The hills are green, the forest is wet, the air is brisk. The sun is bright, the rice fields are freshly harvested, and the ripe smell of chestnut, gingko, and persimmon mixes in with the smoke from wood fires. It’s the beginning of fall in the alpine mountains of central Japan.
Thanks to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), I was able to experience the nakasendo, one of the old footpaths that samurai warriors traveled to pay homage to the Tokugawa Shogun in the Edo Period (1603-1868). With the borders to Japan freshly open to tourists once more, the JNTO is looking to promote deeper, slower travel to Japan’s beautiful rural areas in need of revitalization. With the Adventure Tourism World Summit happening next year in Hokkaido, they invited some journalists to take a trip, and I was lucky enough to come along for the ride.
Right away, I was blown away by the historic character, scenic beauty, and pure charm of this region of southwestern Nagano Prefecture, just an hour on the train away from my home residence in Nagoya.
Here on the map you can see Nagoya and Kyoto. To the northeast, there’s the city of Nakatsugawa, and the little yellow star to the right of that is where in the world I was–the idyllic, old post towns of Tsumago-juku and Magome-juku on the nakasendo, diving into history and rural charm. It’s a five-star place to travel to in Japan right within convenient access of Nagoya, so here’s a quick dive into its sights.
The Road
The nakasendo was made to be walked. Leaders of samurai households embarked with a party of servants to make their annual pilgrimage to Edo, now Tokyo. The nakasendo, however, was a backcountry path for the rural lords. The main clans in populated domains like Hamamatsu, Nagoya, Kyoto, and Osaka traveled the Tokaido road, which is now developed into highways and the shinkansen bullet train. Because the nakasendo went through the mountains, it was never developed – which enabled some sections to be preserved, including the post towns of Magome-juku and Tsumago-juku.
The road itself, however, is full of amazing scenic beauty, lush woods, unexpected waterfalls, and even a charming preserved teahouse with free refreshments, and a very kind old man roasting freshly gathered chestnuts.
The Post Towns
These well-preserved post-towns are today home to traditional inns, piping hot snacks like oyaki stuffed dumplings and goheimochi rice balls, ice cream, teahouses, coffeeshops, ceramics and craft galleries, and restaurants serving up mountain and seasonal specialties. They also showcase the old way of life with preserved artifacts like fire defense systems and rice mills. Tsumago-juku has the older, more preserved and rustic buildings with primarily local shops and galleries, whereas Magome-juku has the more dramatic mountain scenery, more inns, and is a bit more catered to tourists with souvenir shops and restaurants.
The Food
Last but not least, the Nakatsugawa area and the nakasendo trail has a variety of delicious, fresh, and healthy food. Eating goheimochi rice balls doused in a sticky tare sauce made of miso, chestnuts, peanuts, soy sauce, and sugar is a favorite for maintaining stamina on long walks. It was chestnut season on the trail, so I got to eat numerous forms of chestnut pastries and snacks that are famous to the area, but my favorite by far was the chestnut rice (large photo featured above) – the chestnuts were soft and delectable, and the rice was fluffy and perfect. Slurping down local soba noodles, famous to Nagano prefecture, was also a common way to get quick energy for the trail, and making them for your self can be a fun family activity. Foraged mountain vegetables and mushrooms, river trout, and horse meat are also common specialties to the area.
The nakasendo was an absolutely spectacular visit, and I couldn’t recommend it more strongly to those looking to soak up local, rural, and mountainous Japan and all of its nature, history, and culture. It was also a special time of year, equal parts green, brisk, and ripe with harvest – and bound to get even more magical when the leaves start turning in the last third of October.
over the offing 