NAKASENDO (KISO VALLEY)

The Kiso area is located in the mountainous Nagano Prefecture and famously includes a length of the Nakasendo (central mountain route) trail – one of the Five Routes of the Edo period. These routes were travelled by feudal lords making their annual visit to the capital of Edo (Tokyo). The Nakasendo trail spans 540 kilometres of stunning mountainous terrain between Kyoto and Tokyo and featured 69 station towns where travellers could rest during their long journey.

The Kiso area is home to eleven of these historic station towns including the well preserved Magome, Tsumago and Narai. Another town, Kiso Fukushima, is a quaint riverside valley town famously featuring the Kiso Fukushima Checkpoint, Kozen-ji Temple (housing Asia’s largest dry rock garden) and dozens of old Ryokan backing onto the river for an aesthetic reminiscent of Kyoto. No trip to Kiso is complete without walking the Nakasendo trail, however there are also many other hiking opportunities in the surrounding mountains.