Nakasendo Highway Hike

Nakasendo Highway Hike, Japan

Take the bus to Magome (25 minutes, JPY 600) and walk back to Tsumago along the Nakasendo Highway. The Nakasendo was once the principal route linking Kyoto and Tokyo, originally covering several hundred miles through the forested mountains of central Japan.

The walk takes you along a small, scenic section of the road (7.7km) past sleepy farming villages and paddy fields, through forests of majestic cedars that link the old post towns that once served as refuge for the Daimyo Lords who passed with their great retinues along the route. The hike should take about 3 hours at a leisurely pace.