After a quick night’s sleep in our pods, we started our day on Japan’s famous Shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagoya. The Shinkansen travels at a maximum speed of nearly 200 miles per hour and although we took one of these bullet trains to Nikko a few days ago, the route we took today is one of the fastest in the country and a bucket list item for us. As the world whizzed by we were hopeful to see Mount Fuji and were greeted with a beautiful weather to clearly see the iconic mountain. Mount Fuji is visible less than 50% of the time, so we were lucky to have such a great view. If you ever visit Japan and take the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagoya, be sure to sit on the right hand side of the train for the striking mountain views.

After taking an additional local train and shuttle from our wonderful hosts for this evening (more on this later), we started the historic Nakasendo Route trail. The Naksendo is an old 340-mile route that connected modern-day Tokyo with Kyoto during the Edo period (1603 – 1868), used as a walking pathway by feudal lords, shoguns, samurai, geishas, and other travelers. The route traverses over mountain ranges and through river valleys and was dotted with many post towns along the way to serve the travelers.

Today, while most of the original route has been lost or paved over by modern roads, parts of the original pathways remain. We walked one of the most well-preserved sections of the route today: Magome-Juku to Nagiso over the Magome Pass. Pathways are made up of the original cobblestone as well as some pavement, bare earth, and various other materials. Along the route several of the post towns remain, with original structures, transporting hikers back in time. Many of the people living in the homes along the route welcome visitors and provide free water, or offer a friendly “Konnichiwa” to the passersby. One of the most popular stops is a tea house offering free tea and a place to rest for travelers. Outside is a chalk board with flags and tick marks representing the number of visitors from each country that stopped for tea that day. In addition to the historic towns we came across waterfalls, bamboo forests, rivers, and more fun and interesting wildlife including a cat with her young kitten, a praying mantis that tried to hitchhike on our backpacks and a macaque!

We ended our day at the post town of Nagiso. Tonight we are staying in the home of a welcoming older couple who operate traditional Japanese accommodations for one group per night out of their home. Their home is nestled in the woods 15 minutes from the Nakasendo Route and overlooks a beautiful waterfall – it is one of the most peaceful places we have ever been. They cooked an amazing traditional Japanese dinner for us while we oriented ourselves with their traditions and relaxed in the onsens (natural Japanese bathing facilities) overlooking the waterfalls. If you catch the bug of hiking the Nakasendo Trail near Tsumago-juku or Nagiso, staying at Takimi Onsen Inn is an unforgettable experience.

While we will not be hiking the entire 340 miles, we are looking forward to our second of three days along the Nakasendo Route tomorrow.