How to Do the Kiso Valley

01

Know the History

In the 1600’s, the newly established Tokugawa shogunate based in Edo began developing a nationwide infrastructure, including two highways linking the shogun’s capital with the imperial capital of Kyoto. The main route was a coastal road called the Tokaido (literally, “eastern sea road”), while the second less traveled route was called the Nakasendo (literally, “road in the middle of the mountains”). The Nakasendo made use of an ancient trade route called Kisoji, the Kiso Path. The shogunate established 69 post towns along the entire 500 km highway; 11 of these post towns were on the 80 km Kisoji. Because of strict travel restrictions, there were frequent checkpoints and guardhouses along way. Travelers had to show a kind of passport issued by the local government called tegata that contained information about the pass holder including identification, place of origin, destination, etc. Men were expected to complete the journey on the Nakasendo in 14 days, 2 nights and 3 days of which would have been in the Kiso Valley. Each of these post towns were required to keep 25-50 fresh horses and strong men on hand to do work for shogunate officials passing through.

Know the History

02

Know the Lingo

First let’s look at some features of Edo Period post towns so we know exactly what we’re looking at.

shukuba machi 宿場町 – post town
honjin 本陣 – upscale inn reserved for daimyo and their top retainers
waki-honjin 脇本陣 – sub-honjin, upscale inn reserved for high ranking samurai and wealthy merchants
toiya 問屋 – residence of a high ranking merchant acting as a middleman between the village and the shogunate
shoya 庄屋 – residence of the village headman
shukueki 宿駅 – where tired relay horses are swapped out for new ones
bansho 番所 – guardhouse for protection of the town, like a medieval police station
masugata 枡形 – square where samurai would muster before beginning their procession to the next destination or before formally entering a town
kosatsuba 高札場 – collection of signs announcing rules and punishments for violations in each town, often located near the masugata
sekisho 関所 – official checkpoint for inspecting travel documents

It’s important to remember that these towns exist in various states of preservation. This could mean anything from one or two buildings to an entire village. It could also mean there’s just a sign indicating the site of a former building.

Know the Lingo

Travel Guide

03

Know Where You Want to Go and What You Want to See

The best preserved towns are Narai-juku in the northern section of the Kiso Pass and Tsumago-juku and Magome-juku in the south. Fukushima-juku is located in the center and is partially preserved, but relatively developed as a modern town with most of the conveniences you need for daily life. The better preserved the town, the less convenient. In fact, in Narai, Tsumago, and Magome, the streets will start clearing out about an hour before sunset and every shop will close at about 4:00 pm in the colder seasons and 5:00 pm in the summer.

Know Where You Want to Go and What You Want to See

04

Go Early

If you’re heading to the best preserved towns, go early – and if you can, go on a weekday, this is the best way to beat the crowds and get lots of pictures of the town, not the tourists. If you plan to do more than one town, prioritize them carefully. Visit the one that’s most important to you first – and visit early. The best times for photos are from 8:30-10:30 and an hour before sundown. On weekends, national holidays, and long weekends especially, it can get pretty crowded – retiree photography enthusiast love these places in particular. In colder seasons, the streets will thin an hour before sunset as the temperatures drop. Most of these areas turn into ghost towns as soon as it’s dark.

If you will be taking trains to visit other post towns, starting early will buy you a little extra time. The local trains don’t use IC card technology, rather the driver will check your paper ticket manually. In addition to being infrequent, because there is always a little confusion when it comes to paying to get off the train, the lines are constantly being delayed. This can easily waste a lot of your precious sightseeing time.

Go Early

05

Bring Plenty of Cash

Whether you’re just visiting for the day or staying in an historic inn, you’ll need plenty of cash. This is really important. Very few, if any, shops, restaurants, or inns take credit cards or electronic cash. In the 3 best preserved towns, there are no convenience stores or ATM’s. For example, in Tsumago-juku, you’ll have to walk all the way to the post office ATM (potentially a 40-50 minute trek round trip depending where you’re staying), and it’s closed after 4 PM and on weekends and national holidays.

Bring Plenty of Cash

06

Take the Dinner Option

Most of the inns in Narai, Tsumago, and Magome will include breakfast in the nightly rate, but will also offer dinner for an additional cost. Skipping out on dinner might seem like a logical way to save a few bucks, but because everything shuts down so early including restaurants, you may find yourself dinner-less. Additionally, there are no supermarkets or convenience stores, so chances are the proprietors won’t have enough ingredients to cook additional meals at the last minute if you change your mind. If you stay in a semi-preserved town like Fukushima, you’ll have more options in the evening, even in the historic Ue no Dan district.

Take the Dinner Option

07

Do the Kiso 11

If you plan to walk, cycle, or visit by train all 11 Kiso post towns, for 1200 yen you can buy a wooden walking staff like the one people would have used in the Edo Period. Each town has a “branding station” where they will “brand” (woodburn) the name of the town onto your staff. The branding station hours differ, but 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM is always safe. But some are open as late as 5:00 and 6:00 PM. Stations are: the Niekawa Sekisho, the Narai Tourist Information Center, the Miyagawa Museum in Yabuhara, the Yoshinaka Yakata Museum in Miyanokoshi, the Kiso-Fukushima Station Tourist Info Center, the Yamamura Daikan Residence, Fukushima Sekisho, and Hirokoji Plaza in Fukushima, Rest House Kisoji in Agematsu, Yamato-ya in Suhara, Okuwa Village Nojiri Branch in Nojiri, the Nagiso Station Tourist Info Center in Midono, the Tsumago Tourist Info Center, Ichikoku Tochi Tateba Chaya at the Ichikoku Tochi Bansho, and the Magome Tourist Info Center. Be aware, collecting all of these is very time consuming and involves stopping at some towns where very little is preserved besides graves, shrines, temples, and the like. If you’re committed to doing the Kiso 11, be aware that it may take 3 or 4 days. Narai, Tsumago, and Magome are time consuming because the towns are very well preserved so there’s a lot to do, see, and eat there. The other towns can be done more quickly because there’s much less to see. However, keep in mind, things tend to be more obscure, more spread out, and the local trains are unpredictable.

If you decide to walk the entire Old Nakasendo, be sure to follow the signs. Most of the walk is straightforward, but some of old road has been privatized or has disappeared. Also, even though a few sections are in dispute (there may have even been multiple paths in some stretches and the route may have changed here and there over the centuries), the Kiso Path of the Edo Period is more or less still intact. That said, some sections have heavy traffic and others are dangerous to walk today, so when this happens, there is clear signage indicating detours. It’s highly recommended that you use the detours and don’t try to attempt to walk through the dangerous sections.

Do the Kiso 11

08

Enjoy an Onsen

If you lodge in Tsumago, your inn will provide you with a document that says you’re staying in the area. If you show this to the staff at Hotel Kisoji (accessible by taxi), they will give you a towel and let you use their onsen (indoor and outdoor) – 1000 yen for adults, 600 yen for kids 5-12. Also, if you do the hike on the Old Nakasendo, you can pick up a certificate commemorating the achievement at the Tourist Info Center at each town. For 100 yen, they’ll stamp your card. All proceeds go to maintaining the trail, so it’s a great way to support sustainable tourism and ensure that others can enjoy this walk through history.

Enjoy an Onsen

09

Watch Out For Bears

The forests of the Torii Pass between Narai and Niekawa and the Magome Pass between Magome and Tsumago are home to Asian black bears. Generally cautious and shy, these bears may attack if they are surprised. Although usually safe, you can bring a “bear bell” or some kind of loud jingly keychain or something to alert bears to your presence and they will avoid you. At the 4 post towns mentioned, you can also rent a “bear bell” for a small deposit which will be returned at your final destination. If you don’t feel like carrying a bell, there are bear bells posted at various locations along the Nakasendo.

Watch Out For Bears

10

Get Rid of Your Luggage

And lastly, our final bit of advice is about the most popular activity enjoyed by travelers to the Kiso Valley: walking the original Nakasendo highway between Tsumago-juku and Magome-juku. This stretch of road, the aforementioned Magome Pass, is largely intact and can be traversed exactly as people did in the Edo Period. The hike takes about 2.5 to 3 hours and is well worth it for the spectacular mountain views, waterfalls, and forests. The last thing you will want to do is lug your suitcases and bags with you. For 500 yen per bag, you can check in your stuff at the local Tourist Information Center and they will send it to the Information Center in the next post town. Actually, this sort of hands free traveling is very common in Japan and you can take advantage of Japan’s super convenient courier services just like the locals do. We actually wrote about this service before in this handy article..