Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Japan: the Nakasendo and the Kiso Valley
8 days from Tokyo to Kanazawa: Matsumoto Castle, a night in Narai, Nakasendo walks with your suitcase in our vehicle, two nights in a Tsumago minshuku, Takayama and Shirakawa-go.
8 days · Tokyo to Kanazawa · up to 12 guests
The Nakasendo through Magome-juku, where the Magome to Tsumago walk begins Photo: DimiTalen, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Looking_down_the_Nakasend%C5%8D_in_the_northern_part_of_the_village,_Magome-juku,_Nakatsugawa,_2016.jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 8 days, 7 nights
- Start and end
- Tokyo to Kanazawa
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Moderate
A walking trip at a steady pace. Two walking days of 3 to 5 hours with stops and lunch: about 6 km from Narai over the Torii Pass to Yabuhara, with about 260 m of climbing to 1,197 m, and about 8 km from Magome to Tsumago, about 200 m up and 380 m down. A short morning walk of about 3.5 km to Nagiso, and 3 to 6 km on foot in towns on most other days. Paths are old stone paving, forest track and village lanes. Our vehicle can take you round any stage, or to the Magome Pass road to shorten the second walk.
- Meals included
- 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 4 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 1,045 (estimated price)
- Season
- April to May and late September to November
Highlights
Why this trip
- Matsumoto Castle at the 8:30 opening, before the tour groups, climbing the original wooden stairs of a National Treasure keep
- A night in Narai-juku, with its kilometre-long street of wooden inns to yourselves once the day visitors leave
- Over the Torii Pass from Narai to Yabuhara on stone paving and forest path, with your suitcase going ahead in our vehicle
- Magome to Tsumago, the best-known 8 km of the Nakasendo, past two waterfalls and an old teahouse
- Two nights in a family-run minshuku in Tsumago, with Kiso home cooking and an empty street at dawn
- Takayama's morning market and the Jinya at opening, then a farewell dinner of Hida beef
- Shirakawa-go's thatched farmhouses before the coaches, and Kenroku-en in Kanazawa on the last afternoon
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 1,045 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Tokyo
Tokyo Haneda or Narita airport to your hotel near Shinjuku station
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Tokyo
- Drive about 1 h
Fly into Tokyo Haneda (HND) or Narita (NRT), where our driver meets you in arrivals for the drive to your hotel near Shinjuku station: about 45 minutes from Haneda, closer to 90 from Narita.
Morning
We stay by Shinjuku because tomorrow's train to the mountains leaves from there, so the morning starts with a short walk rather than a cross-city transfer with suitcases.
Afternoon
The afternoon is yours to rest or take a first look at the city: the free observation decks of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building are a few minutes' walk away, and the narrow lanes of Omoide Yokocho, beside the station, fill with grill smoke as the light goes. At 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a briefing on the week: how the walking days work, what goes in your daypack, how your suitcase travels ahead of you, and how to behave in a minshuku and its bath.
Evening
Then we walk to a welcome dinner at an izakaya nearby.
Included
- Pick-up at Tokyo Haneda (HND) or Narita (NRT) airport
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner at an izakaya near Shinjuku
Free time: Free until the 6 pm briefing
Activity: Land by about 3 pm to make the briefing comfortably; the latest arrival time is confirmed with your final itinerary.
By train to Matsumoto
Tokyo (Shinjuku) by the Azusa limited express to Matsumoto
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Matsumoto
- By train
Morning
After breakfast we walk to Shinjuku station for the Azusa limited express, about two hours and forty minutes to Matsumoto, with reserved seats. The line runs west past Hachioji, through the vineyards of the Kofu basin and up into Nagano, with the Southern Alps and the Yatsugatake peaks off to the side on a clear day. Our own vehicle and driver meet us at Matsumoto station and stay with the group to the end of the trip; from here your suitcase rides with them.
Afternoon
Lunch is Shinshu soba, the buckwheat noodles this mountain prefecture is known for. In the afternoon your guide walks you through Nakamachi, a street of old storehouses with white plaster walls and black-and-white tiled lattice, and across the Metoba River to Nawate, a lane of small stalls by a shrine. The castle waits until tomorrow's opening, when it is quiet. The rest of the day is free: Matsumoto is the hometown of the artist Yayoi Kusama, and the city art museum holds a large collection of her work.
Included
- Azusa limited express from Shinjuku to Matsumoto, reserved seats
- Soba lunch in Matsumoto
- Nakamachi and Nawate streets with your guide
Optional experiences
- Matsumoto City Museum of Art
Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Matsumoto
Activity: About 3 km on foot on flat town streets.
Matsumoto Castle at opening, a night in Narai
Matsumoto Castle, then south to Kiso-Hirasawa and Narai-juku
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Narai
- Drive about 1.5 h
We are at Matsumoto Castle for the 8:30 opening, ahead of the tour groups. Its keep, completed in the 1590s and one of five castle keeps listed as National Treasures, is black-lacquered wood above a broad moat, and inside it is original: steep wooden stairs, gun ports, a hidden floor and, at the top, views across the city to the Northern Alps. Our vehicle then takes us about an hour south through Shiojiri to the head of the Kiso Valley and Narai-juku, the 34th of the 69 post towns on the Nakasendo, the inland road between Edo and Kyoto. Its single street of dark wooden inns and shops runs for about a kilometre, which earned it the name Narai of a thousand houses.
Afternoon
After lunch in Narai we hop a few minutes to Kiso-Hirasawa, a town of lacquerware makers, to visit a workshop. Back in Narai, the day visitors leave by late afternoon, and your guide walks you down the empty street to the Kiso Ohashi, an arched bridge of local cypress.
Evening
Dinner is at our inn.
Included
- Matsumoto Castle at opening with your guide
- Drive to Narai-juku
- Lunch in Narai
- Lacquer workshop visit in Kiso-Hirasawa
- Late-afternoon walk along Narai's street to the Kiso Ohashi bridge
- Dinner at the inn in Narai
Free time: Free hour before dinner in Narai
Activity: The castle stairs are steep and narrow, almost ladders in places; you can stay on the lower floors.
Over the Torii Pass to Yabuhara, on to Tsumago
Walk Narai to Yabuhara over the Torii Pass, then drive by Kiso-Fukushima to Tsumago
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Tsumago
- Drive about 1.5 h
The first walk. Your suitcase goes ahead in our vehicle, and we leave Narai at about 8:30 with a daypack, from the shrine at the south end of town onto the old road. The path climbs steadily through cedar and larch, partly on old stone paving, past stone markers and a spring to the Torii Pass at about 1,197 m, the highest point on the Kiso stretch of the Nakasendo. Its name comes from a torii gate set up here facing Mount Ontake, a sacred peak you can see across the valleys on a clear day. The descent to Yabuhara-juku, a post town known for combs carved from local wood, is gentler. It is about 6 km, two and a half to three hours with stops; ring the bells hung along the trail to warn bears you are coming.
Afternoon
The vehicle meets us at Yabuhara for the half hour to Kiso-Fukushima, where we have lunch and visit the site of the Fukushima Sekisho, one of the main checkpoints on Edo-period roads. Then it is about an hour down the valley to Tsumago for two nights in a family-run minshuku, and a walk along the street after the coaches have gone.
Included
- Walk the Nakasendo from Narai to Yabuhara over the Torii Pass with your guide (about 6 km)
- Sit-down lunch in Kiso-Fukushima
- Fukushima Sekisho checkpoint site
- Evening walk along Tsumago's street
- Minshuku dinner in Tsumago
Easier option: Skip the climb: explore Narai at your own pace in the morning and ride round through the Torii tunnel with the vehicle to meet the walkers at Yabuhara.
Free time: Evening free in Tsumago
Activity: About 6 km with about 260 m of steady climbing on stone paving and forest path, then a gentler descent.
Magome to Tsumago
Tsumago by road to Magome-juku, then walk the Nakasendo back to Tsumago
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Tsumago
- Drive about 30 min
Our vehicle takes us about 25 minutes over the hill to Magome-juku for a 9 am start, ahead of the day-trip coaches, on the best-known stretch of the Nakasendo. Magome sits on a ridge, and its stone-paved street climbs past water wheels, inns and shops; near the top a viewpoint looks out over the valley to Mount Ena.
Morning
The novelist Shimazaki Toson, whose Before the Dawn is set here, was born in Magome, and the Toson Memorial Museum stands on the site of his family's inn. From the top of town the trail climbs gently to the Magome Pass at 801 m, then runs mostly downhill through forest and hamlets, past the Odaki and Medaki waterfalls and the old tateba teahouse at Ichikokutochi, where volunteers serve green tea when it is open. It is about 8 km, three to three and a half hours with stops.
Afternoon
Lunch is in Tsumago, then your guide takes you round the Waki-honjin Okuya, an inn for travelling officials rebuilt in cypress in 1877. In 1971 Tsumago's residents agreed not to sell, rent or pull down their old houses, which is why the street still looks as it does.
Evening
The afternoon and evening are free.
Included
- Magome-juku and the Toson Memorial Museum
- Walk the Nakasendo from Magome to Tsumago over the Magome Pass with your guide (about 8 km)
- Sit-down lunch in Tsumago
- Waki-honjin Okuya with your guide
- Minshuku dinner in Tsumago
Easier option: Ride to the Magome Pass road and walk only the mostly downhill 5 km to Tsumago.
More active option: Start an hour earlier at Ochiai-juku and walk the old stone paving up to Magome first, about 4 km more.
Free time: Afternoon and evening free in Tsumago
Activity: About 8 km, about 200 m up to the pass and 380 m down, on stone paving, forest path and quiet lanes.
Down to Nagiso, over the hills to Takayama
Walk Tsumago to Nagiso, then drive by Route 256, Gero and Route 41 to Takayama
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Takayama
- Drive about 2.5 h
Morning
Early morning is the best time in Tsumago: the street is empty and the first light comes over the ridge onto the wooden fronts. After breakfast we walk the last stretch of the Nakasendo on this trip, about 3.5 km and an hour to an hour and a half, from Tsumago over a low rise and down through the houses of Nagiso to the Kiso River. Our vehicle meets us by the Momosuke Bridge, a long wooden suspension bridge from 1922 just north of Nagiso station. From Nagiso we drive west over the hills on Route 256 and north up the Hida River on Route 41 to Takayama, about 120 km and two and a half hours with a stop.
Afternoon
Lunch is on the way in Gero, a hot spring town with free public foot baths. We reach Takayama mid-afternoon. Your guide walks you through Sanmachi Suji, three parallel lanes of dark-timbered merchant houses, to a sake brewery marked by a ball of cedar branches over the door, for a tasting.
Evening
The evening is free in Takayama.
Included
- Walk the Nakasendo from Tsumago to Nagiso with your guide (about 3.5 km)
- Momosuke Bridge in Nagiso
- Sit-down lunch in Gero
- Sanmachi Suji old town walk with your guide
- Sake tasting at a Takayama brewery
Easier option: Ride from Tsumago to Nagiso with the vehicle and the suitcases.
Free time: Evening free in Takayama
Activity: About 3.5 km on foot in the morning, mostly level then downhill on lanes and path.
Takayama: the market, the Jinya and a free afternoon
A day on foot in Takayama
- Breakfast and dinner
- Stay in Takayama
A slow day in one place.
Morning
Before breakfast, walk down to the Miyagawa morning market along the river, where farmers set out mountain vegetables, pickles, miso and sweets from about 7 am. At 8:45 we are at the door of Takayama Jinya when it opens: the government house from which officials of the shogun ran the Hida region after 1692, with its rice storehouse, tatami halls and courtyard garden. From there your guide takes you across the old town to Sakurayama Hachiman-gu and the Takayama Festival Floats Exhibition Hall, where some of the town's carved and lacquered festival floats, wheeled out each spring and autumn, are on show between festivals.
Afternoon
Lunch is on your own: try Hida beef on a skewer from a street stall or a bowl of Takayama ramen. The afternoon is free. You might walk the Higashiyama course past temples on the wooded hillside east of town, or visit Hida no Sato, an open-air museum of farmhouses moved here from the mountains.
Evening
In the evening we sit down together to a farewell dinner of Hida beef.
Included
- Miyagawa morning market with your guide
- Takayama Jinya at opening
- Sakurayama Hachiman-gu and the Takayama Festival Floats Exhibition Hall
- Farewell Hida beef dinner
Optional experiences
- Hida no Sato open-air museum
More active option: Walk the Higashiyama course, a loop of about 3.5 km past a dozen temples and shrines on the hillside, with your guide's map.
Free time: Afternoon free in Takayama
Activity: About 4 km on foot around town, on flat streets.
Shirakawa-go and Kanazawa
Takayama to Shirakawa-go, then Kanazawa, ending at Kanazawa station
- Breakfast and lunch
- Drive about 2 h
We leave Takayama at 8 am and take the expressway west, about 50 minutes, to Shirakawa-go, so we arrive before most of the coaches. Ogimachi, the main village, is part of the Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama, listed by UNESCO in 1995 for their gassho-zukuri farmhouses: steep thatched roofs built to shed heavy snow, with attic floors once used to raise silkworms. We give it about two hours: the Shiroyama viewpoint above the village, a walk down among the houses and a visit inside the Wada House, one of the largest.
Afternoon
It is then about an hour and a quarter to Kanazawa, where lunch is at Omicho Market, the city's food market since the Edo period, with seafood from the Sea of Japan. After an hour for lunch, your guide takes you through Kenroku-en for about an hour and a half: ponds, stone lanterns and old pines shaped by the Maeda lords, one of the three great gardens of Japan. The trip ends at Kanazawa station at about 4 pm. The Hokuriku Shinkansen reaches Tokyo in about two and a half to three hours, and Kyoto in a little over two hours with a change at Tsuruga.
Included
- Shirakawa-go: the Shiroyama viewpoint, Ogimachi village and the Wada House
- Sit-down lunch at Omicho Market, Kanazawa
- Kenroku-en with your guide
- Drop-off at Kanazawa station
Activity: Do not book a flight home today. Plan an evening train to Tokyo or Kyoto and fly the next day, or stay on in Kanazawa.
- Tokyo1 night
- Matsumoto1 night
- Narai1 night
- Tsumago2 nights
- Takayama2 nights
- Kanazawaend
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: April and May bring fresh green and mild walking weather; from late October to mid-November the Kiso Valley maples turn. June to mid-July is the rainy season, and July and August are hot and humid, a little cooler in the valley. From December to March the Torii Pass can be under snow, so the trip runs from April to November.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Walkers happy with 6 to 8 km a day on old stone paving and forest paths
- Travellers who want to sleep in the post towns, not just pass through them
- People who want the Nakasendo without planning buses, luggage couriers and inns
- Solo travellers who want company on the trail
- Repeat visitors to Japan, or anyone pairing it with our Kumano Kodo walk
Not for you if you want
- Travellers who want sightseeing with little walking
- Anyone who needs step-free access: castles, inns and trails mean steep stairs and steps
- Travellers who need a Western bed and private bathroom every night
- A first look at Tokyo and Kyoto: only the arrival night is in Tokyo, and Kyoto is not on the route
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
7 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Tokyo1 night
- Matsumoto1 night
- Narai1 night
- Tsumago2 nights
- Takayama2 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 7 nights: 1 in Tokyo near Shinjuku station, 1 in Matsumoto, 1 at a traditional inn in Narai, 2 at a family-run minshuku in Tsumago, 2 in Takayama
- Tatami rooms with futons in Narai and Tsumago, with baths usually shared
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at Tokyo Haneda (HND) or Narita (NRT) airport
- Azusa limited express from Shinjuku to Matsumoto with reserved seats
- Our own vehicle and driver from Matsumoto station on day 2 to Kanazawa station on day 8, meeting the group at each trailhead and trail end
- Your suitcase carried ahead to each inn on walking days, so you walk with a daypack
- Drop-off at Kanazawa station
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide for the whole trip, who walks every stage with the group
- The same driver from Matsumoto to Kanazawa
Activities
- Nakamachi and Nawate streets in Matsumoto
- Matsumoto Castle at opening
- Narai-juku and the Kiso Ohashi bridge
- Lacquer workshop visit in Kiso-Hirasawa
- Nakasendo walks: Narai to Yabuhara over the Torii Pass, Magome to Tsumago over the Magome Pass, Tsumago to Nagiso
- Fukushima Sekisho checkpoint site in Kiso-Fukushima
- Toson Memorial Museum in Magome
- Waki-honjin Okuya in Tsumago
- Momosuke Bridge in Nagiso
- Sanmachi Suji and a sake tasting in Takayama
- Miyagawa morning market, Takayama Jinya and the Festival Floats Exhibition Hall
- Shirakawa-go and the Wada House
- Omicho Market and Kenroku-en in Kanazawa
Meals
- Breakfast daily (7)
- 6 lunches, sit-down on every walking and travel day
- Welcome dinner in Tokyo
- Inn dinner in Narai
- 2 minshuku dinners in Tsumago
- Farewell Hida beef dinner in Takayama
Not included
- International flights to Tokyo and home
- The onward train from Kanazawa
- A visa or travel authorisation, if your passport needs one
- Travel insurance, which must cover walking
- Dinners on days 2 and 6 and lunch on day 7
- Drinks, beyond the sake tasting
- Optional entries: Matsumoto City Museum of Art, Hida no Sato
- Tips (not expected in Japan)
- Laundry and personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 1,045 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Seven nights in hotels and traditional inns, including two in a Tsumago minshuku, 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 5 dinners, your See Sight Tours guide, an airport pick-up in Tokyo, reserved seats to Matsumoto, our own vehicle and driver from Matsumoto to Kanazawa carrying your suitcase, and every entry in the day plan, from Matsumoto Castle to Kenroku-en.
How fit do I need to be to walk the Nakasendo?
Fit enough to walk 8 km in a morning with a few hundred metres of climbing. The two walking days are about 6 km over the Torii Pass and 8 km from Magome to Tsumago, each 3 to 5 hours with stops and lunch, on stone paving and forest path. Our vehicle can shorten either day.
Do I have to carry my luggage between the post towns?
No. From Matsumoto our own vehicle and driver carry your suitcase ahead to each inn while you walk with a daypack, and the vehicle meets the group at every trailhead and trail end. On day 2 your suitcase travels with you on the train from Tokyo.
How big is the group and who leads it?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests, led by a See Sight Tours guide who travels with you from Tokyo to Kanazawa and walks every stage. We name your guide when we confirm your departure.
What is a minshuku, and will I have my own bathroom?
A minshuku is a family-run guesthouse. In Tsumago and Narai you sleep on futons in a tatami room and eat a home-cooked dinner and breakfast at the inn. Baths are usually shared and separated by gender, and some toilets may be shared. Hotels in Tokyo, Matsumoto and Takayama have private bathrooms.
I am travelling solo. What is the single supplement?
A room of your own is from CAD 1,045 more, about 17% of the trip price, shown up front. Inns in Narai and Tsumago charge per person and have few single rooms, which is why it is not lower. If you are happy to share, ask when you book and we tell you whether a same-gender roommate is available.
When is the best time to walk the Nakasendo?
April to May and late September to November, when walking weather is mild; the Kiso Valley maples turn from late October to mid-November. June to mid-July is the rainy season, July and August are hot and humid, and the Torii Pass can be under snow from December to March.
Are there bears on the Nakasendo trail?
Yes, Asian black bears live in the Kiso forests, though walkers rarely see them. Bells hang along the trail for you to ring as you pass, and your guide checks local bear advisories each morning and switches to a lower or shorter route if a section is closed.
Do I need a visa for Japan?
Canadian, US, UK and many EU passport holders can visit Japan visa-free for short tourist stays. Japan plans to introduce an electronic travel authorisation, so check the rules for your passport before you fly; we send the latest guidance with your final itinerary.
The trip ends in Kanazawa. How do I get home?
Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Kanazawa station, where the trip ends at about 4 pm: about two and a half to three hours to Tokyo, or a little over two hours to Kyoto with a change at Tsuruga. Book your flight home for the next day from Tokyo or Osaka.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip comes as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, from CAD 11,080 per person sharing. If you would rather walk independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we will quote inns, luggage and transfers.
How does booking work?
Pick a start date and request to book. We confirm your place within 24 hours, and nothing is charged until we do. The small group is from CAD 6,155 per person sharing, with taxes; the price is indicative until your departure is confirmed.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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