most food stalls were closed past 5pm, it was better to get dinner from the inn. The sunset view was truly stunning, together with the fiery orange and pink skies, we could even see the far out city lights and mountains.
1900 | Check-in and rest
The room was a simple traditional Japanese room where you would have to lay out your own futon. The bathroom was communal and honestly it was quite awkward having to bath together with the other guests at the inn in a small bathroom space.
Day 1 - Hike along Nakasendo
0730 | Wake up for breakfast and go for coffee run |
0900 | Start our hike along the Nakasendo trail |
1130 | Reach Tateba Teahouse |
1230 | Visit Otaki and Metaki Waterfalls and pass the hairpin loops |
1330 | Reach Tsumagojuku for lunch |
0730 | Wake up for breakfast and go for coffee run
We got up to breakfast prepped by Magome Chaya - it was delicious grilled salmon and tamago! After that we went out in search of coffee, and chanced upon a hip cafe housed in one of the traditional houses - HillBilly Coffee Company. We enjoyed a moment of serendipity, sipping on our morning coffee while looking out at the quaint old town. Now my retirement dream is to open a chill cafe in an old town!
0900 | Start our hike along the Nakasendo Trail
After starting the morning with a nice cup of coffee, we went back to our inn and packed our bag for the day of hiking ahead. On the way out of town we checked out a few stores selling cute souvenirs. A little bit of background, the town was called a post town because there was literally a post office in town. In the past, these towns were important to send out letters while journeying between Tokyo and Kyoto. Unfortunately the post office in town was closed for the day. As the town was situated along a steep slope, and water naturally ran downslope, it was perfect to power watermills. We could hear the constant sound of water running as we walked through the town.
The path ran through paths lined with old traditional houses, then opened up to a view of the vast mountains before heading into the cool of the forest. Every turn was a different view! There were many signs along the way warning of bear sightings, and you can ring the bells along the way to scare off the bears (it is advised to carry a bear bell as well).
After passing by a bamboo forest we stopped at a convenient store to get ramune - it is soda bottle with an interesting opening mechanism. You had to use a pin to push down the marble in the bottle neck to drink the soda. We even kept the blue marble from the bottle afterwards! The path then continued through a series of old houses and then back into the forest. We also saw some old wooden signboards along the way which showed the old map of Kiso Valley.
1130 | Reach Tateba Teahouse
We then reached a traditional teahouse which boiled hot water over an open fire to make tea. Tea was served free of charge, but the teahouse accepted donations. We drank tea and chatted with the friendly teahouse uncle. Apparently he volunteered to work here and travelled from another town so he could meet the tourists who came to hike along the Nakasendo trail.
After leaving the teahouse, the trail continued to run along a forest path. We saw an interesting signboard which told the story of the twin Sawara trees - they were 2 trees which over the years grew to become a single tree and still continues to grow to this day.
1230 | Visit Otaki and Metaki Waterfalls and pass the hairpin loops
There were some ongoing renovation works so we had to take a slight detour to get to the twin waterfalls - Otaki and Metaki waterfalls. The names referred to one of the waterfalls as a boy and the other a girl. It was timely as we took a short break admiring the waterfalls after hours of hiking. The path then continued through a back alley along some houses before coming to the famed hairpin loop section. The hairpin loops zigzagged downslope through the forest. It was a tranquil and beautiful cobbled path, characteristic of the original Nakasendo trail, lined with tall cypress trees on both sides with sunlight streaming in through the gaps in the leaves. This was also the path that first got us interested in the Nakasendo trail after seeing it in a YouTube video!
1330 | Reach Tsumagojuku for lunch
We had finally reached the last leg of the hike and were so hungry at this point. The trail was supposed to take only 2.5 hours, but I guess we took our time with chilling at the tea house and enjoying the view along the route, no regret though, it's all about the journey anyway! As we near the town, we passed by more cluster of houses, a paddy field and a river.
We were elated when we finally reached the town past 1pm and searched for the nearest food stall. Tsumagojuku was a bigger town compared to Magomejuku and there were alot more tourists around as well. Chestnut sweets were popular in this town so we got some to try. We stepped into a small and unassuming soba shop and was pleasantly surprised to find a spacious interior with big windows looking out into the backyard. The menu was simple with only a couple of items, we got the soba with fried mushrooms and was impressed with how good it tasted despite being a simple dish. It was interesting how you would dip the tempura into salt instead of the usual tempura sauce. Perhaps that was how tempura soba was meant to be enjoyed in Japan.
If you walked to the other end of the town, you would also see a big old bulletin board which displayed announcements from the town council. I guess this was how people in the past kept up to date on the latest happenings. After lunch we took a bus from the town out nearest station - Nagiso station and continued our journey to the next town.
My Thoughts
This trail is relatively easy and I was truly mesmerised by the charm of the old towns. Coming from a big city, I feel it is always nice to step into a slower pace of life and just enjoy the serenity of the old towns and forest. This is also a unique trail that gave insights into how people lived in the past. I was definitely sad to leave the beautiful Kiso Valley, perhaps next time I will be back to do the 5 day hike which passes through even more towns!
Reference Map
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