What Is the Nakasendo, and Which Post Towns Can You Visit Near Tsumago?
This guide is for visitors who want to place Tsumago on the Nakasendo, the old mountain road between Kyoto and Edo, and decide which other post towns to see nearby. It uses four English pages of the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO). All pages were read on 2026-10-04.
The pages give some distances and times differently, and this guide points those out.
The short answer
JNTO says the Nakasendo, whose name means "the road through the mountains", was one of the five major routes of the Edo period (1603 to 1867). It connected Kyoto and Edo, present-day Tokyo, through the mountain ranges of Japan's main island, with 69 post towns along the way. One page gives the length as approximately 530 kilometres and another as about 534 kilometres, and one page calls it the longest and most difficult of the five highways.
What a post town was
JNTO describes the post towns as one-road stations of wooden inns and shops that served government officials, samurai and traders, providing lodging, food and entertainment. Many have disappeared. The ones that survive, notably Narai-juku, Tsumago-juku and Magome-juku, are described as looking much as they did in their heyday.
Magome and Tsumago
JNTO says the two towns were once important post towns and that both are now like open-air museums. Magome sits on a mountain slope, with a steep, winding stone street. The name is written with the characters for horse and basket, and JNTO explains that travellers had to leave their horses at the inn because of the steep streets. Magome is still a functioning town where many houses are occupied by residents. JNTO asks visitors to remember that private residences are not exhibits, and to look for the signs that mark which buildings are open. The walk between the two towns is the best-known short section of the trail.
Kiso-Fukushima
JNTO describes Kiso-Fukushima as the midpoint of the Nakasendo and one of four major security checkpoints of the Edo period. It names the reconstructed barrier station, the Yamamura Residence and Kozenji Temple with its Zen rock garden as places to visit. It gives about 1 hour and 30 minutes from Nagoya on the Shinano limited express and a 10-minute walk from Kiso-Fukushima Station.
Narai
JNTO says cars are prohibited in Narai-juku and that electric cables are largely concealed. It describes about one kilometre of preserved Edo-period buildings along the main street, with cafes, soba restaurants and craft shops, and says Narai was one of the wealthiest post towns. It gives about 3 hours on the Azusa limited express from Shinjuku, changing at Shiojiri, or 2 hours and 3 minutes from Nagoya.
The Yabuhara to Narai trail crosses Torii Pass, the highest point of the Nakasendo. JNTO gives it as about six kilometres and 3 to 3.5 hours, and notes that stops at Yabuhara Station are not frequent, so check the train timetable.
Small things worth planning for
JNTO's feature on walking routes recommends trying oyaki dumplings and gohei-mochi rice cakes in Magome, and says Narai holds a Kiso Lacquerware Festival and a Narai Post Festival in early June. Its rail-trail feature adds that Kiso-Fukushima has a free public foot bath on the banks of the Kiso River. For readers who plan far ahead, the same feature says the Onbashira Festival at Suwa Taisha is due in spring 2028, and is held every seven years.
Other stretches
JNTO also describes a trail of about 17 kilometres from Yokokawa to Karuizawa, with an elevation change of more than 550 metres, and Shimosuwa, a post town with hot springs. A four-day guided tour on another JNTO page includes the Magome to Tsumago hike on the first day and ends at Narai. The tour meets at Nakatsugawa Station, which it places 50 minutes from Nagoya by the Shinano express.
Choosing a section
JNTO says there is no need to walk the entire stretch of the highway, because the surviving towns are well connected by train. You can hike for a few hours, or visit several post towns by train and stay a few nights along the way. For a first visit near Tsumago, the pages point to the Magome to Tsumago walk, with Kiso-Fukushima and Narai as the next stops on the JR Chuo Main Line.
What we could not verify, and therefore left out
- Fares, timetables and tour prices.
- Trail conditions and closures on any given day.
- Which post towns have accommodation open this season.
Related guides
- How Do You Get to Tsumago and Walk the Nakasendo from Magome?
- What Is Tsumago-juku? The 42nd Post Town and the Promise Not to Sell, Rent or Destroy
Sources
All URLs retrieved 2026-10-04.
- The Nakasendo Rail Trail (JNTO) — (route, post towns, Kiso-Fukushima, Narai)
- Discover Picturesque and Culture-rich Villages While Hiking Through the Nakasendo (JNTO) — (534 kilometres, trails)
- Walk the Historic Nakasendo Trail (JNTO) — (longest and most difficult, post towns)
- Magome (Nakasendo) (JNTO) — (Magome, residences)
- Nakasendo Hiking and Culture Tour (JNTO) — (four-day tour)