Kyoto to Magome-juku

We started today with what turned out to be a progressive breakfast because we wanted espresso over drip filter coffee espresso coffee. The trick was to find somewhere that did both, which we didn't. But we did have a very expensive coffee in a very trendy looking cafe, before coming across a cafe for the rest of breakfast. Quick walk back to the hostel to pack our bags and we were off with fully laden backpacks for the first time (ie day bags packed inside). With the knowledge that we now had to hike with them today, our 12kg felt like 20kg all of a sudden.

We walked to the train station to catch a local train to Kyoto Station and then our first shinkansen to Nagoya and another local train to Nakatsugawa. All relatively straightforward, with just slight confusion navigating the exit from the Shinkansen and entry to next train using two different tickets and just one ticket machine. We asked a human and all was put right.

Shinkansen travel was speedy but not as remarkable as I had thought it might be. You get used to travelling several hundred kms per hour very quickly it seems. The guy we were sitting next to had the blinds down due to the sun position, so we didn't really have a good view of the world speeding by.

At Nakatsugawa we got directions from a helpful tourist information lady to the start of the walk and headed off on the first leg of our walk along the Nakasendo Way, the whole initial reason for this trip with Lynette in the first place.

For those who don't know and might be interested (skip this bit if not), the Nakasendo Way was a historic "Central Mountain Road" during Japan's Edo Period (1603-1868), one of the Gokaido (Five Routes) connecting the imperial capital Kyoto to Edo (Tokyo). Winding through mountainous central Japan, it featured 69 post towns (juku) for rest, attracting samurai, merchants, and pilgrims. Today, well-preserved sections, especially in the Kiso Valley (like between Magome and Tsumago), offer hikers a chance to walk cobblestone paths and experience traditional architecture, stepping back into old Japan (thanks Lynette for Googling that for me!)

The path took us from the centre of the old town (the original Nakatsugawa Juku) via a shopping centre to get lunch. I thought I would have three little chicken skewers. Gesticulated to the lady, she indicated they were all chicken. Great! I sat down to eat the then realised they were not breast or thigh, so I guess I ended up eating some other part of the chicken. Tasted like the mother lode of chicken liver pate on skewers, so very, very rich... But I made it to the end.

We set the officially set off on the hike with what ended up being quite a number of uphill bits. The first half was mostly through the edges of Nakatsugawa and then the through the adjoining town of Ochiai. Then we hit some actual forest and less populated areas, and more steep bits before heading down into Magome-Juku, our destination for today.

Of course, the uppy bits didn't end there, because once in the middle of town we had another 450m of very uphill path to get to our accommodation, Sakanomichi Hostel. That last hike was a bit of a struggle, but we made it in the end! I may have mentioned straws and camels a little too many times on that last 450m.

Today's walk was about 9 kms all up so a lot shorter than the last two days but, with about 12kg packs on and a lot of steep uppy bits it was not a walk in the park. We were thankful to reach the end.

We have certainly made the right choice in terms of time of year to come. The day was cool. But not freezing and we were literally the only people doing the walk. That might change tomorrow when we walk to Tsumago as that leg is the most popular...

Our hostel is new and the owner, Ken, is lovely and very helpful. He has even given us a bear bell to take on the next leg of our trip, as there has been a bear sighting a day or two ago. Ken worked for 5 years at the hostel we are staying at tomorrow night.

There are only five guestrooms in the house, with shared bathrooms and toilets. Our bedroom has given us our first experience of tatami flooring and futons, and it was all very comfortable. It was also our first real experience of taking slippers on and off in different parts of the house.

The hostel had a nice new bath so we decided to use that. Ken filled it, told us to give him 10 minutes... I then tittered off for my relaxing bath. Once I was immersed in 42°C of boiling hot bath, and had satisfied myself that my dermal layer had not in fact peeled off my body, I then realised that I had probably broken the rules of bathing. Once I got out of the bath I felt the need to "stage a shower" so it looked like I hadn't broken the rules in the shower room which is where I was supposed to clean myself before getting into said bath. It turned into quite an anxiety filled event, and in the end, Lynette decided to take a shower instead. We will try to do better tomorrow.

Dinner was chicken or vegetable curry and was hand made by Ken. It even had rice that was grown down the road by Ken in his own rice paddy!!! We also had mochi ice cream - beautiful.

We ended up chatting over dinner and for the next few hours to the only other couple staying here, who are from Belgium. Jella and Anshe. Anshe works for the Australian embassy in Brussels, so we had wide ranging conversations, and she told us she has a side project for repatriation of first nations objects from Belgium museums. They were a delight.Read more