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Visit Tsumago, Japan


4774Papa
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Tsumago is a preserved post town along the Nakasendo, the old "middle highway" connecting Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo). I've walked the Nakasendo from Marugame to Tsumago. It's a fairly strenuous hilly trail along the Kiso Valley and hot work in summer. So I was pretty tired when I arrived in Tsumago and not up to sightseeing, but it seemed similar to other Edo-period areas you can see elsewhere. I think you need to stay overnight to get the full vibe.

 

It's not an easy place to get to from Tokyo. You take the train line that runs between Matsumoto and Nagoya (so get to one of those first), then get off at Nagiso and take a bus. Matsumoto is an excellent destination (original castle, good museums), and Nagoya is an ugly town but a good base for exploring the central part of Japan. However, if you're going to or from Matsumoto, my recommendation would be to take the route further north and visit Kamikochi, a beautiful area in the mountains, and then continue to Takayama, a very fine old town.

 

If you are looking for simpler day or overnight trips from Tokyo, my suggestions would be Kamakura (the old capitol, big Buddha, lots of fine temples), or the Hakone circuit (via train, funicular, ropeway, pirate boat--all part of the "furee kippu" inclusive ticket), which offers fine scenery (views of Fuji san if you are lucky), volcanic fumeroles, a famous sculpture garden, and a preserved and reconstructed checkpoint on part of another old highway.

 

By the way, JNTO has an excellent series of guides to all the main destinations in Japan that you can download as pdfs: http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/pdf/travelguide.html. For Tsumago you'd want the one called Kiso Valley.

Edited by someotherguy
Added JNTO link
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Tsumago is a preserved post town along the Nakasendo, the old "middle highway" connecting Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo). I've walked the Nakasendo from Marugame to Tsumago. It's a fairly strenuous hilly trail along the Kiso Valley and hot work in summer. So I was pretty tired when I arrived in Tsumago and not up to sightseeing, but it seemed similar to other Edo-period areas you can see elsewhere. I think you need to stay overnight to get the full vibe.

 

It's not an easy place to get to from Tokyo. You take the train line that runs between Matsumoto and Nagoya (so get to one of those first), then get off at Nagiso and take a bus. Matsumoto is an excellent destination (original castle, good museums), and Nagoya is an ugly town but a good base for exploring the central part of Japan. However, if you're going to or from Matsumoto, my recommendation would be to take the route further north and visit Kamikochi, a beautiful area in the mountains, and then continue to Takayama, a very fine old town.

 

If you are looking for simpler day or overnight trips from Tokyo, my suggestions would be Kamakura (the old capitol, big Buddha, lots of fine temples), or the Hakone circuit (via train, funicular, ropeway, pirate boat--all part of the "furee kippu" inclusive ticket), which offers fine scenery (views of Fuji san if you are lucky), volcanic fumeroles, a famous sculpture garden, and a preserved and reconstructed checkpoint on part of another old highway.

 

By the way, JNTO has an excellent series of guides to all the main destinations in Japan that you can download as pdfs: http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/pdf/travelguide.html. For Tsumago you'd want the one called Kiso Valley.

Thank you for the great advice. We were thinking of Matsumoto. Now, I need to research that city and Kamakura.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Thank you for the great advice. We were thinking of Matsumoto. Now, I need to research that city and Kamakura.

 

 

We did this hike last year. Really loved it. We spent the first night in Matsumoto. We left early the next morning. It is best to do the hike from Magome to Tsumago as the rise in elevation from that direction is less. After our enjoyable hike, we took the train and spent the night in Nagoya.

 

This is the specific transportation route we took:

 

LEX Shinano 4 Matsumoto 08:35 to Nakatsugawa 09:48

Kitaena Bus Nakatsugawa 9:10/9:40/10:30 to Magome 10:55 540 Yen

Bag must be dropped off at Tourist Information by 11:30am (sent to Tsumago)

Ontake Kotsu Bus Tsumago 16:04 to Nagiso 16:13 300 Yen (also 15:26 & 17:41)

LEX Shinano 18 Nagiso 16:55 to Nagoya 18:06

 

 

 

Tom

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