Taking the Big Break

The past couple of days, we pretended we were samurai and nobles hiking the Nakasendo Trail.   Many centuries ago, the Nakasendo Trail was a main thoroughfare between Japan’s old capital of Kyoto to Edo, the city currently known as Tokyo.   There were 69 post town stops between the two cities where travelers could stop to rest their weary feet, and we hiked between the 42^nd and 43^rd of these stops on Tuesday.

The trail between the post towns of Magome and Tsumago was a good hike for our family, but fortunately, we hiked the right direction between the two.   Although the town we hiked toward was at a lower elevation than the one we began from, we first had to hike up to Magome Pass at an elevation of 810 meters above sea level.

Magome Post Town

Our few days started with a stay over in the historic town of Magome.  We stayed over in Magome at a traditional Japanese Inn, called a minshuku.   We were shown to our room:  two expansive rooms covered in the tatami straw flooring where the futons are put away into closets during the day and pulled out in the evenings before bed.   I love the smell of the tatami flooring. The straw smell is fresh and almost sweet.    Toilets and sinks are down the hall, and the ofuro bath room downstairs was massive. (A blog about Japanese toilets and baths is forthcoming.)

Some dear friends surprised us by showing up in Magome to spend the afternoon with us. A real treat!

Dinner at the Mishuku

A nice thing about traditional inns is that amazing Japanese style dinners and breakfasts are included, and they tend to be HUGE and really delicious.  Imagine, if you can, your favorite Japanese style foods.   This meal included it!   Sashimi, miso soup, noodles, tofu, grilled fish, tempura, pickled veggies, rice….   It was all there and each bite was tastier than the last.

Magome Town

Turned out to be a good thing that we had a reservation in Magome and that dinner was included as this sleepy village pretty much shuts up tight at night. The homes are all made out of wood and the citizens of Magome work hard to preserve their historic town as traditionally as possible.  You won’t see vending machines, satellite dishes, or even electrical wires in this picturesque little town.  Waterwheels are everywhere and the road itself is a cobblestone path up the mountainside.

Tuesday morning, we woke up and set out on our hike.  Fortunately, there is a service that will carry bags from one town to the next so we didn’t have to hike with our big heavy backpacks.   (Phew!)

Carrying our bags up the hill to the courier service.

We started our hike up through the town of Magome.  The trail starts out tough with a lot of stairs and a lot of uphill through farms and forests, pasts waterwheels, through traditional neighborhood towns, past shrines and stone sculptures, and over rivers.   We took it slow and there was so much to look at that no one seemed to notice the climb.

Beginning of our part of the Nakasendo Trail

Little village along the route

Cool shot in a street view mirror. (My mother would be proud of this artsy shot.)

The trail winded up and down through bamboo forest, over streams and in past waterfalls.   At the top, there is a traditional tea house run by an adorable old man that welcomed all travelers in for a cup of green tea.   He did not charge for the tea, but simply left a donation box on the table.   His English was limited but he sure enjoyed chatting up the travelers, regardless of whether they understood his rapid Japanese or not.  We were fortunate to learn that he was an expert in traditional Japanese song and dance.  Once he learned that another Japanese hiker knew one of his songs, he instructed them to sing the chorus and the old man broke into melodious song.   What a wonderful addition to our afternoon!

Cute little old guy at the tea house.

Finally, the trail started its descent.  The highlight for the boys was, of course, water!    There are two waterfalls along the descent and the boys couldn’t resist getting wet.   The cool clean water was glorious and refreshing.

Waterfall turnoff

Waterfall along the hike

We took the hike slow and stopped often, and after 4 or 5 hours, we slowly made our way down into Tsumago, the 43^rd post on the Nakasendo Trail.  Tsumago is also a charming little post town like Magome, lined with wooden homes along its street.   While many of the homes now sell souvenirs and treats, all homes along the street still retain their traditional ambiance.

Tsumago Post Town

Tsumago at dusk

We really enjoyed our hike on the Nakasendo trail.   Years ago, we lived in Japan for a couple years and had never heard of this hike so I was pleased to have found it for this trip.  We all really enjoyed the hike.   The experience of hiking along through the forest and through mountain towns was a great treat for the whole family.   We all would greatly recommend it to any travelers as a great way to experience a very special part of Japan.