Monday, 21 May 2018
Last breakfast at the Oyama's apartment and some cleaning up, before leaving for Kyoto Eki to catch the train for Nagano via Nagoya, and then the bus up into the mountains to Magome, where our walking adventure started. The Nakadendo Road has been used for thousands of years, and connected Kyoto with Edo (Tokyo) in the Edo Period. Along the way are some 69 post towns where travelers rested, etc., many of which have been restored with narrow, cobbled streets, dark wooden houses with tiled roofs, small shirnes, old stone artifacts, and of course tourists from all over the world. The Kiso Road is a particular section through the Kiso valley - the most scenic part.
It was a beautiful, clear day when we arrived at Magome, eager to set off with our packs which now seemed excessively heavy, Wonderful views of Mt. Ena in the distance, We did not stop to see the museum, eager to start the walk. Much of the walking was through shady bcypress or bamboo forests, near noisy streams, or along old cobbled paths. The first third was a serious uphill trek over the Magmoe-toge pass. We stopped for lunch a a friendly noodle shop before continuing. Every so often there were bells to ring to ward off bears (none seen by ourselves)! The hike turned out to be quite strenuous for us, but we did go the distance to Tsumago, arriving at our Ryokan (Daikichi Minshuku) around 5. We layed out your own futon, changed into a yukata, enjoyed a much needed soak in a wonderful warm tub make of cypress (took some Advil for aching muscles!) and had a lovely meal of many small dishes including delicious small mushrooms, a smoke trout, tempura of beautiful vegetables with tea flavored salt, a few roasted crickets, a bit of duck, a little sashimi and a dish of delectable soft tofu eaten with a spoon, which is most but not all of what was on the tray! All the while we are sitting on the floor in the most ungainly, un-Japanese fashion with our legs stuck out in front of us. There were other guests from Spain, UK, and Australia. Bed felt wonderful, hard as the futons are when bones are aching. We agreed it had been a fine day, and hope to explore Tsumago in the morning.
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| Lunch time |
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| Along the road |
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| Mt. Ena |
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| "Ring bell hard against bears" |
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| Magome |
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At the bus stop in Nakatusgawa
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