• Day
• 1

• Hotel
• Welcome Dinner

Meet your guide and the other group members at the tour hotel in central Kyoto in the evening.  The guide will be on hand to provide advice on local restaurants. 

• Day
• 2

•  4km
•  negligible ascent and descent
•  About 2-3 hours walking 
•  Hotel
• Breakfast

Our first full day of the tour takes in a number of key destinations in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. There is a guided half-day walking tour this morning, where we first visit the Sanjo-ohashi Bridge, the western end of the Nakasendo Trail. From here, we will travel north to Kurama and enjoy a gentle walk through the Kitayama Mountains from Kurama to Kibune. 

• Day
• 3

•  16km
• negligible ascent and descent 
• About 5 hours walking 
•  Hotel
• Breakfast

Travel by train to Nara, Japan’s first permanent capital. Established in 710 and then known as Heijo, Nara abounds in cultural heritage, with many historic treasures and easy access to wonderful nature. 

Today we will hike the historic Yamanobe no Michi trail. Our first walk is an excellent hike along the varied trail before returning to Kyoto and our accommodation for one final evening. 

• Day
• 4

• 8.3km
• 326m ascent, 430m descent
• About 3 hours
• Minshuku (Family-run Guesthouse)
• Breakfast, Dinner

Journey by train from Kyoto to Nakatsugawa, including a ride on the world-famous Shinkansen (bullet train) to Nagoya. At Nakatsugawa, you board a local bus for the short journey to Magome. Walk over Magome Pass to Tsumago, one of the best-preserved and most evocative of the Nakasendo post-towns. Spend the night at a family-run minshuku in Tsumago, with a delicious home-cooked Japanese dinner and breakfast included. After dinner, enjoy a stroll through the village streets in the magical quiet of the evening, wearing the yukata gown supplied by your inn.

• Day
• 5

•  18.4km
•  723m ascent, 644m descent
•  About 6 hours*
  *A shorter alternative of 1 hour
  3.7km is also possible
• Onsen Ryokan (Hot Spring Travellers Inn)
• Breakfast, Dinner

A longer walk on the trail today offers a beautiful and varied hike from Tsumago to Nojiri. Or choose the shorter alternative to Nagiso instead. The trail heads through small valleys passing forests of bamboo and Japanese cedar, through some of the least-developed scenery on the tour. Continue by train to Kiso-Fukushima and stay at a lovely hot spring ryokan set in a peaceful valley above the town. The ryokan has lovely indoor and outdoor hot spring baths.

• Day
• 6

• 8.7km
•  344m ascent, 270m descent
• About 4 hours*
  *The final hour of the walk is skippable by train.
•  Onsen Ryokan (Hot Spring Travellers Inn)
• Breakfast, Dinner

Travel the short train journey from Kiso-Fukushima to Yabuhara, the starting point for the hike over the Torii Pass to another juku village Narai. Explore this atmospheric village before travelling on by train to the castle town of Matsumoto and to your onsen ryokan inn for the evening.

• Day
• 7

•  Hotel
• Breakfast, Farewell Dinner

This morning, explore the engaging castle town of Matsumoto, visiting Matsumoto castle, which is one of Japan’s best historic castles. 

After lunch, head onwards to Tokyo by train, which is both the end point of the Nakasendo trail and of our tour. Stay at a comfortable Japanese-style hotel in the city and enjoy a final farewell dinner at a local restaurant. 

• Day
• 8

• Breakfast

Our tour ends today after breakfast at the hotel in Tokyo. Your guide will be available to provide assistance and advice for travelling onwards, whether you have homeward flights, or plan on extending your stay in Japan.