*Please note, depending on the season some options may not be available.

The first stop on this tour is Narai Post Town. You will find yourself at the start of the road that takes you through the post town that marks the halfway point along the Nakasendo trail connecting Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto. It looks much the same today as it did back in the Edo period.

The town of a “thousand buildings” as it was once called, is lined with a variety of shops and restaurants. Walking up through the town from the station, you’ll come upon the Kamidonya Shiryokan on your left where you can try your hand at making your own chopsticks! The process takes about 45 minutes from start to finish, and the tools are simple to use, but require a little bit of muscle and may be a little too fiddly for anyone younger than 8 or 9.

Once you have your own set of handmade chopsticks, it’s time for lunch! The area is known for soba and Gohei-mochi, which is a traditional rice dish grilled with miso and served at most, if not all, of the restaurants in town.

Kiso-Fukushima is also the site of Mt. Ontake, Japan’s second-largest volcano and revered by many as a power spot. It even has its own religious sect of Shinto, called the Ontake faith. There are some great options for exploring various areas of the mountain.

Lake Shizenko was formed in 1984 as the result of a major earthquake. It was once a forest valley, and now the skeletons of the trees from the forest remain standing above the water’s surface giving it an unusual, eerie appearance. There are guided canoe tours of the lake available in English.

The Mt. Ontake ropeway, which will take you up to the 7th station on the mountain is another option. Once you arrive at the ropeway station you can buy a roundtrip ropeway ticket inside the facilities. The ropeway is essentially a ski lift gondola that takes you up what used to be a ski resort. The trip up (and back down) takes about 15 minutes, and the views are breathtakingly spectacular. On a clear day you can see the peak of Mt. Fuji!

There are also beautiful mountain streams and small waterfalls in the area around the ropeway station. The area is so idyllic, it feels like if you watched closely, you might see a band of fairies playing in the distance.

Once you arrive back at Kiso-Fukushima station, you will definitely be ready to get back to your hotel and rest for the evening. If you’re staying in a Japanese-style inn known as a ryokan, it will probably have a large communal bath with medicinal hot spring water to relax your sore muscles after a long day of walking. Most ryokan also serve seasonal dishes in a course meal at dinner, which can be enjoyed along with some locally brewed sake served hot or cold.

Day 2 starts out in Magome Post Town. You'll arrive in Magome early have approximately 30 minutes to explore the small town. The walk along the Nakasendo Trail to Tsumago Post Town takes about 2.5 hours, and it is mostly down a gentle slope, which is why most people prefer to walk Magome to Tsumago as opposed to the other direction. When you arrive in Tsumago you'll have a chance to look around here as well and see that every effort has been made to restore the town to its original appearance, and even the electric and phone lines have been concealed so as not to interfere with the scenery.

From Tsumago, the next stop is Takayama!