Compare Winter Nakasendo Way by JTB Australia
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| Trip |
0 | Poor
|
| Duration | 7 days |
| Price From | $ 3,429 |
| Price Per Day | $ 490 |
| Highlights |
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| Trip Style | Small group tour |
| Lodging Level | Standard |
| Physical Level |
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| Travel Themes |
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| Countries Visited | |
| Cities and Attractions | N/A |
| Flights & Transport | Ground transport included |
| Activities |
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| Meals Included |
6 Breakfasts, 2 Lunches and 7 Dinners |
| Description |
This tour is operated by Walk Japan – the pioneer of off-the-beaten-track walking tours in Japan. This tour provides modern-day walkers with a comfortable taste of Edo Period Japan in winter. Cross several height passes, where encountering snow is likely, but the emphasis is on comfort and each day you will find warm welcomes and surroundings in Japanese inns. You will also be able to relax on the occasion around an open fire, and enjoy excellent meals of locally sourced produce that are a feature of Walk Japan’s tours. |
Day 1: Nagoya-Ena
Meals: Dinner
Accommodation: Japanese Ryokan Inn
The tour meets in Nagoya Station at 2pm for transfer by train to Ena for the first Japanese inn experience of the tour. The Walk Japan Tour Leader holds the briefing here over dinner, a beautifully-presented kaiseki dinner.
Day 2: Ena – Magome
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Accommodation: Japanese Ryokan Inn
Walking Approx. 10 km (6.2 miles), easy pace
After breakfast, visit the excellent Hiroshige Print Museum before transferring to the start of the walk on the outskirts of Nakatsugawa, an old post town and now a pleasant regional town. In the afternoon, continue along the old highway passing quiet residences with carefully tended gardens, farmhouses and stepped paddy fields to begin the climb to the Magome Pass. Wonderful views over the surrounding countryside make this day very memorable. Reach the accommodation, set in a delightful location aside the old road, after a long climb at a gentle pace.
Day 3: Magomi – O-Tsumago
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Accommodation: Japanese Ryokan Inn
Walking Approx. 10 km (6.2 miles), easy pace
From the accommodation now lies the Kiso Road, the central section of the Nakasendo Way, that weaves through the beautifully verdant Kiso Valley. A short walk brings you to Magome, a delightful hill-side post-town that was home to Shimazaki Toson. Toson wrote Before the Dawn. Set in the days of Japan’s change from feudal Japan dominated by the Samurai to a fledgling industrial nation, Toson’s book is considered to be Japan’s first modern novel. Continue on over the Magome Pass for the classic hike of the old highway through forests, aside fast-flowing streams. After dinner, visit an onsen thermal hot spring bath for a relaxing end to the day.
Day 4: Tsumago – Kiso Fukushima
Meals: Breafkast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: Japanese Ryokan Inn
Walking Approx. 9 km (5.6 miles), easy pace
Walk onto Tsumago and spend time exploring this beautifully maintained, traditional post-town. An inclusive, optional guided tour of the high-class inn and attached museum is highly recommended. Continue for another 4.5km to Nagiso. Here an interesting footbridge provides a hint of two colourful people once associated with the area; a geisha, who appeared on the front of Harper’s Bazaar magazine in 1900, and her tycoon partner. Catch a train to Kiso-Fukushima for lunch. An exploration of this town follows and includes a visit to the reconstructed barrier station that stood here during the Edo Period. Accommodation is in the centre of town, a Japanese inn with thermal hot spring baths.
Day 5: Kiso Fukushima – Kaida Plateau
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: Japanese Ryokan Inn
Walking Approx. 5 km (3.2 miles), easy pace
After breakfast, transfer to the beginning of today’s walk using snowshoes through the snowy landscapes of the Kaida Plateau. The Plateau, regarded as one of the most beautiful areas in Japan, has a distinct alpine feel and we reach over 1,300 metres (4,265 ft.). Clear weather will provide views to Mt. Ontake (3,007 metres, 9,865ft.), the active volcano that dominates the area. Tonight’s accommodation, another with onsen baths, is set in a small hamlet on the Plateau.
Day 6: Kaida Plateau – Matsumoto
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Walking Approx. 8 km (5 miles), easy pace
Transfer to Yabuhara for the walk today over the Torii Pass, through forests to the lovely post town of Narai. Free time to explore, relax in cafes and shop in Narai before travelling onto Matsumoto and hotel, a charming and comfortable establishment in the centre of the city, enjoy the last group meal.
Day 7: Matsumoto
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Walking 2 km (1.2 miles), easy pace
After breakfast a guided visit to Matsumoto’s impressive castle, one of only four that are listed as National Treasures in Japan. The Winter Nakasendo Way tour ends at the castle at approximately 11am.
