Nakatsugawa Trip Overview
Kiso Valley, best known for the Magome and Tsumago traditional villages, is another beautiful spot in the Japanese Alps. With one of the most famous hiking paths in all Japan, we set foot there on our quest for traditional Japan.
Magome and Tsumago are two beautifully preserved traditional villages. This value-packed Nakasendo trail day hike between Magome and Tsumago with a nationally-licensed and experienced multilingual tour guide is a fantastic and efficient way to explore both of the ancient post towns!
It is about 8 kilometres (5 miles) long and has only gentle elevation changes which takes around 2 hours to easy walk at a leisurely pace.
Let us know what you would like to experience and we will customize a six-hour tour that’s best for you!
Note*1: Nationally and State Licensed Tour Guide-Interpreter certification is issued by the Japanese government requires a good knowledge and understanding of Japanese culture and history.
Additional Info
Duration: 6 hours
Starts: Nakatsugawa, Japan
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore Nakatsugawa Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Nakatsugawa, Gifu, Japan
Kiso Valley, best known for the Magome and Tsumago traditional villages, is another beautiful spot in the Japanese Alps. With one of the most famous hiking paths in all Japan, we set foot there on our quest for traditional Japan.
Magome and Tsumago are two beautifully preserved traditional villages. This value-packed Nakasendo trail day hike between Magome and Tsumago with a nationally-licensed and experienced multilingual tour guide is a fantastic and efficient way to explore both of the ancient post towns!
It is about 8 kilometres (5 miles) long and has only gentle elevation changes which takes around 2 hours to easy walk at a leisurely pace.
Let us know what you would like to experience and we will customize a six-hour tour that’s best for you!
Note*1: Nationally and State Licensed Tour Guide-Interpreter certification is issued by the Japanese government requires a good knowledge and understanding of Japanese culture and history.
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Nakasendo Magome-juku, Magome, Nakatsugawa 508-0502 Gifu Prefecture
While Magome and Tsumago served the same purposes for old-time travelers, the city has been preserved and restored in a very different way than Tsumago, with a broad stone walkway lined with trees and many traditional houses and craft shops.
Another difference is that it is on a slope, which leads to some beautiful views of the surrounding valley, and is home to several small museums that showcase the history of the town, the artists that lived there and their way of living.
I would recommend grabbing a drink or something to eat at the restaurants on top of the village and enjoy the views over the valley, or at the lower part to mix with the very interesting locals.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Nakasendo Tsumagojuku, Nagiso-machi, Kiso-gun 399-5302 Nagano Prefecture
Tsumago is almost flat but also a very charming village that takes you back to the old Japan. The town was one of the first historical preservation projects in all Japan (if not the first) and it recreates the ambience with its unpaved streets and concealed cables.
It keeps many of the traditional houses, like the original inn (the Honjin) that welcomed the merchants that traveled the Nakasendo, and the secondary inn (Wakihonjin), the old notice board used to publish the decrees from the Shogun, the Buddhist temple (built during the XVI Century)…
But you’ll find it even more charming on it’s best enjoyed at night, when they lit up their lanterns and everything becomes quiet but, maybe, a drum beating.
Duration: 2 hours
