Visitors 52
44 photos, 1 videos
We spent two nights in Matsumoto to see the famous castle and the Yayoi Kusama collection at the Matsumoto City Museum of Art, and to hike a small portion of the Nakasendo Trail.
The Nakasendo trail connected Tokyo and Kyoto in the Edo Period. There were about 70 “post” towns where travelers could rest. Several are well preserved and offer a chance for visitors to walk part of the trail. The most popular walk is between Magome and Tsumago, but it is a little tricky and time consuming to get there. Another option is the route from Yabuhara to Narai, otherwise known as the Torii Pass walk. It is easier to access because the Chuo regional line stops in both towns. But it is more of a hike than a walk, with a ~1,100-foot elevation gain and then descent.
It takes some coordination of train schedules (hello, Navitime!), but there are options that allow a few hours for the hike. We chose to start in Yabuhara and end in Narai, which is beautifully preserved town. Coming in from the hike, you walk from one end of the town to the other.
We left Matsumoto at 12:23 pm (about 1:10 ride), and returned from Narai on a train departing at 3:57 pm. We finished the whole walk in about 2:10, but we move pretty fast.
It was fantastic. Very well marked, almost to a fault – almost impossible to get lost. There are bear bells in a few places along the way, so I suppose that is a possibility. It was a little wet in places from the rain over the weekend, but all in all not too bad. We passed fewer than 10 people on the trail, and the town of Narai was delightfully quiet when we arrived – empty in parts.
Hover over photos for captions.
The Nakasendo trail connected Tokyo and Kyoto in the Edo Period. There were about 70 “post” towns where travelers could rest. Several are well preserved and offer a chance for visitors to walk part of the trail. The most popular walk is between Magome and Tsumago, but it is a little tricky and time consuming to get there. Another option is the route from Yabuhara to Narai, otherwise known as the Torii Pass walk. It is easier to access because the Chuo regional line stops in both towns. But it is more of a hike than a walk, with a ~1,100-foot elevation gain and then descent.
It takes some coordination of train schedules (hello, Navitime!), but there are options that allow a few hours for the hike. We chose to start in Yabuhara and end in Narai, which is beautifully preserved town. Coming in from the hike, you walk from one end of the town to the other.
We left Matsumoto at 12:23 pm (about 1:10 ride), and returned from Narai on a train departing at 3:57 pm. We finished the whole walk in about 2:10, but we move pretty fast.
It was fantastic. Very well marked, almost to a fault – almost impossible to get lost. There are bear bells in a few places along the way, so I suppose that is a possibility. It was a little wet in places from the rain over the weekend, but all in all not too bad. We passed fewer than 10 people on the trail, and the town of Narai was delightfully quiet when we arrived – empty in parts.
Hover over photos for captions.
© onelittleworld