The Nakasendo Trail

About 500 years ago, the Tokugawa Shogunate (government) developed a network of roads.  The five routes are Tokaido, Nakasendo, Koshudochu, Nikkodochu, and the Okushudochu).  All five originated in Edo’s (now Tokyo’s) Nihonbashi.  The roads were intended for government officials and supplies.  However, ordinary citizens and also used the road for distribution goods and services and communications.   Samurais also used the road to travel between different towns. Two roads, the Nakasendo and Tokaido connect Edo (now Tokyo) to Kyoto.  Of the two, the Nakasendo is more challenging because it goes through some mountainous terrain.

There are 69 post towns on the Nakasendo Trail.  Each post town is meant as a rest-stop for the travelers.  With modern transportation and over time, the towns fell into disrepair.  In the 60s', there was a movement towards restoring and preserving some of these towns.  The first to do so was Tsumago.  

I first read about the Nakasendo Trail in a 2016 article in the New York Times.  Like most people, I was only familiar with the big cities of Japan:  Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, etc.  I never thought that there is a backcountry part of Japan that is worth visiting.  I put that on my "places to go list."

Another thing I've very much wanted to do for a long time is to see the cherry blossoms in Japan.  When Singapore Airlines announced a sale in early December, I decided that this was the time to do both.  So I targeted my trip for late March to early April.  I seriously thought of signing up with one of the companies that do guided and self-guided walks through the Nakasendo Trail - Oku Japan, Walk Japan, etc., because planning a trip to such an area with very little public information is a daunting task.  Even Japanese don't know much about the Nakasendo Trail.  I was lucky to meet some people who have been on this trail and gave me some very good information.  Still, it took me months of research and information gathering to feel very comfortable with doing this trip on my own.  I have three friends, two of them Japanese and one very familiar with this type of travel in Japan, helped me put this trip together.  For those who don't have the time and resources, my advice is to sign up with one of the tour companies that offer walking tours in Japan and let them do the planning for you.  The nice thing about it is that they give you step-by-step instructions and book the hotels, ryokans (family-run inns) and minshukus (small family-run inns) for you.  If you have a bigger budget, you can even go on a guided tour with them.

My journey started on the morning of March 27, 2017.  Two things I decided to do to make my trip easier is one, rent a pocket wifi, which means I will have constant access to the internet and messages; and two, to buy a JR (Japan Railway) Pass.  The pocket wifi has been invaluable because it allows me to check train schedules on the fly, check maps, and receive messages.  If needed, I will have access to Google Translate as well.  Having the JR Pass means that I don't have to worry about how much the fare will be and focussing on the route rather than thinking about finding the cheapest route.  On that first morning, I started from Shinagawa station, and took a shinkansen (high-speed or bullet train) to Tokyo Station.  There I took another shinkansen to Nagano (about 80 minutes), followed by a regular train (60 minutes) to Shiojiri and finally, a local train to the town of Narai.  

After Narai, I will stop at Kiso-Fukushima, then Tsumago and finally ending in Magome.  These are the most beautiful parts of the Nakasendo Trail, because of the historic preservation of the towns and the beauty of the forest that it goes through.  Obviously, at a length of 534 km, or 332 miles, there are more places to hike.  But, I am not here to test my physical ability.  Rather, I am here to enjoy some of the most beautiful parts of Japan.

I was given this guidebook by the Tourist Information folks at Shiojiri train station.  It gives very detail information about the Nakasendo Trail through the Kiso Valley.  If you plan to hike this part of the trail, try to get a copy of this guide.

I will write about my experience in each town as I go along.

A bullet train at the Tokyo Station