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Kiso-machi

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    • TravelerNakasendo Hike
      Day 12

      Nojiri-juku ➡️ Fukushima-juku

      July 7 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

      🇺🇸 This was definitely one of the least enjoyable days so far. The hike was fairly boring with most of the day spent alongside the highway but also extremely hard after how long yesterday was and the heat was unbearable. It was also a little bit farther than I thought it would be - One day I will learn how to properly read a map. At least Fukushima, the town I stayed at, was beautiful and the Izakaya I ate dinner at was a delight. Yoko-san, the owners mother, spent the entire evening talking to me and was incredibly kind.

      🇩🇪 Heute war definitiv der schlimmste Tag bisher. Der Hike war nicht nur relativ langweilig, weil die meiste Zeit neben der großen Straße verbracht wurde, sondern auch anstrengend nach dem gestrigen langen Tag und zudem war die Hitze nicht auszuhalten. Es war auch ein bisschen weiter als ich geplant hatte - Irgendwann werde ich lernen wie man eine Karte richtig nutzt. Zum Glück war Fukushima, das Dorf in dem ich die Nacht verbrachte, sehr schön und das Izakaya in dem ich zu Abend gegessen habe war super witzig. Yoko-san, die Mutter des Besitzers und Koch, hat den Abend an meinem Tisch verbracht und mit mir geredet und wir unglaublich nett.      Read more

    • TravelerJapan 2023
      Day 7

      Next Level Ablutions

      September 23, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

      So let's talk about toilets.

      Next Level. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

      You walk in and the lid pops up automatically. Running water sounds starts playing and the seat is heated. You do your business then select either front and or back wash, followed by a blow dry. Then you stand up and the lid closes and it automatically flushes.

      Like a car wash for your tushie!

      Next Level 🎚️

      Downsides: if the water is set too hot and you can't read Japanese, chances are you're going to make it hotter by pressing all the buttons.

      #Steamedwonton 🥴

      But no lie I haven't come across a dirty public toilet. We've been in tiny towns, shonky hotels, airports and countless train stations, including *the* busiest in the world. They are all at a standard of high end Australia restaurants or hotels. So clean. All dispensers and taps are automatic too.

      You know that hesitation going to public restrooms in Oz? Absolutely NONE here.

      Incredible.

      The absolute shit. 👏💗      Read more

    • TravelerNakasendo Hike
      Day 13

      Fukushima-juku ➡️ Narai-juku

      July 8 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

      🇺🇸 Late start due to lower temperatures today. Unfortunately the heat in the open and directly in the sun was still rough so I took an early break to ear Katsu-Carry at a very old-school Bar. The rest of the day was uneventful until about 6km off Narai-juku when the climb towards the Toriitage-Pass, a trail between Kido Village and Narai-juku, starts. The climb was hard but the views and lower temps under the trees were definitely worth it. In Narai-juku all the shops were closed so my Emergency crackers and cashew nuts had to replace a proper dinner.

      🇩🇪 Später Start wegen relativ niedrigen Temperaturvorhersagen. Leider war es im Offenen in der Sonne trotzdem noch heiß. Ich habe relativ früh eine Pause eingelegt, um ein leckere Katsu-Curry zu essen - Die Bar war sehr ulkig mit vielen netten Gästen. Der Rest des Tages war nicht sonderlich spannend bis etwa 6km vor Narai-juku, wo der Anstieg zum Toriitage-Pass, ein kleiner Wanderweg über den Berg zwischen Kiso Village und Narai-juku, beginnt. Zwar war der Anstieg schwer, die Aussichten waren aber super und das Klima unter den Bäumen war angenehm nach einem langen Tag. In Narai-juku selbst waren schon alle Restaurants zu (Off-Season halt) also wurden meine Not-Cracker und Cashewnüsse zum Abendessen im Park.      Read more

    • TravelerJapan 2023
      Day 37

      Tsumago

      October 15, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

      I left my holdall at the ryokan for forwarding to Matsumoto.
      It was still raining so I ordered a taxi to take me to Ise-shi Station where the rain stopped. I took the JR Rapid Mie to Nagoya, a journey which was not covered by the JR Pass so I had to pay the inspector. Different Prefectures have different rules about the validity of the Pass. From Nagoya, I took the Chuo Line to Nakatsugawa and then a bus to Magone.
      The countryside was fairly flat and dotted with green and yellow rice paddies.
      Magone was one of the main villages on the Nakasendo Way, the name of the Postal Route between Kyoto and Edo, now Tokyo. On this Sunday afternoon, it was very touristy. so I walked through the village to start the hike along the Way. After a short while, there was thunder and lightening so I sheltered, even contemplating returning to Magone to catch a bus. However, a German lady came along the trail at about the same time as the rain stopped and the sun came out so I continued with her until she veered off the trail to look for something.
      The trail went uphill for the first 2km reaching the "lucky" height of 777m, and then it descended for 4km to Tsumago in the Kiso Valley. Tsumago was much quieter than Magone, perhaps because all the tourists ahd left by 16.30. The trail itself had been quiet despite this section of the Way being one of the most popular.
      The walking was easier underfoot than the Kumano Kodo. The trail could have done with a few more signposts. The trail was mainly along forest trails except for the final kilometres into Tsumago and around the earlier landslide.
      I stayed at Daikichi, a family-run minshuku.
      There were German and Dutch couples at dinner where we sat on the ground with our legs stretched under the table to eat the Japanese set meal. which included grasshopper, rainbow trout, and horse sashimi.      Read more

    • TravelerTrip to Asia
      Day 101

      Nakasendo, nous revoilà !

      April 19, 2020 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

      En ces temps de virus, les randonnées sont des valeurs sûres : on ne croise personne, on est tranquilles, perdus en pleine nature. Et en plus, on tombe régulièrement sur de beaux temples oubliés des guides touristiques et de charmants villages historiques. Que demander mieux ? Nous revoilà donc sur un autre tronçon du Nakasendo ! On a l'ambition de rallier Yabuhara à Niekawa, entre 4 et 5h de marche. Notre épopée (on exagère un peu) commence par l'ascension du mont Ontake. On sonne plusieurs cloches pour nous signaler aux ours et on monte, on monte, on monte... Arrivés au col, on a droit à une belle vue (beaucoup de vent !), un temple et un grand Tori surplombant la vallée. Narai nous attend, de l'autre côté. Ancienne ville postale à la grande rue longée de vieilles maisons, on se retrouve une nouvelle fois transportés à une autre époque. On y pique-nique au bord de la rivière avant de continuer notre chemin le long de la paisible voie ferrée. On traverse pleins de petits hameaux aux noms et paysages dépaysants : Kiso Hirasawa, Nagase, Momooka... Nous voilà enfin à Niekawa ! On traverse le pont Melody (on peut jouer de la musique dessus, d'où son nom) et filons avant que le train parte sans nous. Mais on s'est trompé d'horaires, le prochain est dans 2h ! On se rabat donc sur un bus jusqu'à Shiojiri, un train et nous voilà enfin rentré, des étoiles pleins les yeux et les jambes fatiguées !Read more

      See translation
    • Rieke DietmannJapan
      Day 7

      Bergdorf Narai-juku, Kiso Valley

      April 12 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      Auf unserer Weiterfahrt durch das malerische Kiso-Valley machten wir unseren ersten Halt an einem der historischen Post-Dörfer, wo früher die Postkutschen Rast gemacht haben. Die ordentlich nebeneinander aufgereihten Häuschen sind in der typische traditionellen japanischer Bauweise gebaut, mit dunklen, flambierten Holzlatten, die teils massiv, teils sehr filigran aneinander gereiht werden (s. Bilder).
      Da es schon späterer Nachmittag war und in dem Dorf die Straße ausgebessert wurde, waren wir fast die einzigen Touristen und hatten das Dorf für uns.
      Ich denke auch, dass sich nicht so viele Touristen hier her verirren denn die Anreise ist ohne Auto schon echt erschwert - zu unserem Glück 😉
      Ein Stück weiter ins Valley Richtung Süden fanden wir einen Stellplatz an einem der vielen Michi-no-eki/Roadside Station. Die Nacht war zwar kühl aber nicht so kalt wie in der einen Nacht vor 3 Tagen wo ich mich erkältete …      Read more

      See translation
    • TravelerJapan 2023
      Day 38

      Naira

      October 16, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

      After a Japanese set breakfast, I began my hike along the Yogawa-Michi section of the Nakasendo Way at 08.30 on another sunny and warm day. This section followed the Kiso River in the Kiso Valley after crossing the Nenoue Pass. I hiked the 5km to Nagiso Station in an hour and bought some lunch. before continuing the hike to Nojiri Station. which I reached at 13.30. I saw no other hikers until some time after I reached Nojiri, one of them being the German lady from the previous day. I saw some people in the rice paddies and fields of horticulture.
      The trail was a mixture of forest paths, open trails past some lovely houses, iron and wooden steps, and tarmac, especially on the last 5km on a downhill forest road into Nojiri. The first part of the hike up to Nenoue Pass was steep. There were warning signs about bears so I rang the bear-bells and blew my whistle. There was a dead snake on one of the roads.
      Many older properties were closed and maybe abandoned.
      The scenery was lovely with the leaves on some trees starting to change colour.
      After an hour's wait at Nojiri, I took a train on the Chuo Line for an hour's journey to Naira, stopping at all stations including Kiso-Fukushima. Naira was a National Monument and another Post Town as were Magone and Tsumago, with a high street lined with old houses. and shops although it was quiet in late afternoon once any tourists had left.
      I stayed at Katou Minshuku where there was one Japanese guest ,who spoke very little English, at dinner and breakfast which were Japanese set meals.
      I turned the heater on in the bedroom for a while sonce the evenings were getting chillier, especially given the altitude in the mountains.      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Kiso-machi, 木曽町

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