Stats:
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 7.4km one way
Time: 2 hours
Brief Description:
Magome and Tsumago are two historic post-towns located on the Nakasendo road. The Nakasendo road was one of the historic highways that connected Tokyo and Kyoto. Historically this road was used by travelling Daimyo, their samurai and their retainers. Along the road they would stop at and rest at the post-towns known as Juku. The Juku would vie for samurai to stay at their town as it brought economic prosperity.
Magome and Tsumago are two of the best preserved Nakasendo post-towns. They retain much of the original architecture and the original places the samurai slept (Waki-Honjin). Unfortunately, many of the post-towns have been urbanised, leaving very little of the original architecture. Miraculously Magome and Tsumago have survived.
It is just unfortunate that recently Magome decided to collaborate with
Pokemon and build a massive Pokemon Go Pokestop in the middle of the town. It fails to blend in with the historic architecture and detracts from the calm of the town.
I recommend starting this hike as early as possible as around midday, a lot
of people start appearing and doing the hike. The path becomes busy and looses its historic charm. Interestingly, it is mostly foreigners that do this hike. It is relatively unknown amongst Japanese people. I live nearby and none of my co-workers have done it. Many of them do not know that it even exists.
If you want the same vibe as Magome and Tsumago without the tourists, I
recommend Iwamura in Akechi (Ena City). It has the same historic architecture, but is secret and unadvertised.
Getting There:
It is possible to start this trail from either Magome or Tsumago, but I
believe that it is easier to start the hike from Magome unless you are already in deep Nagano prefecture. Here I will detail how to get to Magome.
Bus:
From Nagoya Station, take the Chuo line to Nakatsugawa Station. From Nakatsugawa station to Magome. Buses are semi-regular, there is at least one an hour. I recommend using Google Maps to get real-time info about the buses and bus stops.
Driving:
At Magome there is a lot of free parking. Simply drive along Route 19 and
take the turn-off for Magome. Here you will be taken up a long windy road. Circle around the town until you find a free carpark. As there are a lot of spaces, you do not have to worry about there being no parking. Note that if driving to Tsumago, there is no free parking.
Trail Notes:
Begin the hike at the base of the town of Magome. There will be very steep, but beautiful cobble stone path that takes you through the town. There is a vast array of tourist gift shops and snack food. If you want to try local Gifu food, I recommend trying Gohei-mochi. It is a delicious type of mochi, unique to Gifu that uses peanut as a base.
Once you are at the top of the hill in the town, you will see a look-out
that provides a beautiful view of Mt. Ena in the Central Alps. Look carefully
and you will see a path that continues beyond the lookout. There will be a
black and green sign that says ‘Nakasendo’ and tells you how many kilometres until you reach Tsumago. Follow this sign and path.
The path will drop you into a lush forest with lots of warnings about bears.
Do not worry about bears, all throughout rural Gifu and Nagano is prime bear territory, the Magome to Tsumago walk is far too popular for there to actually be bears. Bears are scared of humans and will not come onto the track. If you are genuinely worried, try ringing the bells found along the path.
Continue along the forest path. It will make you cross the road, where you
will continue into another forest. Note that part of this hike takes you along the road with cars. Although unpleasant, it is worth it for the views.
There is only one path, it is difficult to get lost. Keep a keen eye out for
signs pointing you towards Tsumago. Along the way, you will see a waterwheel and various heritage listed buildings.
Continuing along the path, you will see a sign that says 777m elevation.
This is close to the point that demarcates Gifu from Nagano. After passing
under the Nagano Prefecture sign, you will officially be in Nagano prefecture. Continue along this road.
After passing the Nagano border, the next major landmark is a tea house.
This is a free rest area with a toilet. Feel free to drop in and sit down and
enjoy some free tea. The guy who serves tea is very friendly and has become quite proficient in English due to the large number of tourists that hike the path. Have a chat to him, he will appreciate it!
After leaving the tea house, you will come across the most beautiful part of the track. It is enclosed by forest. If you are lucky, you might even see some wild Kamoshika (Japanese Serow). Follow this path until you hit a road crossing. Here you will be faced with two options, break the law or follow the law.
The official hiking track for Magome is closed ‘due to collapsed path.’ This
is actually a lie, I have been across this path many times, and have never once had a problem. None of the path is broken, and is quite nice as nobody else traverses this path. If you do not take this path, you will be forced to walk along the road. Both paths lead to the same place. So do not worry about missing out on anything.
At the end of both paths is a nice set of two waterfalls. One is called
Medaki (女滝）and the other Odaki (男滝), literally male and female waterfall. The area around the waterfalls is very cool in the middle of summer. It is refreshing. It is worth taking a break and taking some photos here.
From here follow the final part of the trail into Tsumago town. This will
take you past some residential blocks and historical buildings. Although it may look like you are trespassing, you are not, do not worry. The path is supposed to be like that.
The town of Tsumago is very small, it also has significantly less cafes and
shops than Magome. You can probably walk the whole town and see everything in about ten minutes.
From here, you have three options. Either stay in Tsumago, take the bus back to Magome or take the train back to Nakatsugawa.
If taking the bus, be warned that there are very few buses per day that run
between Tsumago and Magome. You need to keep your wits and make sure that you time your hike to lines up with the bus schedule. Either that or kill time in Tsumago until the bus comes. The bus does no accept IC cards like Pasmo or Suica. You must pay with cash in exact change.
Buses leaving Tsumago for Magome:
8:47, 10:17, 12:47, 14:22, 16:42.
If taking the train, you will need to walk beyond Tsumago to Nagiso station. There should be signs pointing you in the right direction. From Nagiso station, there is a direct train to Nakatsugawa Station.
Waterfall
Hiking Japan 