It was about a 45 minute train ride from Kiso-Fukushima to Nagiso. If I wanted a longer hike, I'd have gotten off at Nojiri and hike about 14 km or 8.7 miles to Tsumago. However, with a heavy backpack, I wasn't inclined to do so. Nagiso to Tsumago is only 3 km.
I started from the train station and a few meters away is a sign that says Nakasendo Trail. For the first 50 m or so it parallels the railroad track, then it starts to climb into a remote area. The first part of the Nakasendo Trail (NT) here goes through a residential neighborhood.
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| Nagiso Train Station |
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| Watch for Nakasendo sign, about 50m from station |
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| Bamboo forest |
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| Beautiful bamboo forest |
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| Walking through beautiful cypress trees |
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| Markers along the trail |
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| A sign along the way |
As you hike further into the trail, you start to see more trees - cypress and some bamboo. A big part of this trail is paved and it's not steep. It's a really nice casual stroll through a peaceful part of Japan. Even with a heavy backpack, it was not very difficult for me. However, I needed to take a break once a while to relieve the load.
I met few travelers on the trail. There was an old man hiking alone with a walking stick. I met him at Kiso-Fukushima and he remembered me. Even though he was hiking slowly, many times he caught up with me. Probably because I stopped several times to take pictures.
After about an hour, I started to see a few houses. I was approaching the town of Tsumago. Then you start to see more tourists as get into the main street of the town. This is a popular tourist destination. Tsumago was one of the first post towns in the 1960s' that decided to restore their buildings to its original architecture and to its former glory. It has paid off. There were many tourists from all over the world. Most of the businesses along the main street cater to tourists. One thing I have to add about traveling in Japan is the availability of public toilets. They are conveniently available in most places and they are CLEAN and free! It's wonderful to go to places where people respect cleanliness and orderliness. Besides, the Japanese people are super-nice!
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| Entering into Tsumago |
I walked through town quickly because of the many tourists and my heavy backpack. My ryokan is in Otsumago, which is another 15 minutes away. It took me some time to find it and it was a little bit of a climb. I finally found Hanaya Hotel, which is run by a couple with their daughter. This is quite a popular place, as there were many guests there. It's a little walk from the main town of Tsumago but it is close to the start of the Nakasendo Trail from Tsumago.
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| Hanaya Hotel in Otsumago, where I stayed |
In my next post I will write about the most popular and beautiful part of the Nakasendo Trail - from Tsumago to Magome or vice versa.
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