 |
| Cedar forests on the walk from Nagiso to Nojiri |
4:30am appears to have become my designated wake-up time. I have stopped fighting it. On the positive side, our request to have two futons stacked on top of each other had been quietly actioned overnight, and the improvement in sleep quality was meaningful. Small victories.
Fi finished our TikTok from yesterday's adventures (link here for those interested in our particular brand of shenanigans). I finished the blog. We then descended to the onsen for the now-obligatory pre-breakfast soak. The hotel alternated the men's and women's baths daily at midnight so guests could experience both — a thoughtful touch, though in practice the two were near-identical. We appreciated the gesture nonetheless.
Breakfast was unanimously declared by the group to be superior to the previous property's in both taste and quantity, which at this point in the trip is the only metric that matters.
The hotel shuttle deposited us at Nagiso Station at 9:00am, ready for the day's main event — 15 kilometres of Nakasendo trail between Nagiso and Nojiri. This is one of the wilder stretches of the route, climbing through dense cedar forest along ancient trade paths that once connected the mountain communities of the Kiso Valley. Unlike the carefully preserved charm of Magome and Tsumago, this section is quieter, rawer, and sees far fewer walkers — which, as it turned out, had some implications.
 |
| A multi-course delicious breakfast. The meats to be placed on the Hibachi include stuffed tofu, duck and horse meat. Yup you read that correctly. |
 |
| And just when you think you're done and couldn't possibly fit anymore in...the soba comes out |
 |
| Our transport to Nagiso station |
Our travel agent had advised us to buy lunch in Nagiso before setting off. Reasonable advice, though it slightly presupposes that Nagiso is the kind of place with lunch options. What it does have, somewhat improbably, is a 7-Eleven — a discovery Jays made with considerably more enthusiasm than the situation called for. The detour was modest. The time spent inside was less so. People were hustled out. We got back on track.
We had also been advised to carry a bear bell on this section. Yesterday, amongst the throngs of other walkers, this felt like the sort of precaution you take and never need.
Today we needed it.
Jays and Ellis caught a glimpse of an actual bear crossing the path ahead before it apparently reconsidered its life choices and disappeared into the trees, presumably driven off by the considerable volume of noise our group produces at rest, let alone in mild panic. The rest of us saw nothing. There is no photographic evidence. We are aware of how this sounds. The bear was real...at least according to Jays and Ellis.
Unbothered by any of this, the forest carried on being magnificent. A few degrees cooler than the previous day, deep cedar shade, a breeze that actually meant something — the conditions made the landscape feel like a reward. Tall trees, moss-covered stones, creeks threading through the undergrowth. It was, without question, the most enjoyable walking of the trip so far.
What the internet did neglect to mention was that a not-insignificant portion of the route follows actual roads, and that at certain points we were passing through people's front gardens, back gardens, and general domestic arrangements with a familiarity that felt faintly presumptuous. The locals took it with admirable equanimity.
We were operating under one firm constraint: the 14:52 train from Nojiri Station. Miss it, and the next service was three hours away. This was communicated to the group at regular intervals and proved, on this occasion, to be a surprisingly effective motivational tool. We made it.
 |
| Walking through a sleepy rural village looking for takeaway lunch options |
 |
| Finally on the trail, leaving Nagiso behind and beginning to incline to the peak that we had to cross |
 |
| There was a fair bit of the trail on "road" |
 |
| But yes...we were on the Nakasendo |
 |
| The forested sections were beautiful to walk through |
 |
| Random things we walked through...like a camp site! |
 |
| It was a mostly a comfortable walk. We only encountered a handful of other walkers |
 |
| Heed this caution! |
 |
| Many water crossings along the way |
 |
| The path narrowed at times but was never overgrown or challenging |
 |
| One of 2 rest stops that we saw, we used this one to have our lunch which we worked hard to buy |
 |
| Egg with soy rice |
 |
| The forest sections were pretty |
 |
| Too many moss photos |
 |
| Thank you cedar forest |
 |
| The final stretch down into Nojiri. We saw many local farmers working on their rice fields |
Nojiri itself made Nagiso look metropolitan. The station was a single small building. The town around it was approximately as busy as the station suggested. What it lacked in amenity it compensated for with a dependable cluster of vending machines, cold drinks, and a patch of shade — which after 15 kilometres is genuinely enough. The train, when it arrived, was a charming two-carriage affair with unusually specific instructions on ticket purchase and payment, followed carefully by people with absolutely no interest in being left behind.
We pulled into Kiso Fukushima at 15:30. Our hotel, Urara Tsutaya, was directly across the road from the station — a piece of logistical good planning we were in no mood to take for granted. Stray members of the group were collected from what appeared to be an impromptu shopping stop somewhere between the platform and the front door, and we checked in.
We pulled into Kiso Fukushima at 15:30. Sitting at the heart of the Kiso Valley, Kiso Fukushima was once one of the most important checkpoint towns on the Nakasendo — a place where travellers were stopped, papers inspected, and the movement of people and goods through the mountains carefully controlled. The old checkpoint, or sekisho, still stands and is worth a visit for anyone with time and energy to spare. We had neither, but noted it approvingly from a distance. The town itself tumbles down toward the Kiso River in a pleasing jumble of old merchant streets and cedar-clad buildings, with mountains pressing in on all sides — the kind of place that rewards a slower pace than we were currently capable of.
Our hotel, Urara Tsutaya, was directly across the road from the station — a piece of logistical good fortune we were in no mood to take for granted.
Onsen before dinner. After-dinner gathering. It continues to amaze me that we never seem to run out of alcohol. I have stopped questioning it.
 |
| We think this was the information centre. There was pamphlet with instructions on how to buy and pay for train tickets which many of us had to read multiple times and still didn't know if we understood correctly |
 |
| Nojiri Train Station |
 |
| Followed the other walkers who were already on the platform |
 |
| You take a ticket once on the train if boarding in the afternoon and then pay the conductor (in the morning apparently there was a ticket man at the station to purchase pre-boarding |
 |
| Kiso Fukushima |
 |
| Our hotel |
 |
| Can't seem to shake this guy |
 |
| Lovely entrance |
 |
| Our room |
 |
| With private bath |
 |
| Handy separate toilet |
 |
Free socks!
|
 |
| Tea and coffee in our room. This was the only "traditional" type accommodation on our trip that had provided free in room coffee |
 |
| The lounge area was open from 15:30 to 17:00 and had an array of drinks and snacks |
 |
| Small seating area |
 |
| Merchandise for purchase |
 |
| Shushh...there was no one there so I took a quick snap. Not a kosher thing to do... |
 |
| An example of the type of menu we've had over the last few days |
 |
| I really love the bowls and plates |
 |
| Beef and tofu on walnut miso cooked on hoba leaf |
 |
| Dessert was only average sadly. I enjoyed the sake jelly but even I found the other offering a little strange |
 |
| Sake party is the nightly norm |
