The Nakasendo Post Road literally translates as 'the road through the mountains'. It is an ancient post route, dating back to the 7th century, that connects Kyoto with Tokyo via the Central Japanese Alpine mountains. The pictures to the right provide a good depiction of what the walking is like. Through our walking tour do a deep dive into Japanese culture by wandering through the Japanese countryside, staying in traditional Japanese accommodation, eating local cuisine and visiting heritage listed Japanese castles, onsen and museums.
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The Nakasendo Way Walking tour will meet in the lobby of the Kyoto Hotel (TBC) at 5pm (check in from 2pm). Then, we’ll head out to our welcome dinner with geiko-san. Be entertained by these apprentice geisha, meet your fellow Nakasendo trail walkers, and receive a briefing on our next steps. We set out tomorrow after an early breakfast.
We'll meet in the lobby of the hotel and begin our first steps along the Nakasendo trail. We'll pass by Gion and the Yasaka Shrine before heading to the Nanzenji Zen Temple.
Explore Samon Gate, the various buildings, gardens and 18th century aqueduct of Nanzenji Temple compound before heading to Hikone. In the afternoon we'll explore Hikone Castle and Yume-Kobayashi Dori - an Edo-style reconstructed street at the entrance to Hikone castle.
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Today we train from Hikone to Mitake in Gifu Prefecture. We'll change trains several times until we end up on a small country line where we'll embark on our first real walking on the Nakasendo passing through the Japanese mountains to Hosokute-juku and arrive at the Daikokuya Inn.
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After a wonderful early breakfast at the Daikokuya we depart on our 20km trek over the mountains and through valley villages to Ena City formally known as Oi-juku during the Edo Period. The Nakasendo winds it way through the mountains with stretches of ishidatami, original paved sections of the road, as we walk through villages, cross mountain peaks and traverse valley floors towards Oi-juku. We will take our time to explore local landmarks and interesting artefacts we find along the road as we move through the countryside. You will need to provide your own picnic lunch, bought the day before. There are no shops or places to buy provisions between the Daikokuya and our lodging in Ena City.
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After an early breakfast there is an optional visit to the Hiroshige Print Museum. It has a comprehensive collection of prints depicting the Nakasendo as well as an interesting exhibit on the print making process that you can even try yourself. We’ll proceed the next two stops by train to Nakatsugawa to start our walk to Magome Post Town.
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Explore Tsumago-juku including the Main Street, Waki-honjin and the Information Centre, the same one Joanna Lumley visited. Then we will walk approximately 5.5km to the next town, Nagiso, top up our supplies and catch the next train to Yabuhara from where we'll walk over Torii Toge Pass to Narai Post Town where we will lodge for the night in a traditional hatago inn.
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After breakfast in the minshuku in Narai you will have part of the morning to explore this post town. You may also be interested in an optional extra of walking to the next train station, Kiso-Hirazawa Lacquer Town to investigate some of the amazing lacquer goods available in this street. Looking for the perfect Japanese style lacquer bento box? Perhaps buy chopsticks, beautiful trays or other lacquer goods. After a slower morning we will transfer by train to Matsumoto City and our hotel for the evening.
Day Eight is a rest day to take care of any chores (i.e. washing) and for sightseeing.
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After a hotel breakfast we'll head by train to Bessho Onsen, one of the oldest natural spring resorts in Japan, also referred to as “the Kamakura of Nagano” due to its numerous National Treasures such as the Anrakuji Temple, a wooden three story round pagoda and the Kitamuki Kannon Temple. Enjoy soaking in the natural hot spring in the traditional ryokan and the lavish kaiseki course meal, or if your itching for more, explore some of the temples and national treasures of the area. There is a 10km circuit walk that you may be keen to complete.
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After breakfast we head by train back to Ueda Station and then take a short Shinkansen ride (about 15min) to Karuizawa. After disembarking at Karuizawa we'll stock up on supplies (a picnic lunch) before heading off to Usui-toge. we'll walk over Usui-toge pass to Sakamoto-juku located in the valley below.
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After our last breakfast in a minshuku on the nakasendo we'll begin our journey to Tokyo. After arriving we will make our way to our lodging for our last night together.
Celebrate your journey along the Nakasendo with a traditional dinner and show at Mugen Style Restaurant. The tour will officially end with your celebrations. Breakfast the following morning at the hotel is included and AJ Travel Bureau is happy to help with any ongoing travel arrangements.
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Tonight is the last night of the Nakasendo Walking Tour. To celebrate our journey along the Nakasendo we will enjoy a dinner and show at Mugen Style Restaurant (or similar). Although the tour may officially finish with our last dinner together, you accommodation for the evening also includes a buffet breakfast for the next morning.
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Tours Postponed due to COVID-19
$4,490 AUD per person
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