Nakasendo Trail Day Hike: Explore Traditional Magome & Tsumago with a Licensed Guide
4.6
18 Ratings
Nakatsugawa
Embark on a value-packed Nakasendo trail day hike between Magome and Tsumago with a licensed guide. Explore traditional villages, enjoy gentle elevation changes, and immerse yourself in the beauty of the Japanese Alps.
Duration: 6 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Nakasendo Magome-juku - 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.

  • Nakasendo Tsumagojuku - 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.

What's Included
  • Licensed Local Guide
What's Not Included
  • Transportation fees, Entrance fees, Lunch, and Other personal expenses
  • Private Vehicle
  • You cannot combine multiple tour groups.
  • Guide Entry fees are only covered for sights listed under What to Expect.
Additional Information

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 government-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.

This private tour is a hiking day tour. Please wear hiking boots and gear for this tour. Public transportation or local taxis maybe used to transfer between sites. Exact transportation costs can be discussed with the guide after a reservation is finalized. Please have Japanese Yen on hand for your transportation costs.

  • This is a walking tour. Pick up is on foot.
Location
Magome
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.6
(18 Ratings)
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Roam56510423691
Feb 12, 2024
Amazing Nakasendo Way Winter Day Hike - We had a lovely time exploring the Nakasendo Way with our guide Matt. He planned our itinerary quickly and was very responsive to our questions, even during the holidays. He gave us tips so we could prepare for the winter hike, advising us to bring walking sticks and snow boots or crampons. He also arranged our sumptuous brunch at the halfway point between Magome and Tsumago. We enjoyed Matt's stories about samurai, the Nakasendo way, and life during the Edo period as we went along. He entertained our questions and took some pics too. The place was magical and the stories made it even more alive for us. Our guide adjusted to our pace, allowed us to relish the moment, and kept track of time. We like the short break at the tea house on the way to Tsumago. Hiking down through snowy slopes was new to us, but he made sure we were safe. Thank you, Matt! We will be back!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Imemmajane
Jan 31, 2024
Magical winter wonderland - This is such an amazing walk! We had a 7 year old and 10 year old with us and it was very doable. Lots of snow throughout the walk which made for a really magical experience. Because of this there were areas where it was very icy and we had to take our time, but we had good snow boots on which made for easy walking. Some good steep climbs and descends along the way and some amazing waterfalls. It’s an ancient walk with a lot of history. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Paradise44085111704
Jan 6, 2024
Excellent winter hike Magome to Tsumago - Our guide Tatsuya Ito was excellent, both pre-trip and during the hike. Pre-trip he took the initiative to contact us and arrange meeting logistics and kept us updated on weather conditions.During the trip he was knowledgeable and informative on the history behind origins of the Nakasendo trail and Edo period during which it was built, so it became a lot more enjoyable than just a winter hike, pretty as it was ! Highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dianne_t
Aug 31, 2023
Nakasendo Way - Matt was outstanding and even offered to extend hike vs taking a bus from Tsumago to Nagiso.. we loved the stops and enjoyed the trail! Bento lunch and historic tea house very enjoyable.
Review provided by Viator
Wtchoe
Aug 28, 2023
Great Nakasendo tour! - We had a lovely tour of the Nakasendo trail with Matt yesterday. He helped us navigate the trail effortlessly - I’m pretty sure we would have gotten lost a couple of times otherwise. He was a great sport despite the incredible heat. 10/10 would recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lindgaard72
Aug 9, 2023
Great hike - Great hike and fantastic introduction and storytelling, Michael, it was a pleasure to have you as our guide on this hike
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Florencio_j
May 5, 2023
Hike through history - The hike was a lot of fun. There’s plenty of photo ops. My guide, Matt, was very knowledgeable and shared interesting history about the trail and it’s purpose. He also hooked us up with a nice bento from a restaurant which we ate at an old public tea house. There’s plenty of history along the way.
Review provided by Viator
Leeken_l
Feb 16, 2023
An Enjoyable Hike in Kiso Valley that exceeded our expectations - My husband & I had the most interesting, wonderful & enjoyable hike on the Magome & Tsumago Nakasendo Trail in Kiso Valley with our bubbly and highly experienced guide Yumi-San who patiently explained & gave us all the significant historical, cultural & local insights to the places we visited....all in perfect English. The air was so fresh, scenery beautiful with a clear view of the Ena mountain. The trail took us almost 5 hours to complete as we stopped frequently for photos and had a couple of refreshment breaks. The calm & peaceful environment of Kiso Valley made the walk so much more relaxing and we could see & experience all elements of nature - different kinds of flora & foliage, waterfalls, rivers, rocks, steps, ancient bridges and some ice & snow along the way which we had to carefully manoeuvre across. We also saw many ricefields & ancient houses, buildings (some of which were in existence since the Edo period & some around 120 yrs old) in the post towns of Magome & Tsumago. Post towns are used by travellers during the Edo period for rest. We definitely want to come back to Kiso Valley again during spring or autumn to see it with different colours of the season, and definitely with Yumi-San as our guide
Review provided by Viator
Belindlow
Oct 31, 2023
Not so easy trail - The 8 km trail is easy for the young but a challenge for us close to 70. Steep slopes & stone paths not easy. It took us 4 hours instead of the 3 hours norm. Helpful to have walking stick. Not advisable to do the walk on a wet day. The 2 post towns are quite charming. Unfortunately, we did not have time to linger as we had to catch the local bus back to train station. Also, autumn is a bit late this year so not much autumn colours.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Valmanchester
Sep 19, 2023
Very disappointing indeed ! - Itinerary and explanation sent beforehand were excellent, we were really looking forward to walking along with our Guide. He had a very sweet personality but his English was rather average, I had to bombard him with questions to have some kind of explanations on the history and environment of the Nakasendo. The route is well marked and there are regular boards along the way. We knew we had to pay for everything (buses, lunch) so I still wonder why this was so expensive? Definitely not worse the money I paid and I definitely don’t recommend the Guide we had! Real shame and I actually felt ripped off!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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May 2024
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