Walking The Nakasendo

Nakatsugawa-juku to Magome-juku

Justin Dart Jul 25, 2012 - 1 min read

Signs indicating the district and directions to the next district.

The 390-year old Hazama Sake Brewing company at the entrance to Nakatsugawa-juku.

Down a small road around the back of Hazama sake brewery.

The Shirogiya has photos of locations along the Nakasendo in Nakatsugawa-juku.

Kawakamiya Wagashi sells chestnut based Japanese sweets, a speciality of Nakatsugawa.

The Ogha Sake Brewing company also sells alcohol from around Japan and the world.

Udatsu Houses of Shitamachi in Nakatsugawa-juku.

The Nakasendo History Musuem offers images, hanga and text from the Edo period.

Display of Nakatsugawa-juku in Nishi Shin Machi.

Wooden maps showing the old city line the Nakasendo in Nakatsugawa.

A hiker on the Cobble stone section of the Nakasendo between Ochiai and Magome

Cobble stone section of the Nakasendo 90-minutes walk from Nakatsugawa station.

The waterwheel in Magome, a symbol of this mountain side community.

Before highways and the train system, one way people traveled from Kyoto to Edo (modern day Tokyo) was via the Nakasendo; a road that went through the center of Japan. Over 100 years later, you can still walk the Nakasendo. A popular hike is on a section between Nakatsugawa-juku in modern day Nakatsugawa City and the mountain top village of Magome. This 3 hour hike includes a preserved section of the cobblestone road.

Justin Dart @justin.dart

I am a country boy transplanted from Wisconsin in the USA to central Gifu Prefecture.The main focus of my life in Japan has been to introduce people to the world and the world to local communities and culture through international exchanges and educational programs. My hope is that people will ha...