Two ancient roads, walked on foot, with your bags sent ahead.

Two roads, walked the way they were meant to be. The Nakasendō carried lords and merchants through the Kiso Valley; the Kumano Kodo carried emperors to the sacred mountains of the Kii Peninsula.

You carry a day pack and nothing else. Your luggage is forwarded between inns, the walking is a gentle five or six hours at most, and every evening ends in hot water.

Day by day

Day 1
Landing softly
Tokyo
Night at Sumi House
morning
Met at the airport by your guide, who has your rail tickets, a map, and a plan for the jet lag.
afternoon
A slow walk through Yanaka, one of the few Tokyo neighbourhoods the fires and the bombs both missed.
evening
An early dinner of yakitori near the hotel, and an early night.
Day 2
Into the valley
Kiso Valley, Narai
Night at Hinoki-juku
morning
Shinkansen to Nagoya, then the slow line up the Kiso River as the valley narrows and the cedars close in.
afternoon
Narai-juku, a kilometre of dark wooden inns where the comb makers once worked.
evening
Your ryokan serves river fish grilled on the hearth, mountain vegetables, and a cup of local sake.
Day 3
Magome to Tsumago
Kiso Valley
Night at Hinoki-juku
morning
Start at Magome by 8:30 and climb the stone paving out of town, past waterwheels and persimmon trees.
afternoon
The pass, a free rest house where the caretaker pours green tea for walkers, then down through forest to Tsumago.
evening
Back at the inn, your bag is waiting in your room. The bath is cypress and the water is very hot.
Day 4
Post town at first light
Tsumago to Kyoto
Night at Yuzuriha
morning
Tsumago at 7am, shutters still closed, the street wet from the night. Few places in Japan feel this old.
afternoon
Train to Kyoto, while your luggage travels separately and meets you there.
evening
A quiet dinner and a soak; tomorrow is a rest day, and you will be glad of it.
Day 5
A day between roads
Kyoto
Night at Yuzuriha
morning
Nothing planned before ten. Then a stroll through the moss at Hōnen-ji, which most visitors walk straight past.
afternoon
A massage, a nap, or a lesson in folding furoshiki, the cloth that will carry your things on the next road.
evening
Dinner at a small counter in Pontochō, overlooking the river.
Day 6
The mountain of temples
Kōyasan
Night at Hoshi-no-in
morning
Up the cable car to Kōyasan, a flat valley at 800 metres ringed by eight peaks and more than a hundred temples.
afternoon
Okunoin cemetery with a monk who explains the moss-covered stones, the cedars, and why the lanterns never go out.
evening
Vegetarian temple dinner, then early to bed on futons; morning prayers start at six.
Day 7
The first steps on the Kodo
Kumano Kodo, Takijiri to Takahara
morning
Morning prayers, breakfast in silence, then a drive south to Takijiri, where the Nakahechi route begins.
afternoon
A steep first climb through cedar, then the ridge to Takahara, a hamlet that looks across a sea of mountains.
evening
A family-run lodge, a home-cooked dinner, and a view of the valley filling with mist.
Day 8
Ridges and small shrines
Kumano Kodo, Takahara to Chikatsuyu
morning
Leave at eight with a bentō wrapped in a cloth, along a path marked by stone statues and small ōji shrines.
afternoon
Long forest stretches with no road in sight, and a descent into the village of Chikatsuyu by the river.
evening
Dinner at a minshuku where the owner fished the sweetfish on your plate that morning.
Day 9
Toward the grand shrine
Kumano Kodo, Chikatsuyu to Hongū
morning
The longest walk, through cedar so tall it filters the light to green, with your guide setting an easy pace.
afternoon
The last ridge, Hosshinmon-ōji, and the gentle descent to Kumano Hongū Taisha, as pilgrims have done for a thousand years.
evening
A soak in Yunomine, one of Japan’s oldest hot springs, where eggs are boiled in the stream.
Day 10
River and shrine
Hongū and the Kumano River
morning
Ōyunohara, the old sandbank shrine site under a great torii, before the first bus pulls in.
afternoon
A traditional boat down the Kumano River, the way pilgrims travelled to Hayatama Taisha.
evening
Dinner of mountain boar and yuzu, and a last soak under the stars.
Day 11
The great falls
Nachi
morning
The Daimonzaka stone steps to Nachi, under cedars older than most countries.
afternoon
The falls, 133 metres of white water beside a vermilion pagoda, and a cup of tea in the shrine grounds.
evening
A farewell dinner of tuna from Katsuura harbour, a few streets from where it was landed.
Day 12
Back to the coast
Kii Peninsula to Kansai Airport
morning
A slow breakfast by the sea, then a private car along the coast road.
afternoon
Into Kansai Airport with your forwarded bags already waiting at check-in.
evening
Somewhere over the ocean, your legs still remembering the stone steps.

What’s in it

The Magome–Tsumago walk on the Nakasendō
Tsumago post town at 7am
A night and morning prayers at a Kōyasan temple
Three days on the Nakahechi route of the Kumano Kodo
A traditional boat down the Kumano River
Luggage forwarded between every inn

The seasons you’ll travel through

In its best months (Apr · May · Oct · Nov), this journey passes through 25 of the 72 micro-seasons. A few of them:

All 72 seasons

Where you’ll sleep

Every day above can move. Tell us what you’d change.

Plan with us

Day by day

Landing softly

Into the valley

Magome to Tsumago

Post town at first light

A day between roads

The mountain of temples

The first steps on the Kodo

Ridges and small shrines

Toward the grand shrine

River and shrine

The great falls

Back to the coast

What’s in it

The seasons you’ll travel through

Where you’ll sleep

Other journeys