Nakasendo Trail: Magome to Tsumago
We’re taking a trip down memory lane by sharing our December 2019 hike from Magome to Tsumago, a route along Kiso Valley of Nagano Prefecture. This 8km hiking trail is a portion of Nakasendo road that connects Edo (now Tokyo) to Kyoto.
It took us 4.5hrs to complete our leisure walk when we could have finished it in 2–3hrs. We just couldn’t help but pause and appreciate the wonder that is in front of us.
We captured a combined total of 1500 photos and Ealden got to narrow down his shots to 100. Mine is at 278 for photos + videos and is still a work in progress! Here are some of the shots that made it to my to-share list.
Here’s to retracing the steps of Edo Period travelers…
HillBilly Coffee ☕️ Imagine how heartbroken I was when we found out it was closed that day. We originally planned to go the day before but we decided to reschedule due to heavy rain. Now that’s another excuse to go back!
This is a small store selling oyaki — dumpling made from fermented buckwheat flour (same wheat used in soba noodles) and filled with various ingredients. We bought oyaki filled with anko (sweet red bean paste) and pork. The owner invited us to come inside, asked us to choose our preferred tea cup, and served us hot tea. She even gave us some pickled radish for side dish. The dumplings and tea were steaming hot, perfect for the cold weather!
We didn’t know it then but this would be our brunch for that day. Well, aside from the hot coffee and bottled water we got from a vendo. It was 10:45 AM that time and our next meal would be at 8PM, some convenience-store-bought food devoured inside the shinkansen heading to Toyama.
Only select stalls were open that day. Along the way we were thinking how unfortunate it was to be choosing that day for our visit. It eventually became our blessing in disguise, as we had the trail to ourselves and we can take our sweet sweet time.
One last look at Magome Post Town before we head to Tsumago. During the Edo Period, post towns were built to cater to travelers who are mostly important people such as officials and samurais. This is where they could stop to eat or sleep, among the many services that each town offer.
We got lost though 😅 so we went back to this area to ask for directions.
11:15 AM and just about to start! Image on the sign post suggests how important it is for post towns to have porter stations and horse stables.
We chose the easier hike — going north to south from Magome to Tsumago, since Tsumago is at a lower elevation. Most of the hikers do it in reverse, thus, this sign.
6.3 km to go!
I rarely use the ultra-wide lens for my photos, but this was just an exception.
Surprisingly enough, there was wifi access along the route and even our pocket wifi’s speed and network remained unchanged from the time we left the city.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if these wheels were part of the carriage used back in the Edo period? 😉
We were in between two prefectures — Nagano (Nagiso Town) and Gifu (Nakatsugawa City)
Ichikokutochi Tateba-chaya (Tateba Tea House) was where we were granted respite and a pause from the long walk ahead.
It was a very peaceful place! We happily sipped our steaming hot ocha while listening to the humming of the birds, the flowing water outside, and the little movements of the wonderful gentleman who asked us a few questions but later on allowed us to enjoy the place to ourselves.
We had some of the pickled plums and the candies laid on the table, with the containers we later wrapped again as courtesy to the next visitors.
They have a visitors’ guestbook and we happily obliged but only after scanning through the wonderful messages left behind by people all over the world.
Everything was free but we just couldn’t leave without showing our gratitude through a donation box discreetly placed on the side. We wish for the place to remain open for the years to come and we hoped the small amount could contribute to that. And maybe someday, we could come back again!
“This is a tea house along the walking path between Magome and Tsumago. We have preserved it as a free resting place. It was built as a farmhouse 250 years ago.”
Cypress Union Tree — planted in 1716 on each side, grew together, and eventually intertwined in 2009!
While looking at this picture, there’s only one word I can think of…
wabi-sabi
(n.) the Japanese art of finding beauty within the imperfections of life and accepting the natural cycle of growth and decay. celebrating cracks, crevices, and all other marks that time, weather, and love leave behind.
3 km to go!
Just had to take a photo of Ealden after passing through rows of hinoki (Japanese cypress) trees which I’m assuming have been planted hundreds of years ago!
Out of the hundreds of photos I captured, this one stood out the most:
I took a few shots and eventually kept my phone as it was a unique moment for Ealden and I to be present in. We needed to take it all in.
1.2 km to go at 3:15 PM!
4 hours in and we’re almost there! This was the view from Otsuma Bridge, near the entrance of Tsumago Post Town.
Tsumago Post Town
We arrived at 3:30 PM and only a few townspeople were out. Mostly to wrap up the day.
Most guides recommend to begin the hike from Tsumago with it being the more scenic post town. I can understand why. Its beauty at sunset is at a different level, though. And it was such a sight to behold!
We have a few minutes to spare so we hurriedly bought tickets for the Waki-honjin Okuya and Nagiso Museum of History. Since the day is almost over and most of the tourists are already on their way back, we were able to get an exclusive tour of the place.
Apparently, the waki-honjin was just a secondary inn meant as a backup and mostly used by low ranking officials. We were able to tour the honjin too, the main inn of Tsumago, after this.
The wonderful lady explained to us the purpose and design of each room — including the bathroom specially designed for Emperor Meiji which he never used at all since he was just there for a quick visit!
Kiso Style of Logging
The method of carrying out wood by utilizing the geographical features of the steep valleys and narrow rivers became known as the “Kiso Style of Logging.” Wood was carried along the small branches of a river with the help of hand mills, rollers, and plates. When it reached the main Kiso River, this wood was then floated down log by log, until a raft was made at Mino-nishigori.
Here’s something lovely to look at…
And just like that, it was time to end the trip and to move on to our next destination. How we wish we could have stayed for the night! Oh well, that gives us another reason to go back to Magome and Tsumago.
Our initial plan was to wait for the bus that will bring us to Nagiso Station. There were only 2 train trips remaining for the day and if we’re lucky, we’ll be able to catch the last one. It was too cold that time though and looks like the bus won’t be arriving on time. So we walked a bit more and luckily found a taxi bay.
I don’t have any shots of the places on our way to Nagiso Station but I do recall how peaceful it looked. I might be so intent on being in the moment that I totally forgot about my phone. The view will forever be etched in my mind!
After arriving at Nagiso Station, we found out that the train has just arrived and will be leaving in 2 minutes. So we hurriedly entered the train and hoped it will bring us to Nagoya Station. We didn’t have time to catch our breath, what more to buy food. It was a quiet ride though so we got the chance to take a nap after all that walking.
We arrived in Nagoya Station with the intent to head to Toyama right away. So we picked up our luggages from Hotel Unizo, reserved our shinkansen seats, bought ekiben, and waited for the train so we can finally eat!
It was such a tiring day but there was not an inch of regret. We’d gladly do it again! Maybe next time, we’ll start a bit earlier and bring snacks with us!
