Nakasendo Trail

From Tokyo, visit the 'road through the mountains' once traveled by feudal lords, staying in traditional country inns, enjoying exquisite regional cuisine and soak in natural hot springs before ending in Kyoto

Nakasendo Trail

Number of travellers

Start date

UNAVAILABLE DATES

Tour details

Nakasendo Trail
x1 people
USD 0
Single room additional charge
USD 560

Solo supplements guarantee solo rooms at the hotels on your tour. At inns, you will share with another member of your departure of the same gender.

TOTAL
USD 0

If you would like to do multiple tours in one trip or have a question about any of our tours, do not hesitate to contact us with the button below.

About exclusive, private departures

Make this trip your own - one of our scheduled departures can be exclusively for you, your family and your friends. Or choose an alternative date which suits your own personal schedule.

TravellersPricing from
  • Duration: 12 days
  • Trip level:
    Active
    Level
  • Availability: March to November
  • Type:Guided tour with an expert bilingual guide
    Level
  • Price: USD 4,420(Price per person, based on 2 travellers sharing a room)
Departures

Please choose your preferred month to see available departures.

Highlights
  • Village to village walking on the loveliest parts of the old Nakasendo Trail
  • Bathe in the thermal waters at a hot-spring Ryokan
  • Stay in monastery lodgings in the temple town of Mount Koya
  • See the exquisitely-preserved villages of Narai, Tsumago and Magome
  • Visit the historic imperial capitals of Kyoto and Nara with its free-roaming deer
  • Ride the Bullet Train

The Nakasendo Trail linked Kyoto to Tokyo during Japan's feudal period. It was the 'road through the mountains' (as opposed to the Tokaido route which travelled the Pacific coast) travelled by feudal lords and their retinues, samurai, merchants, and travelers. Along the route were 69 'post towns', where weary travelers could rest before continuing on the next leg. Our journey will start in Tokyo, known as Edo during Japan's period of rule by the Shoguns. We will then spend four days walking along the Nakasendo. By day we will walk along the ancient route as it passes through beautifully-preserved villages along an easy path, and by evening we will stay in traditional country inns enjoying exquisite regional cuisine prepared from the freshest ingredients, soak in natural hot springs, and enjoy the warm hospitality of our hosts. Enjoy bathing in hot spring water after a day on the trails!

If you would like to experience these magical landscapes covered with snow, we offer a winter version of the Nakasendo Trail, here

Download PDF itinerary

528A5952.jpgDSC02106-2.jpgJNK-4 (1).jpgNara temple.jpg
What is included

 

Full-time services of an English-speaking tour guide
11 nights in hotels and Japanese-style inns
(Ryokan, Minshuku and Shukubo)
Daily breakfast & 7 dinners
All transportation between tour locations
Entrance to museums, temples and other sights on the group's itinerary
Forwarding of one item of luggage on 3 occasions

 

What is not included

 

Flights
Airport transfers
Pay locally for drinks with meals and for lunches
Entrance fees to museums, temples etc. not mentioned in the itinerary
A single room supplement is required for solo travellers at hotels

 

Itinerary
Map

 

Meet at the tour hotel in central Tokyo. There will be a Welcome Dinner at a local restaurant.

 

Accommodation: Hotel
Meals: Welcome Dinner

Our first full day in Japan will be spent on a walking tour of Tokyo, starting at Nihonbashi (the ‘Japan Bridge’) considered to be the ‘centre of Japan’ and the zero marker point for all Japan’s main roads since the Edo period. Afterwards, we visit Ueno and the Tokyo National Museum to see exhibits illuminating Japan of the Edo era, the heyday of the Nakasendo Trail. (If the Museum is closed because of a national holiday, we will visit the Kappabashi district, famous for selling kitchenware and small plastic models of food used in restaurant displays.) We continue on to the grand Meiji shrine and the fashionable Harajuku district. In the evening your tour guide will be on hand to offer suggestions for restaurants for dinner.



Accommodation: Hotel
Meals: Breakfast

Our travels through rural Japan begin with a journey from Tokyo to the remote Kiso valley. Over the next three days we will walk from village to village, staying in small, family-run country inns (Ryokan and Minshuku). After the opportunity to enjoy a lunch of buckwheat noodles in the local town of Shiojiri, we walk from Kiso-Hirasawa to Narai. Kiso-Hirasawa is known for its locally-produced lacquerware and there may be a chance to see the craftsmen at work. Stay in Narai, a beautifully-preserved post-town. Our lodgings will be an atmospheric traditional Minshuku.

 

Walking distance: 2.5km / 1.6 miles
Elevation gain: negligible ascent and descent
Time required: 1 hour

 

Accommodation: Minshuku (Family-run Guesthouse)
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

On our second day on the Nakasendo Trail, we walk from Narai to Yabuhara over the Torii Pass and then continue by train to Kiso-Fukushima. There we will stay in a lovely traditional Ryokan with its own natural hot spring. Soak in the indoor baths made of cypress wood or try the outdoor baths surrounded by trees.

 

Walking distance: 6.2km / 3.9 miles
Elevation gain: 270m/885 feet ascent; 344m/1,128 feet descent
Time required: 3 hours

 

Accommodation: Onsen Ryokan (Hot-spring Travellers Inn)
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

We transfer from Kiso-Fukushima to Nojiri by train and then by a short taxi ride to the Nenoue-Toge pass.  We walk along a lovely section of the Nakasendo Trail through delightful small settlements and rice fields to Tsumago or the nearby hamlet of O-Tsumago. Only a few decades ago, Tsumago was neglected and falling into disrepair, but through concerted efforts by its residents it has been saved and restored. Now this post-town on the Nakasendo Trail is preserved by strict self-imposed rules that prohibit the sale, rental or destruction of the handsome houses. It’s a living museum, but one which is still inhabited by the local residents. We will arrive in the afternoon.



Walking distance: 14km / 8.7 miles
Elevation gain: 344m/1,129 feet ascent; 723m/2,275 feet descent
Time required: 4.5 hours

 

Accommodation: Minshuku (Family-run Guesthouse)
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

From Tsumago we walk to Magome, our last stop in the Kiso Valley. The trail from Tsumago to Magome is the most beautiful and best-preserved part of the Nakasendo Trail. There will be time to eat lunch in Magome and explore the many small shops along the picturesque main street. You might also try gohei-mochi, skewered sticky rice covered in a sweet paste of miso, sesame and walnuts. We will travel by regular train and then Bullet Train to Kyoto, connecting onwards to Nara, where we check in to our western-style hotel.

 

Walking distance: 8.3km / 5.2 miles
Elevation gain: 430m/1,410 feet ascent; 326m/1069 feet of descent
Time required: 3 hours

 

Accommodation: Hotel
Meals: Breakfast

In Nara, we have a guided walk in the morning. Many of Japan’s greatest cultural treasures are concentrated in and around the city, with eight UNESCO World Heritage sites - Todai-ji Temple, Kofuku-ji Temple, Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Kasugayama Primeval Forest, Nara Palace Site, Ganko-ji Temple, Yakushi-ji Temple and Toshoda-ji Temple. Many of these sites are in or near Nara Park, home to a thousand or more free-roaming deer. We will visit two of these World Heritage sites, Kasuga Taisha Shrine and Todaiji temple -its Daibutsu-den is the largest wooden building in the world, housing a 16-metre tall image of the Rushana Buddha in bronze and gold. Prior to being rebuilt three hundred years ago, the awesome wooden structure was even larger than today. There will be some free time to relax, visit a Japanese garden or wander through the old town.

 

Accommodation: Hotel
Meals: Breakfast

From Nara, our journey takes us to the ridge-top village of Yoshino, and a comfortable Ryokan. Yoshino is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most famous places in the whole of Japan for viewing cherry blossom in the spring. We will visit Yoshimizu Shrine (connected to historical figures such as Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Emperor Godaigo, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi), and explore the area.

 

Accommodation: Ryokan (Travellers inn)
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

We take the scenic train to Mount Koya, situated in a bowl-shaped valley filled with stands of cedar trees high in the mountains of the Kii Peninsula. Since the 9th century Mount Koya has been a place of religious devotion and ceremony. Today there are more than 100 monasteries, many of which have Shukubo (temple lodgings). We stay in one of the temples and dine on shojin-ryori Buddhist vegetarian cuisine. We visit Kongo-buji temple and walk through the vast Okuno-in cemetery. Tomorrow morning, there is an opportunity to rise early and join the Buddhist morning service.



Accommodation: Shukubo (Pilgrims Lodging)
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

We take the train to Kyoto and check into our hotel. Kyoto was Japan’s capital for many centuries and is still regarded as the country’s cultural heart. In the evening, we enjoy a walk in Gion, Kyoto’s geisha district and there is the possibility of seeing a geiko (fully-fledged geisha) or maiko (apprentice geisha) making their way through the narrow streets.

 

 Accommodation: Hotel
Meals: Breakfast

There is a guided half-day walking tour this morning. We first visit the Sanjo-ohashi Bridge, the western end of the Nakasendo Trail. We continue to Nanzenji, a tranquil Zen Buddhist temple whose history dates back to the mid 13th century. We then stroll along the Philosopher's Path, with craft shops, cafes, shrines and temples beside the clear waters of a small canal. The path ends near Ginkakuji, the Silver Pavilion. There is free time in the afternoon so you can explore the area further or shop for crafts. In the evening, there is a Farewell Dinner with your guide.

 

Accommodation: Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Farewell Dinner

Our tour ends today after breakfast at the hotel in Kyoto. Your guide will be on hand to offer assistance and advice for travelling to the airport if you have homeward flights, or on onward travel if you are extending your stay in Japan.

 

 Meals: Breakfast

Subscribe to our newsletter

Get our latest news and offers delivered right to your inbox