Day 4 – Following in the Footsteps of Sumarai

Today we begin our three days on the Nakasendo Trail. The full trail is 540km, linking Tokyo to Kyoto, which originally had 69 postal stations, or traditional Japanese villages, along the route. We’re on the most popular section, which has been restored to the condition it would have been centuries ago.

As usual, we were up at 5am and spent a few hours having breakfast, getting packed, and killing time before the shops of Magome opened. This hostel stay has been really great. We saw one of the dorm rooms and counted 26 capsule beds, none of which had been occupied because the hostel is still so new.

Magome is a very pretty traditional Japanese village. There’s there’s the single stone pathway main street that winds up a hill, lined with shops, restaurants, and assorted vendors. We stopped at a trendy coffee shop called Hillbilly Coffee for some pastries and coffee before beginning our 10km hike for the day. Continuing on through the village, we leapfrogged other tourists doing the same hike (many westerners). Water ran through channels on the side of the street and we passed many water wheels, that were traditionally used to grind buckwheat, in turn used to make soba noodles.

Hiking along, we passed big bear bells suspended from poles that we were supposed to ring to ward off bears. Henry enjoyed these. We passed bamboo forests, very different from any forest we have back home. At a rest area, some Australians gave Henry a slice of orange and we chatted with them for a bit. We spotted a kamoshika, an animal we’d never seen before, but fortunately a passer by was able to identify for us. Halfway through, there was a tea station that traditionally served tea to travellers and still does, for free. There were interesting artifacts in the smokey tea house used to separate rice from the plant and a tool to wind wheat-like strands into rope.

Around 1pm we arrived at our destination, of Tsumago, the next postal station along route. It was overrun with tourists (we think mostly Chinese), that had arrived via tour bus. We found a soba noodle shop for lunch and had one plate of cold soba and one hot, which I accompanied with my first glass of sake in Japan. We then waited for our hotel shuttle bus, which would take us the 20 minute drive into the forest in the middle of nowhere. We were staying there because all the accommodation in Tsumago itself was fully booked.

Our hotel, Tokonomiso, is the dingy sibling of a more upscale hotel, Fukinomore. We have a traditional Japanese room, with tatami mats on the floor. Fortunately, we’re able to use the facilities at Fukinmore, which include a zen lounge area along with indoor and outdoors onsens. We took it in turns to use the onsen, while the other had tea and looked after Henry in the lounge. It’s now 8:30pm and we’re nice and relaxed, and winding down for the evening.