Nakasendo & The Kiso Valley 2023- A Guided Walk.

APRIL 2023

Start Point – Kyoto

Finish Point – Tokyo

Tour Style – Guided Walk

Accommodation – Hotels, Japanese style inns

Meals – As per itinerary

Transport – Train, Boat, Walking

Max Group Size – Min 8, Max 10 guests

DIFFICULTY: MODERATE – CHALLENGING

The Nakasendo Way offers picturesque, tranquil walking and a variety of trail conditions as you progress along the Kiso Valley. Much of the time you will be walking through fields and rural villages and enjoying gentle inclines that can be taken at a comfortable pace.
In the forest you will be walking on a track that can be wet or uneven underfoot.
In the more built-up areas the path itself is asphalt, while at its wildest it becomes unformed grit winding between alpine conifers.
For sections in between these two extremes, the path is clad in what’s known as ishidatami – a traditional style of stone paving.

COVID PROTOCOLS
– Your guide will conduct temperature checks and questionnaire screening at the start of the tour.
– Your guide will also ask you questions about your general health.
– For your safety and peace of mind, your guides will be wearing face masks when accompanying you on your tour.
– Before beginning your tour, your guide will be subject to health protocols for your protection, including temperature checks to determine that they are in good health before the tour.
– Guides showing symptoms of Covid-19 will not lead trips.
– Your guide will be up to date and ready to implement our current Covid-19 protocols before your tour.
– The team in Kyoto has a developed rapid response protocol in the case a guest presents with illness.
– If you or another participant exhibits Covid-19 symptoms, the team will activate their response plan which includes, but is not limited to, isolation from the group and contact with local medical authorities.

Imperial Kyoto
Enjoy the key walks and villages along the old Nakasendo Trail
Experience thermal Onsen baths at multiple hot-spring Ryokan inns
Stay a charming family-run Minshuku inn, offering excellent Omotenashi service
Visit Tsumago, Magome and Narai; three lovingly maintained historic villages along the trail
Enjoy walking in historic Kyoto and Nara with your experienced bi-lingual guide
Experience a Bullet Train journey from Kyoto
Three hikes of 3-6 hours of village-to-village walking on the Nakasendo Trail
Bustling Tokyo

Full-time services of an English-speaking tour guide
7 nights in hotels and Japanese-style inns (Ryokan and Minshuku)
Daily breakfast & 5 dinners
All transportation between tour locations – bullet trains, bus and local trains
Entrance to museums, temples and other sights on the group’s itinerary
Forwarding of one item of luggage on 2 occasions

DATE:

08 April 2023 – 15 April 2023

RATES:

– from USD$2940 per person Twin Rate
– from USD$3545 per person Single Rate

*Rates are per person based on Twin Share & Single Room.
*The Single Supplement covers the additional cost of a solo-occupancy room at the western style hotels on tour.
*If you’re happy to share with another solo traveller of the same gender if they’re available, then we’ll refund the Single Supplement before the tour departs.
*Due to limited room numbers at the smaller inns en-route, Guests are asked to share a tatami-mat room with another member of the same gender where possible. Please rest assured, we will never ask you to share with someone of the opposite gender or from outside of the group. (Tatami mat rooms in Japan are culturally less intimate spaces and travellers are more accustomed to sharing.)
*Prices are subject to change until paid in full.
*International Airfares are not included. PLEASE ASK US FOR A QUOTE.

Day 1 – Meet in Kyoto.

Meet your guide and the other group members at the tour hotel in central Kyoto in the evening. Your guide will be on hand to provide advice on local restaurants.

Overnight: Hotel.

Day 2 – Kyoto

Your first full day of the tour takes in a number of key destinations in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan.

There is a guided half-day walking tour this morning, where you first visit the Sanjo-ohashi Bridge, the western end of the Nakasendo Trail.
From here, you will travel north to Kurama and enjoy a gentle walk through the Kitayama Mountains from Kurama to Kibune.

Walking distance: 4 km / 2.5 miles
Elevation gain: negligible ascent and descent
Time required: about 2 – 3 hours walking

Overnight: Hotel (B)

Day 3 – Hike the Yamanobe no Michi in Nara

Travel by train to Nara, Japan’s first permanent capital. Established in 710 and then known as Heijo, Nara abounds in cultural heritage, with many historic treasures and easy access to wonderful nature.
Today you hike the historic Yamanobe no Michi trail. Your first walk is an excellent hike along the varied trail before returning to Kyoto and our accommodation for one final evening.

Walking distance: 16km / 10 miles
Elevation gain: negligible ascent and descent
Time required: about 5 hours walking

Overnight: Hotel (B)

Day 4 – Hike from Magome to Tsumago

Journey by train from Kyoto to Nakatsugawa, including a ride on the world-famous Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to Nagoya.

At Nakatsugawa, you board a local bus for the short journey to Magome.
At the old post town of Magome-juku, a rustic wooden water wheel greets you as you start up the stone-paved street and make your way along well-preserved wooden shops and guesthouses while clear mountain water pour down alongside both sides of the street.
Walk over Magome Pass (800m) – this marks the boundary between Gifu and Nagano Prefecture and offers a scenic view over the lands below – and slowly descend through peaceful woodland. You should hear the roar of the Odaki-Medaki waterfalls, which slowly fade as you pass streams and rice paddies coming into the old village of O-Tsumago.
Leaving O-Tsumago, the trail climbs briefly before descending into the enchanting main village of Tsumago, one of the best-preserved and most evocative of the Nakasendo post-towns.. The street is lined with traditional Japanese wooden houses, shops and ryokan.
Spend the night at a family-run Minshuku in Tsumago, with a delicious home-cooked Japanese dinner and breakfast included. After dinner, enjoy a stroll through the village streets in the magical quiet of the evening, wearing the yukata gown supplied by your inn.

Walking distance: 8.3km / 5.2 miles
Elevation gain: 326m / 1,069 feet of ascent and 430m / 1,410 feet of descent
Time required: about 3 hours

Overnight: Minshuku (Family-run Guesthouse). (B / D)

Day 5 – Hike from Tsumago to Nojiri

A longer walk on the trail today offers a beautiful and varied hike from Tsumago to Nojiri.
Or choose the shorter alternative to Nagiso instead.

Leaving the old town of Tsumago at the ancient Kosatsuba (official proclamation board) you will see on the board the old wooden tablets that state that no Christianity can be practised.
The trail ascends steeply up the valley now as you continue through the forest on what is known as the Yokawa Forest Route on your way to Nojiri.
You will be passing through cedar forests and farmland – it’s one of the most scenic sections of the walk. The trail heads through small valleys passing forests of bamboo and Japanese cedar, through some of the least-developed scenery on the tour.
On arrival to Nojiri, you make your way to the train station for a 40-minute ride to Kiso-Fukushima. Fukushima was an important checkpoint during the Edo period and is also home to the largest stone garden in Japan. There are a number Zen Buddhist temples to visit, the most famous being the Kozenji.
Tonight you stay at a lovely hot-spring Ryokan set in a peaceful valley above the town. The Ryokan has lovely indoor and outdoor hot-spring baths.

Overnight: Onsen Ryokan – Hot-spring Travellers Inn. (B / D)

Day 6 – Hike from Yabuhara to Narai

A leisurely start to the day to spend some time in Kiso-Fukushima before catching the train for your journey from Kiso-Fukushima to Yabuhara, the starting point for the hike over the Torii pass to Narai.
From Yabuhara, the Nakasendo Way climbs up to the Torii Pass, named after the Shinto torii gate, which marks one of four protective sites surrounding Mount Ontake.
At 1197m, the Torii Pass is a great vantage point for views of Mount Ontake on a clear day.
Yur descent takes you along narrow mountain paths until you emerge at the outskirts of Narai, a lovely post town and the wealthiest of the post towns along the trail.
Explore this atmospheric village before travelling on by train to the castle town of Matsumoto and to your Onsen Ryokan inn for the evening.

Walking distance: 8.7km / 5.5 miles
Elevation gain: 344m / 1,128 feet of ascent and 270m / 885 feet of descent
Time required: about 4 hours

Overnight: Minshuku (Family-run Guesthouse). (B / D)

Day 7 – Sightseeing in Matsumoto and Tokyo

This morning, explore the the engaging castle town of Matsumoto, visiting Matsumoto castle, which is one of Japan’s best historic castles.

After lunch, head onwards to Tokyo by train, which is both the end point of the Nakasendo trail and of your tour.
Stay at a comfortable Japanese-style hotel in the city and enjoy a final farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

Overnight: Hotel (B / Farewell Dinner)

Day 8 – Transfer to Kyoto

Your tour ends today after breakfast at the hotel in Tokyo.
Your guide will be available to provide assistance and advice for travelling onwards, whether you have homeward flights, or on plan on extending your stay in Japan. (B)