Nakasendo Way: The Kiso Road

The Nakasendo Way: The Kiso Road is a fully guided, Level 3 tour suitable for anyone who is an occasional walker and can walk for more than three to four hours in comfort. In general, the route is gently undulating but also includes some short, steeper climbs. Please read more on Tour Levels below. A 4 day, 3 night tour starting in Nagoya Station and finishing in Nagoya. Most convenient international airport: Nagoya Airport. Nagoya Station is a 30 minute express train journey from the airport. Tour accommodation is in Japanese inns and a hotel. The maximum group size for this tour is 12 persons.

The Kiso Road is one of the most beautiful sections of the Nakasendo Way, our original tour that has become the classic walking tour in Japan. This short-stay, fully-guided walking tour follows the the ancient Nakasendo Way through the Kiso Valley of central Japan and also reaches the high alpine Kaida Plateau. Our route takes us into a world far removed from the modern bustle of Japan’s mega cities. We travel through some of the most picturesque and historical villages in the nation, stay in rural, family-run Japanese inns and relax in onsen thermal hot spring baths. Meals are a treat of Japanese cuisine, and because we are deep in the rural mountains of Japan, ingredients include many locally grown vegetables, morsels foraged in the surrounding mountains and fresh-water fish caught in the nearby streams and rivers .

The tour starts at Nagoya Station (conveniently located 30 minutes by train from Nagoya Airport), from where we travel by train approximately one hour to the Nakasendo Way. Soon after we begin our walk in the traditional countryside of stepped paddy fields, shrines, farmhouses with carefully tended gardens, woods and hills. Further into the hills, our trail takes us through deep, verdant forests, past fast-flowing mountain streams and waterfalls before we reach our destination, an atmospheric inn in a remote hamlet, for the night. Here, physically and emotionally, we are a long way from the big cities into the old heart of Japan.

The following day our travels take us through beautiful Tsumago, probably the best preserved post-town in Japan, and further north, into the southern end of the Central Alps of Japan, where some of Japan’s highest mountains are found. We visit the Kaida Plateau, which we reached over a high pass of the old Hida Trail. This trail once used to feed into the Nakasendo Way but today barely anyone except ourselves walks this route. Once over the pass we descend onto the Kaida Plateau. The Plateau is considered one of the most beautiful areas of Japan, not least because of the spectacular backdrop of Mt. Ontake, a sacred mountain and one of Japan’s largest volcanos. Here the onsen hot spring baths at our inn for the night provide a delightful way to relax before our dinner, another farmhouse feast, together. Our final day on the road, takes us back tot he Nakasendo Way and over the Torii Toge, one of the old road’s highest passes. We descend to Narai, another delightful old post town. Here we spend sometime before travelling back by train aside the Kiso River to Nagoya for our last night together.

Tour Information
Itinerary
Travel Advice
Photo Gallery
Tour Levels

Tour information

Price: JPY148000 (JPY = Japanese Yen) per person. The single room supplement is JPY5,000 (Please see below). Please use the currency converter on the right-hand side of this page to find the current rate in your local currency.

What is included and not included? A fully guided tour including local travel from tour meeting point in Nagoya Station to finishing point in Nagoya, accommodation, 3 breakfasts and 3 evening meals, baggage transfers, and entrance fees are included. Not included are flights, travel to tour start point, travel from tour finish point, all lunches and drinks with meals.

Single room supplement: The single room supplement is JPY5,000 per person and guarantees a single room in hotels on one night. Please note that while we cannot guarantee to do so we will endeavour to provide single accommodation on the nights we stay in traditional Japanese accommodation. No additional charge is made for any single accommodation provided in Japanese accommodation.

A note on traditional Japanese accommodation: Japanese cultural norms generally dictate that rooms in Japanese-style accommodation, including inns, are provided on a twin basis and individuals travelling together are traditionally expected to share. It is the case, however, that we are frequently able to secure single rooms in Japanese-style accommodation for our customers for many, if not all, days of a tour. Provision, though, is solely at the discretion of the establishment and it may not be known until the day whether it is available. Accordingly, as we cannot guarantee single rooms in Japanese-style accommodation we do not include these in the single room supplement. As mentioned above, in the case that we can provide single room accommodation we make no additional charge. Importantly, in the case that single travellers do share this will only ever be with another person of the same gender from the same tour group.

Group size: The small, intimate nature of the inns makes the maximum group size 12 people. We have no minimum size. If we accept a booking we guarantee to run the tour.
Please see the Itinerary for this tour and Tour Dates for dates and availability. These tours start on a Wednesday and finish on a Sunday, except the 24 December - 27 December 2013 tour which starts on a Tuesday and finishes on a Friday.

Please contact Walk Japan for more information and to book this tour.

Itinerary

Day 1
Nagoya Station - O-Tsumago
Tour starts 11 am at Nagoya Station, from where we catch a train to Nakatsugawa, an old post town and our gateway to the Kiso Valley. We take a short taxi to the southern gateway to the Valley. From here we begin our walking along the Nakasendo Way and follow this ancient road through paddy fields and past quiet farmhouses to pleasant Magome post-town, which was the home of Shimazaki Toson who wrote Before the Dawn. Set in the days of Japan's change from feudal Japan dominated by the Samurai to a fledgling industrial nation, Toson's book is considered to be Japan's first modern novel. Then on to O-Tsumago, for a classic hike through old forests and past pristine, mountain streams. O-Tsumago is a lovely hamlet of a few traditional houses and inns set in a valley, aside a fast flowing river.

Total walking about 10 kilometres (6 miles). Internet access available.
Dinner provided.

Day 2
O-Tsumago - Kaida Plateau
After an early breakfast we set off along the Nakasendo for nearby Tsumago, a beautifully maintained, traditional post-town. We continue on the Nakasendo Way for about 6 kilometres (3.75 miles) to Nagiso. Here an interesting footbridge provides us with a hint of two colourful people once associated with the area; a geisha who appeared on the front cover of Harper's Bazaar in 1900 and her tycoon partner. We catch a train to Kiso-Fukushima, where we take a short taxi ride to the beginning of our walk over the Jizo Toge, a pass to the Kaida Plateau on the Hida Trail, a spur road that connected with the Nakasendo Way. The Plateau is dominated by the sacred Mt. Ontake, an active volcano, that provides an impressive backdrop to one of the most picturesque areas in Japan.

We traverse the Plateau, which has a distinct alpine feel, before cresting another pass. Here we reach our highest point on this tour at just over 1,500 metres (4,920 ft.) and clear weather will provide us with spectacular views over the Plateau to Mt. Ontake (3,007 metres, 9,865ft.). We descend to our lodgings, another delightful inn with thermal hot springs baths.

Total walking approximately 15 km (9 miles)
Breakfast and dinner provided.

Day 3
Kaida Plateau - Narai - Nagoya
Catch a local bus to Kiso-Fukushima, where we visit the reconstructed Edo-period barrier station before taking a short train ride to Yabuhara. We walk 8 kilometres over the Torii Pass to the lovely post-town of Narai, which is famous for its lacquer ware. Here we will spend some time exploring, relaxing in cafes and shopping before we return by train to Nagoya and our hotel for the night.

Total walking approximately 8 km (5 miles).
Breakfast and dinner provided. Internet access available.

Day 4
Nagoya
The tour finishes after breakfast in our hotel. Transport to Nagoya Airport is easily accomplished in 30 minutes by dedicated express train. Onward journey to other areas of Japan, including Kyoto and Tokyo, is as easily made by Shinkansen ‘Bullet’ train. Your Walk Japan tour leader will help you organise your tickets if required.

Breakfast provided.This itinerary is subject to change.

Travel Advice

The following travel tips are intended to be helpful advice for the Nakasendo Way: Kiso Valley and Kaida Plateau (Highlights) tour. In addition, please refer to your own past experiences and make adjustments or amendments as necessary. If you require any further advice please contact us.

Clothing & baggage:
Early spring temperatures fluctuate from warm during the day to cool/cold at night, and in the mountains on the high passes there may be some snow. In late spring and late autumn, days will be warm to hot and evenings cool to cold. In summer and early autumn, days are hot and evenings warm to cool. Except for the summer months, it is advisable to bring a variety of layers ranging from t-shirts to a top with long sleeves and perhaps a lightweight sweater/fleece. Shorts are acceptable in Japan for both men and women. We recommend good quality walking shoes/boots and a collapsible walking pole. You may also like to bring some comfortable, casual shoes sneakers, sandals, etc. for use in town. The sun's rays can be strong and we recommend a sun hat, sun screen, etc. A lightweight, packable waterproof and a compact, foldable umbrella should suffice for any inclement weather. (Note, 24-hour stores, which are found almost everywhere in Japan, sell cheap umbrellas and rain capes). Some individuals find Japanese pillows uncomfortable and you may like to bring your own inflatable pillow. Yukata, evening gowns for sleeping in, are provided at each lodging. However, we recommend leggings, a top, etc. to wear underneath. This will provide a degree of modesty and help ward off any cold air. Coin laundry facilities are available on Day 3 of this tour.
Each day, when walking the Nakasendo, our main luggage is sent on ahead to the next accommodation by taxi. Each day we carry only what we need (camera, water bottle, note book, rain jacket, etc.) for the walk itself.
If you are travelling prior to and/or after the tour you may have more baggage. In this case, baggage not required for the tour can be sent on at the beginning of the tour to our final hotel or another destination within Japan. Expect to pay between Yen 1,400 ~ 1,800 per item.

Food and drink:
While travelling during the day it is not usually necessary to carry more than water, a snack and personal needs. Shops, vending machines and kiosks, which are found in most places we visit, provide for many immediate needs including drinks, snacks, cosmetics and clothing. Lunch will be taken either in restaurants or with food bought to eat as a 'picnic on the road'.
For meals not included in the tour expect to pay between JPY700~1,500 per person for lunch.
Breakfasts and dinner in the Japanese inns is Japanese style. Tap water is nearly always drinkable: your tour leader will advise.

Medicines and cosmetics:
Some medicines and cosmetics with which you are familiar may not be available in Japan, although there are usually similar products. Prescription medicines in Japan may differ from foreign medicines in minor, but possibly unacceptable, ways. If you require a specific medicine or cosmetic, either for health or comfort, please bring sufficient quantities with you.

Access to cash:
Exchanging cash or travellers' cheques in major currencies is possible in most towns that we visit. However, changing foreign currency at a bank can be a time-consuming exercise. Instead, we recommend alternatives including arriving in Japan with some Japanese currency, using credit cards, and withdrawing cash from ATMs.
Japan is still a society based on cash payments. Given that the crime rate is quite low, there is not a great deal of risk in carrying around relatively large amounts of cash. Credit card payments are sometimes possible, but do not rely on it as credit cards are not universally acceptable in Japan, particularly in rural areas. ATMs at Japanese post offices, which are ubiquitous in Japan, and Seven-Eleven stores provide cash against the following credit cards - Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Diners Club International, PLUS, Maestro, Cirrus and JCB. Most Japanese bank ATMs do not, nor will they provide access to foreign bank accounts.
International telephoning, cell phones and the internet:
Making international telephone calls and using the internet outside of major urban areas can be difficult or impossible. Please bring a telephone charge card issued by your local telephone company, such as AT&T, BT and Telstar. These can be used almost anywhere.
The Japanese cell, or mobile, phone system uses a specialized CDMA technology which is incompatible with most overseas systems. Some G3, Blackberry smartphones and iPhones operate in Japan, however, please confirm with your provider whether your phone set will work. If your phone does not work in Japan you may like to rent a cell phone from providers such as NTT Docomo, Cellhire, Mobalrental, Worldroam, Vodafone, etc.
Internet access for those bringing their own computer is available in our accommodation on Days 1 & 3 of the tour itinerary.
For any more information please contact Walk Japan.

Click on photos to enlarge

The following is an indication of what level of activity to expect on our tours. The itineraries for all our tours provide specific details of each day's walking.

Please note that one person's expectations of what is easy or hard can be very different. Whilst age, physical ability and fitness are factors in deciding what a person is capable of, often a seemingly less fit person completes our tours with no problem. Another factor to consider is the weather, which can affect people differently.

Since 1992 we have taken many thousands of people of many nationalities, all ages and abilities on tour in Japan. We have good experience and knowledge about what most, if not all, people can achieve so please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like further information and advice related to your abilities.

Participants must be able to handle their own luggage, climb a few flights of stairs and walk less than 1 km a day. Travel will be almost entirely by public transport, taxi and private hire bus.

Participants must be able to handle their own luggage, climb a few flights of stairs and walk up to 5 km a day on mainly even ground underfoot.

Participants must be in reasonable health, mobile and able to participate in 4~6 hours of walking at a moderate 2kph to 4kph pace. The terrain is hilly with occasional short, steep climbs and the ground mainly even underfoot.

Participants must be in reasonable health, mobile and able to participate in 4~6 hours of walking at a 2 kph to 4 kph pace. The terrain includes more uneven ground than Level 3 with some short, occasionally longer, steep climbs.

Participants must be in good health, mobile and used to a reasonably active lifestyle. Walking may require up to six hours of moderate-paced activity per day, at a 2 kph to 4 kph pace over varied terrain. Ascents and descents can sometimes be steep, necessitating the use of arms for support.

Participants must be in good health, have a good level of physical fitness and used to an active lifestyle. Walking may require up to eight hours of moderate-paced activity per day, at a 2 kph to 4kph pace over varied, mountainous terrain including some long ascents and descents.