By: Dave Hansche

If you haven’t read day one yet, you can find it here:  http://www.wayfarerdaves.com/?p=615

When we left off, my co-blogging friend and I had just finished a rainy hike into Tsumago-juku, an old post town on the Nakasendo road.  We took some night shots after the rain stopped, had a good dinner, and got some much needed rest.  Early the next morning, we woke up to bright sunshine and blue skies, so we got our stuff together and had a traditional Japanese breakfast of fish, rice, and miso soup.  Then we headed back toward the main part of Tsumago proper to enjoy the good weather and amazing scenery.  Even in the rain, the Kiso valley was special, but in the bright sun it was simply amazing.  We left our bags in the care of the inn keeper, grabbed our cameras, and went exploring.

As we got back to Tsumago’s merchant street, there were a few people starting to move around and a couple of the shops were just opening.  Most of the shops in Tsumago sell local handicrafts and souvenirs – many of the handicrafts being hand carved wooden toys.  There were a few shops that sold local snack foods which are popular with the Japanese as souvenirs.  Our main objective in the town, however, wasn’t to go shopping.  In addition to the old storefronts, visitors can tour the old inns that were originally reserved for the traveling Daimyu.  The Honjin, or primary inn, was torn down in the 1880s after the family who ran it relocated to Tokyo.  It was rebuilt in the original style in 1995 and opened as a museum.  The reconstruction is remarkably well done from the original plans, and it is difficult to tell that it isn’t as old as the rest of the town.  The secondary inn, or Wakihonjin, however is original and also open to the public as a museum.  In fact, the staff members offer regular tours of the grounds, and while the tours themselves aren’t usually in English, some of the staff members were happy to translate.  In addition, the town of Nagiso operates a general history museum just off the main road that displays artifacts and models from throughout the area’s history.  Lastly, a schoolhouse built in the Meiji period in the center of town has been converted into a tourism office.  For a small fee, you can get a stamped paper with the date and time that, upon arrival in Magome, can be traded for a cedar wood certificate proving that you hiked between the two post towns.  It is kind of a cool artifact that, even if you aren’t one for pictures, proves that you made the hike.

Looking back towards Tsumago from the road to Magome.

Once we’d seen all there was to see and picked up some simple provisions for the road ahead, we returned to the inn, collected our backpacks, and set off for Magome.  The hike into Tsumago wasn’t difficult, however, today’s hike is different.  Between the two post towns is Magome pass, which basically means that to get from one to the other on foot, one has to go over a mountain.  The trail itself is well maintained and doesn’t have any parts that are super steep, but the trail does gain about 400m (~1300 feet) in altitude by the time it reaches the top of the pass.  Even so, it was completely worth the effort.  The mountain air was fresh, the scenery was spectacular, and the trail passed by many points of interest along the way.  There are the Odaki and Medaki Waterfalls that according to a famous novel, the great samurai Miyamoto Musashi visited during his travels.  Near the summit, there is an old tea house that once served as a contraband checkpoint and rest area for travelers on the road.  Today, it still serves as a rest stop, with tea, small snacks, and a warm fire in the winter for weary travelers who wish to rest for a few minutes.  The building itself dates from the mid-1700s.

The Tateba Tea House which serves as a rest area for travelers between Tsumago and Magome. It sits a short distance before the summit of Magome pass.
Picture by D. Krigbaum

Finally, we made it through the pass and down the other side, crossed into Gifu prefecture, and reached Magome-juku.   Unfortunately, while Magome also has museums in some of the old buildings, we arrived too late to see them.  Instead, we had a late lunch at one of the few food shops that wasn’t closing down, took some final pictures, and headed for the bus stop at the bottom of the hill.  As the sun set, we got on the bus and left the Nakasendo and the Kiso Valley behind us and moved on to our next adventure.

The two days I spent hiking around Kisoji and the Nakasendo trail were amazing, but I still feel there is unfinished business for me there.  I couldn’t see the museums in Magome.  There is a preserved farm house a short distance off of the trail in Otsumago, one of the oldest in Nagano prefecture, which I didn’t find out about until after the trip.  Most of all, I know there are other preserved post towns, like Narai and even part of Kiso city itself further north, and the trail continued south from Magome.  It seems that most of the old post towns still have small echoes of the old days that remain, though those remaining threads still fade with time.  That is why it is great to see old towns like Tsumago, where an entire community bands together to preserve their history.  Places like this are not just beautiful and interesting to visit.  They are important for us as a people to understand where we came from.  That is why I love history and why I have to hike the Kisoji trail again.  I want to see all that remains of this ancient trail and the old towns that it ran through.  Perhaps one day I will do just that.  In the meantime, I will be satisfied that I at least saw this much.

Looking back up the trail in Magome. We arrived too late to see any of the museums, but it was still a beautiful place to walk at sunset.

Note:  As mentioned in Day 1, Kisoji refers to an ancient trade road that ran through eleven post towns along the Kiso Valley, ending in Magome.  In the Edo period (1600~1867) Kisoji was incorporated in the larger Nakasendo road that linked Edo (now Tokyo) Nagano and then eventually Kyoto.  The Kisoji road is one of the best preserved sections of the old Nakasendo road and is popular with all who are looking for an authentic Edo period experience.

Also, Thanks to my co-blogger, David Krigbaum for letting me add a few of his pictures in with mine.