Walk in Medieval Japan touring the Nakasendo

Located in Nagano Prefecture, the Nakasendo Trail 中山道 – also known as Kisokaido , is a route used by feudal rulers, vendors, craftsmen, and samurai. This route that connected Tokyo and Kyoto during the Tokugawa Period (1603-1867). Parts of the trail, which is part of the Five Roads to Edo (now Tokyo), have remained extremely scenic.

Nakasendo is a route that supported customs and traditions. One of the most beautiful stretches, the Kiso Valley , gives the impression of reliving those forgotten moments in time while looking out over the Japanese countryside. In each valley there are a number of stopping points, called juku , where travelers and their horses used to take a break before continuing on their journey. Today, 69 of these posts or stations remain and are exceptionally well preserved. These are Tsumago-juku and Magome-juku in the towns of the same name and you can visit their “rest hostels” and museums, as well as shops and restaurants where you can try the local food after a good walk.

Hiking the Nakasendo offers the opportunity to learn more about the traditions and lives of the people who once walked this route. One of them, Kazunomiya , the emperor’s younger sister (and the current emperor’s great-aunt) was sent to Edo in 1861. At the age of 16, she would marry the fourteenth Shogun and legend has it that tens of thousands of people accompanied her on the big trip to your ceremony. Important people such as Matsuo Basho also toured it and spoke of its spectacular landscapes in their diaries and letters.

Although there has been much modern development and change along the Nakasendō , there are still some sections that maintain their original shape, that is, you can still see the stones that were part of the path. The trek between Tsumago-juku and Magome-juku requires two to three hours of walking, although going through the forest and having beautiful views of waterfalls along the way make it worth the trek.

Would you like to walk this trail as historic as the Nakasendo in Nagano Prefecture? Tell us in the comments!