1-Day Tour from Matsumoto: Walk the Nakasendo Trail

Meet inside the station in front of the large information board directly across from the Shinkansen ticket gates. Your guide will be wearing a Snow Monkey Resorts tour tag. Please be in position before 08:15 as the tour departs by 08:20.

Wait outside the West Exit of Matsumoto Station in front of the escalator. Your guide will meet you here before loading the group onto the tour bus. The bus then departs for the Kiso Valley, with a stop at a Japanese Michi-no-Eki roadside service area approximately halfway along the drive.

Arrive in Tsumago-juku and begin a guided walk through the post town. Your guide will cover the history of the town, its role on the Nakasendo road, and the significance of the post town system during the Edo period. Many of the original wooden buildings can be entered freely.

Begin the 8-kilometer hike from Tsumago to Magome. The trail includes sections of original Edo-period cobblestone paving, forested mountain paths, changes in elevation, and areas with mud or uneven footing. The route passes the paired Odaki and Medaki waterfalls and traditional rest houses open to hikers along the way. A packed lunch should be eaten during breaks on the trail. 

Arrive in Magome, a hillside post town with views of the surrounding mountains and a main street lined with traditional wooden buildings and water-powered wheels along the street's waterways. Guests have free time to browse local shops selling wood crafts, regional snacks, and souvenirs before returning to the bus.

Guests ending the tour in Matsumoto are dropped off at approximately 18:40.

Guests continuing to Nagano will arrive at Nagano Station or Hotel Kokusai 21 at approximately 20:00.