Nakasendo and the Kiso Valley

A short small-group guided walking tour with three hikes of 3-6 hours of village-to-village walking on the Nakasendō Trail

Nakasendo and the Kiso Valley

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Tour details

Nakasendo and the Kiso Valley
x1 traveller
USD 0
Single room additional charge
USD 605

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

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  • Duration: 8 days
  • Trip level:
    Active
    Level
  • Availability: April to November
  • Type:Guided tour with an expert bilingual guide
    Level
  • Price: USD 2,940(Price per person, based on 2 travellers sharing a room)
Departures

Please choose your preferred month to see available departures.

Highlights
  • Enjoy the key walks and villages along the old Nakasendō Trail
  • Visit Tsumago, Magome and Narai – three lovingly maintained historic villages along the trail
  • Bathe in relaxing thermal onsen waters at multiple hot spring inns
  • Enjoy walking in historic Kyōto and Nara with your experienced bilingual guide
  • Stay at a charming family-run inn offering warm and inviting hospitality
  • Experience a bullet train journey from Kyōto

The Nakasendō, or 'road through the central mountains', was a key route in feudal Japan's network of highways. Merchants and travellers moving between Tōkyō and Kyōto spent multiple days to travel the Nakasendō, staying in post towns each evening. A key section of the original route in the Kiso Valley region retains much of the nature and character of this historically significant period of Japan's history, enabling you to walk from village to village along forested trails, as you overnight in traditional inns with excellent local cuisine and baths.

Our 8-day small-group guided tour, Nakasendō and the Kiso Valley, spends two nights in Kyōto, where the trail begins. We will also take a side trip to nearby Nara for an excellent hike while here. Next, we enjoy three days of excellent walking along the Nakasendō Trail – by day we will walk along the ancient route as it passes through beautifully preserved villages along a gentle path, and by evening we will stay in traditional inns. During these stays, we will enjoy exquisite regional cuisine prepared from the freshest ingredients, soak in natural hot springs, and enjoy the warm hospitality of our hosts. Finally, our time together will end in Tōkyō.

Download PDF itinerary

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What is included
Full-time services of an English-speaking tour guide
7 nights in hotels and Japanese-style inns
Daily breakfast and 5 dinners
All transportation between tour locations
Entrance to museums, temples, and other sights on the group's itinerary
Forwarding of 1 item of luggage on 2 occasions
What is not included
Flights
Airport transfers
Drinks and meals not included in itinerary
Entrance fees to museums, temples, etc. not mentioned in the itinerary
Single room supplement for solo travellers at hotels
Itinerary

Meet your guide and the other group members at the tour hotel in central Kyōto in the evening. We will enjoy a welcome dinner at a local restaurant.

 
Accommodation: Western-style hotel
Meals: Welcome dinner

Our first full day of the tour takes in several key destinations in Kyōto, the ancient capital of Japan. There is a half-day of guided walking this morning, where we first visit the Sanjō Bridge, the western end of the Nakasendō Trail. From here, we will travel north to Kurama and enjoy a gentle walk through the Kitayama Mountains from Kurama to Kibune.

Walking distance: 4 km / 2.5 mi
Elevation gain: Negligible ascent and descent
Time required: About 2-3 hours walking

Accommodation: Western-style hotel
Meals: Breakfast

Travel by train to Nara, Japan's first permanent capital. Established in 710 and then known as Heijō, Nara abounds in cultural heritage, with many historic treasures and easy access to wonderful nature.

 
Today we will hike the historic Yamanobe-no-michi trail. Our first walk of the tour is an excellent hike along the varied trail before returning to Kyōto and our accommodation for one final evening.

Walking distance: 13.6 km / 8.5 mi
Elevation gain: Negligible ascent and descent
Time required: About 5 hours walking

Accommodation: Hotel
Meals: Breakfast

Journey by train from Kyoto to Nakatsugawa, including a ride on the world-famous bullet train to Nagoya. At Nakatsugawa, you board a local bus for the short journey to Magome. Walk over Magome-tōge Pass to Tsumago, one of the best-preserved and most evocative of the Nakasendo post towns. 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: 8.3 km / 5.2 mi
Elevation gain: 326 m / 1,069 ft of ascent and 430 m / 1,410 ft of descent
Time required: About 3 hours
 
Accommodation: Minshuku (family-run guesthouse)
Meals: Breakfast, dinner

A longer walk on the trail today offers a beautiful and varied hike from Tsumago to Nojiri, or you may choose the shorter alternative to Nagiso instead. The trail heads through small valleys passing forests of bamboo and Japanese cedar, through some of the most untouched scenery on the tour. Tonight, enjoy kaiseki-style cuisine and hot spring baths.


Walking distance: 18.4 km / 11.5 mi
Elevation gain: 723 m / 2,275 ft of ascent and 644 m / 2,112 ft feet of descent
Time required: About 6 hours

 

A shorter alternative of 1 hour (3.7 km / 2.3 mi) is also possible.
 
Accommodation: Onsen hotel (hot spring hotel) or onsen ryokan (hot spring inn)
Meals: Breakfast, dinner

Travel the short train journey from Kiso-Fukushima to Yabuhara, the starting point for the hike over the Torii-tōge Pass to another post town, Narai. Explore this atmospheric village before travelling by train to the castle town of Matsumoto and your onsen ryokan for the evening.

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

 

The final hour of the walk is skippable by train.
 
Accommodation: Minshuku (Family-run Guesthouse)
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

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

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

Accommodation: Japanese-style hotel
Meals: Breakfast, farewell dinner

Our tour ends today after breakfast at the hotel in Tōkyō. 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.

   
Meals: Breakfast