6-day Central Japan + Samurai Trail Walking Tour

The 6-day itinerary, focusing on the mountain areas of central Honshu (本州中部), includes:

• Arrive Nagoya 名古屋

• Nakatsugawa 中津川 to Naegi Castle Ruins 苗木城跡, night tour Nakatsugawa-juku (24,000 steps)

• Walk the Nakasendo(中山道) "Samurai Trail" section of Magome-Tsumago-Nagiso 馬籠-妻籠-南木曾 (28,000 steps)

• Kiso to "Samurai trail" section of Yobuhara-Narai, then to Suwa 木曾-藪原-奈良井-諏訪 (23,000 steps)

• Tour Suwa, train ride back to Nagoya 諏訪-名古屋 (23,000 steps)

• Visit Nagoya sites: Nagoya Castle, Atsuta Jingu, Noritake Garden, Aeon Mall, Toyota Museum (23,000 steps)

Walking the Nakasendo (the Samurai trail) was the main purpose of the trip. So lots of walking!!! With near and around city attractions, we took metros or buses. For inter-city long distance travel, we took trains. Currently with the excellent exchange rate, Japan is an inexpensive destination. The 6-day trip totals $600 USD per person, including in-country transportation, lodging, food, tickets, shopping. Our airfare from Taiwan is less than $400 USD per person.

First, understand trains in Japan

Japanese trains are clean, safe, and mostly on time. We enjoyed our train rides in Japan, but as a foreigner, I must warn you that train traveling in Japan can be complicated. The railway lines in Japan are not operated by a single company. 80% of the railroads belong to the JR Group - which includes 6 subsidiaries (Hokkaido, East Japan, Central Japan, West Japan, Shikoku, Kyushu). Buying a JR Pass can ride on any JR trains. The other 20% are owned by private companies, some operate just a single line, while others manage larger networks. For each major metropolitan areas, there could be many private companies.

In a train station, Nagoya for example, there are multiple train operating companies in the station. When reading the visual maps above any ticket-vending machine around Japan you will notice that some lines headed in the same direction have different prices. It is because each company has its own price list. It is important to know the price for your destination since you buy a ticket by choosing the price on the screen, not the destination (see photo: upper left).

The trains are further classified: Shinkansen (Super Express, bullet train), Express, Rapid, Local, Special. They use the Kanji "急“ (fast) to represent different speeds (see photo: upper right), literally they are "super-fast", "rapid-fast", "fast-journey", and "standard-fast". You got it, right?

So, prepare yourself before walking into a Japanese train station. You need to know where you are going, which company's train you are taking, how to buy the ticket, and which entrance to use for your platform. I recommend getting a training from this comprehensive website: https://www.jrailpass.com/blog/japanese-trains With a little preparation, you will do well. Happy train traveling!

Highlights of the trip

Day 1: Chubu Centrair International Airport (中部国際空港)

This airport is on an artificial island in Ise Bay, Tokoname City in Aichi Prefecture, 35 km (22 mi) south of Nagoya in central Japan. If you have some time after landing, or a long layover, you can visit some unique features of this airport:

• Sky Town Shopping Center is on the fourth floor of Terminal 1, accessible to the general public, with 61 shops and restaurants, organized into two "streets", Renga-dori and Chochin-yokocho. The Chochin-yokocho shops are individually themed to have an authentic Japanese look.

• A Seattle-themed retail complex called "Flight of Dreams" opened in 2018, with the first-ever prototype Boeing 787 Dreamliner as a display centerpiece. Boeing started in Seattle and many of its planes are still built in the area. Some components of the Boeing 787 are manufactured in Japan and are flown out of the airport to Seattle for final assembly.

• The fastest "μSky Limited Express" service connects the airport to Meitetsu Nagoya Station in 28 minutes.

Day 2: Exploring the Naegi Castle Ruins 苗木城跡

At Nakatsugawa bus station (in front of the city hall), take bus #1 to "Naegi" bus stop. It takes 15min and costs 380Y. From here to the castle, you will walk 1.5km to the south thru a rural residential area (pretty flat) and tranquil forests (mild hills).

The castle belonged to the Toyama clan who were lords over this area going back to the 1200's. Naegi Castle itself was built in 1532. In 1583 the Toyama lost control of Naegi Castle in an attack by Mori Nagayoshi, and Kawajiri Hidenaga became the new castle lord. Kawajiri died at the Battle of Sekigahara and Naegi Castle was returned to the Toyama clan who continued to rule for 12 generations until the Meiji Restoration. The castle was dismantled in 1871.

In the Edo Period, many mountaintop castles were abandoned in favor of building more accessible castles, but the Toyama clan kept their family castle over generations. The castle deftly makes use of many of the natural rock outcroppings and boulders found on the mountain. Also note that the buildings have a reddish tint to them. They did not coat the clay walls with white plaster earning the castle the nickname of "Red Wall Castle" (Akakabe-jo).

Naegi Castle occupies a very unusual layout on a bluff called "Mount Takamori" (432 meters) overlooking the Kiso River and the Nakasendō highway. This was a very strategic location, as it controlled both land and river routes between Owari Province and Mino Province.

Day 3: Walking the Nakasendo: Magome-Tsumago-Nagiso 中山道 馬籠-妻籠-南木曾

Nakasendo (the Samurai trail)

The Nakasendō (中山道, Central Mountain Route), also called the Kisokaidō (木曾街道), was one of the centrally administered five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected the de facto capital of Japan at Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto. There were 69 juku (stations or staging-posts) between Edo and Kyoto, crossing through Musashi, Kōzuke, Shinano, Mino and Ōmi provinces. In addition to Tokyo and Kyoto, the Nakasendō runs through the modern-day prefectures of Saitama, Gunma, Nagano, Gifu and Shiga, with a total distance of about 534 km (332 mi).

Unlike the coastal Tōkaidō, the Nakasendō traveled inland, hence its name, which can be translated as "中 = central; 山 = mountain; 道 = route" (as opposed to the Tōkaidō, which roughly meant "eastern sea route").

Much of the Nakasendō no longer exists in its historic form, its route is now roughly followed by modern roads and rail roads. Only a few stretches remain in its original form. Three sections in Nagano Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture have been accorded National Historic Site of Japan status by the central government in 1987. These include the section between Wada-shuku and Wada Pass, the section between Shiojiri-juku and Midono-juku, and the section between Tsumago-juku and Magome-juku.

We walked the most well-known section in the Kiso Valley, between Magome-juku and Tsumago-juku . The area was first made famous by the early 20th-century writer Shimazaki Tōson, who chronicled the effects of the Meiji Restoration on the valley in his landmark novel Before the Dawn. This 8 km section of the Nakasendō can still be travelled along comfortably by foot, and both Magome-juku and Tusmago-juku have preserved and restored the traditional architecture. The walk between the historical post towns requires two to three hours to walk, with forests, restored paving and fine views of waterfalls along the way. From Tsumago-Juku, we decided to walk another hour (3.5 km) to the town of Nagiso for the night.

Day 4: The quint town of Narai-juku 奈良井宿

On the 4th day of our trip, we took the northbound train from Kiso, to Narai, and to Suwa. My brother and sister-in-law, with 40-litre backpack each, decided to get off at Yubuhara (5 kilometers south of Narai), in order to hike another section of the Nakasendo. Unlike the popular Magone-Tsumago trail, there is no porter service to send my backpack to our next stop Suwa. Well, it was a perfect downtime for me to unwind and enjoy a leisurely walk of Narai-juku, while waiting for them to finish the hike.

Narai-juku had the highest elevation of all the spots along the Kisoji. Because of all the visitors going through the Torii Pass (鳥居峠 Torii Tōge), Narai flourished as a post town and was referred to as the "Narai of 1,000 buildings" (奈良井千軒 Narai senken). It has since become one of Japan's Nationally Designated Architectural Preservation Sites, so the buildings have been kept much like they originally were in the Edo period.

Narai-juku is an Important Preservation District for Groups of Historic Buildings, and as it retains a historical row of Edo period houses along the street, it was confirmed as a Cultural Asset in the Groups of Traditional Buildings category of Cultural Properties of Japan in 1978. The preservation area comprises an area of approximately 1km from north to south and 200m east to west along the boundary of the old Nakasendō route.

Day 5: The Mountain Lake Suwa

Lake Suwa (諏訪湖, Suwa-ko) is a lake in the Kiso Mountains, in the central region of Nagano Prefecture. It is the site of a natural phenomenon known as the "God's Crossing" (御神渡り, o-miwatari), large cracks that form in the winter across the surface of the frozen lake. A vertical temperature gradient results in ice pressure ridges forming in the surface ice, reaching heights of 30 centimeters (1 ft) or more.

Local Shinto tradition holds that the ridges are formed by the gods crossing the lake when traveling between the various buildings of the Suwa Grand Shrine. Folklore says it is the guardian god of Suwa, Takeminakata-no-kami, leaving his sanctuary to meet with his wife, the goddess Yasakatome, joining the opposite bank by walking on frozen water. The record of this crossing is the oldest-known human-observed climate record. This record has been used by scientists to study the impact of sunspots, human development and anthropogenic CO2 emissions on lake ice formation.

The lake has a natural hot spring under its surface. Recreational development in the 1950s resulted in increased output from this underwater geyser. There are many neighborhood hot spring bathhouses that require memberships to use. However in the park by the lake, public hot spring foot-spas are available for everyone to enjoy and relax. Suwa is a hilly town. It is so wonderful to use the foot spa after a long strenuous walk around the town.

Day 6: Nagoya: The 3-5-7 Celebration at Atsuta Jingu

Although the current buildings were completed in 1966, Atsuta-jingu has been a shrine for over 1900 years and is one of the most sacred Shintō shrines in Japan. Nestled among ancient cypresses, it houses the sacred kusanagi-no-tsurugi (grass-cutting sword), one of three regalia that, according to legend, were presented to the imperial family by the sun goddess Amaterasu. There's a changing collection of more than 4000 Tokugawa-era swords, masks and paintings on display in the treasure Hall.

We arrived the Atsuta Jingu shrine without knowing the big 3-5-7 blessing was happening that day. What a surprise!! Little boys and girls wearing the traditional kimonos were everywhere! I was very busy photographing the adorable moments. "3-5-7" refers to the ages of three, five, and seven, which are celebrated in a traditional festival called "Shichi-Go-San" (literally 7-5-3) where families mark significant milestones in their children's growth and development by visiting a shrine dressed in special attire, usually kimonos, at these ages.

• Meaning of the ages:

  • Three: Often considered the end of toddlerhood for both boys and girls.

  • Five: Primarily celebrated for boys, signifying a step towards manhood by sometimes wearing their first hakama pants.

  • Seven: Mainly celebrated for girls, marking their transition into young womanhood by wearing obi sashes to tie their kimonos like adults.

• Celebration details:

  • Visiting a shrine: Families typically visit a Shinto shrine to pray for their children's health and well-being.

  • Traditional attire: Children are dressed in special kimonos (girls) or hakama (boys).

  • Photography: Taking commemorative photos is a common practice.

The lodging options in Japan

Capsule Hotel - Nine Hour 9H Hotel in Nagoya. Men & Women in separate floors, lockers for belongings, and shared bathrooms.

Ryokan (traditional Japanese hotel with tatami floor), Nakatsugawa

Onsen hotel in Kiso, with 3 beds, common hot spring bathhouse, laundry facility, and breakfast.

B&B on a hard-to-find residential area in Suwa, 2-story house with 2 bedroom, 1 bath, kitchen, living/dining room

Toyoko Inn 東橫INN Nagoya, small but adequate, breakfast included, a moderate priced chain hotel across Japan.

Eating inexpensively in Japan

In 2023, $1 USD = Y150 Yen. You can easily get any type of food in Japan without breaking the bank. We often get freshly made sushi/sashimi pack at the supermarket for about $3.5. How can you beat that? Even in the very touristy areas, you can always find a fulfilling meal under $10.

In Nagoya, don't forget to find a EEL specialty restaurant. Yes, there's only one thing on the menu: roasted-eel-over-rice. We had a set meal (eel, rice, soup, and a small dish of pickle) for about Y4000 (less than $27 USD), no tip needed. The eel was perfectly roaster in their special sauce. Where can you get the quality and bargain price in the US?