Nagano Getaway Pt 2: Magome to Tsumago

From Matsumoto, we drove the next morning to Magome. The trail between Magome and Tsumago is a well maintained section of the former Nakasendo, the route that ran along the Kiso Valley and connected Tokyo with Kyoto during the Edo Period. We had planned to hike from Magome to Tsumago, return via bus, and then drive home. It made for a very full, but incredibly rewarding day. 

Both towns have been maintained and restored from the Edo period; complete with timbered walls and wooden water-wheels. The hike itself exudes charm, history, and a sense of old Japan. Close your eyes, and you can see the horses, flags and armor passing you by.

The trail is about 7.8 K, going over a steep pass about half-way through the hike. The trail crosses the road several times, and is dotted with bells to ring before crossing. We didn't see any bears - or many people either. Since the rain of the day before had continued through mid-afternon, this wasn't terribly surprising. 

About half-way through, there was a rest-station - a small hut, with a fire in a square fire-ring. An iron kettle simmered. We walked in, and were offered hot tea and brandied ume. Perhaps it was the cold, but those were the best little alcoholic apricots ever. We also bought walking sticks, having read that you could get the sticks branded at each station on the trail to the top of Mt. Fuji. 

Passing houses and charming shrines, we eventually rolled into Tsumago. If possible, it was even more charming than Magome. Less development and more cobbled streets. 

Having skipped lunch, we were starved - after getting our official walking stick brands for Tsumago, we went for the first restaurant we could find. Being cold and wet, we ordered hot soba noodles topped with green onions, mushrooms, tofu, seaweed, yam (kind of slimy) and "grass". We learned at dinner in Matsumoto that all green vegetables that Japanese persons didn't know proper english names for were called "grass".  In this case, "grass" was wild asparagus. Amazing.

We also ordered "gohei-mochi" - toasted rice ball on a stick, glazed in sesame and walnut soy sauce. Absolutely unbelievable. So good. 

A short tour of the town, a little green tea ice-cream, and some photos of the stunning cherry blossom display finished off the town. Mostly dry by this point, we caught the bus back to Magome, and started the trek home. 

Near the end of the drive, we stopped at a Japanese rest-stop off the highway. Now, Japanese rest stops really deserve their own post...I'm not sure they can even be compared to the grimy bathroom-and-vending-machine truck stops in the  US. Think of the duty-free-shop-and-retaurant area in a larger international airport. Better. With cleaner bathrooms - and often more restaurant choices. In any case - we stopped at one of the rest stop restaurants for Japanese-style hamburger and salad. A bit more of the drive home - accompanied by reading-out-loud from "Essays on Japan" (thanks Carrie and Mike!) - and we made it home. One of the best weekends we've had in Japan!