Nakasendo trail to Tsumago

This morning we caught a train to Nakatsugawa then bus to Magome, then walked along part of the old trail that was one of the main communication lines between Kyoto and the new centre of power in Edo. We sent our bags onto Tsumago and walked with day packs. Another beautiful day, and perfect for walking.

Starting our walk in Magome, we were welcomed by groups of high school kids who were practising their English and pointing out features of the town.

They were lovely kids and a really nice start to the walk. It made up in part for the steepness, as the trail climbs out of Magome and up over the Magome Pass. Once out of the town, the trail passes through a mix of forest and little villages, quite similar to bits of the Camino in places. There are signs warning of bears, and bells at regular intervals with signs encouraging you to ring loudly, perhaps to let the bears know that dinner is coming. But we made it uneaten over the pass, and down to a lovely tea house which really felt like it was out of a time past. It had a fire pit with a big blackened kettle, and a lovely older gentleman who kept making and pouring cups of tea for walkers who struggled in to sit at the long tables inside.

The walk was very beautiful, through bamboo, or pine, or autumn forest, often with the sound of running water and a wonderful freshness in the air.  Magnificent views, shrines, quaint houses, bear bells, flowers, water wheels, enough but not too many walkers heading in the opposite direction to practice saying 'conichi-wa' to - the walk had it all. Shintaro and Tombe the Mist felt not too far away along there.

We got to Tsumago after dawdling along, some 4 hours to walk about 8 kilometres, and had some lunch and a very welcome beer before retrieving our bags and heading to our Ryokan. After a bath in the Hiroki bath 'made from the famous scented Miso valley Cypress wood' and a bit of sitting in our room contemplating the splendid view from our windows, we headed down for what we agreed was our best Japanese meal ever. The Ryokan has been in the same family for over 100 years, the inn keeper speaks fluent Italian, Spanish and English, his wife is a brilliant chef, and they went out of their way to be friendly and to make sure everyone felt welcome and special. A great place - Fujioto

Inn in Tsumago gets our five star award.

 

Today we were given two gift wrapped chestnuts by a nice American couple, two mandarins by a nice Japanese couple, and two twisty sort of things by a young Japanese boy at one of the rest stops. Whether it is some version of the custom of Omiyage - the giving of small gifts - or just people practising random acts of kindness, it is extremely nice,  and something to carry away with us. We feel very grateful to have had such a magnificent day.