Nakasendo Touring Day 4 (Second Half) | Real estate sales consulting for the wealthy is Glory Management K.K. @Tokyo | Travel Blog Fine Travel Read

Nakasendo Touring Day 4

We left Tsumago-juku on our scooters at 10 o'clock.

It seems that many foreign tourists walk from Tsumago-juku to Minami Kiso Station and then continue along the Yokawa Road, but I decided to ride my moped to Minami Kiso Station.

By the time we got to Minami Kiso Station, we came across the atmospheric cobblestone roads of the old Nakasendo road.

The JOG was parked at JR Minami Kiso Station until 11 o'clock.

Once again we gathered detailed information about the Yokawa Road at the tourist information center at Minami Kiso Station and started our Yokawa Road trail!

First, there is Momosuke Bridge, the largest wooden bridge in Japan, built by Momosuke Fukuzawa for generating electricity. It is designated as an Important Cultural Property.

On the way, we passed Mitsuno-juku, but apart from the remains of the main camp (and the monument where Emperor Meiji rested), there was nothing that looked like it had been there in the past...

After passing Mitsuno, the route heads into the mountains on the east side of the Kiso River.

This is because the Yokawa Road was built as an emergency route in case the Kiso River flooded and the old Nakasendo Road became unusable.

We walked through the forest. The greenery was beautiful.

I found a house where ducks were being raised. There were many ducklings, but the moment I looked in, they ran into the shed and I couldn't take a photo. I wonder if they are being raised for food?

Bear repellent bell.

Speaking of bears, there are bear warning signs all along the way.

There are even some like this...

What a great idea to use a moss-covered telegraph pole in this way!

Three cushions!! (lol)

I had heard that there would be few foreign tourists because it was the rainy season, but on the way, I passed a group of about 10 foreign guided tour people. They were of Western descent.

I also talked to a couple (the man was British and the woman was New Zealander) who were walking in the opposite direction along the Yokawa trail (from Nojiri-juku to Minami Kiso), and they said they saw a baby bear on the way. It was so small, it looked like a koala...

Apparently, the moment it saw people it ran away, so there was no time to take a photo.

The fact that there was a baby bear means that there was probably a mother bear nearby, so it must have been a very dangerous situation.

An atmospheric road.

After crossing the pass, the second half of the journey (downhill) became mostly asphalt roads.

We arrived safely at Nojiri-juku in about 5 hours.

I decided to stop by Katana, where I had been the day before yesterday, and wait until the JR Chuo Line's down train time.

Please note that there are few trains, so if you miss one you may have to wait for 2 hours.

When I entered the traditional Japanese-style cafe "Katana," a man who had also walked along Yokawa Road from Minami Kiso Station was sitting at the counter.

I sat at the counter, sipping coffee and chatting with the owner.

Apparently, the man was the owner of a guesthouse in Magome-juku that had been running since last year. He had traveled around the world, including to Chile and India.

When I asked, "Are you okay with dealing with guests?", I was told that it was okay for the guesthouse to be empty since the guesthouse was staying for multiple nights. Since there are many places to eat in Magome-juku, the guesthouse does not provide any meals, but instead makes meal reservations for guests at the time of booking. I learned a lot from the fact that the guesthouse is run almost unmanned, with only a brief encounter at the time of check-in.

Also, perhaps due in large part to the owner's personality, he will eat meals with his guests, and if guests arrive during the cold season, he will even go to a nearby hot spring facility in his own car.

I was surprised at how close the relationship was with the customers (laughs).

The owner of this guesthouse and the owner of Kojitsu Coffee, whom I met in the morning, said the same thing, but it seems like they have more fun talking to foreigners than Japanese people because they can have more interesting conversations. I can understand that feeling... (laughs)

The owner of Katana also bought the old house next door and is running a guesthouse there. It seems that he is thinking of it as a guesthouse for his rider friends from all over the country, rather than for inbound tourists. I've been there twice, and I'm grateful for the valuable stories he told me!

I also took the 17:39 JR train from Nojiri Station to Minami Kiso Station with the owner of Magome-juku guesthouse, and after picking up my scooter we headed to my lodging for the night, Hotel Fuki no Mori.

In the morning, I talked with the owner of Kojitsu Coffee in Tsumago-juku, and in the evening, I talked with the owner of Katana in Nojiri-juku and the owner of the guesthouse in Magome-juku . It was a very meaningful day!

Distance traveled on Day 4: 22km

- Additional Note -

As I was relaxing in the hot spring at night after hiking along the Yokawa trail, a tattooed white man came in. If the bath hadn't opened, I probably wouldn't have had a chance to talk to him, but the purpose of this trip was to investigate inbound tourism. So, I was interested in where he came from and what route he was taking, so I started talking to him as he sat next to me in the indoor bath. It could have been a dangerous situation if I'd made a slight mistake... lol

He came from Germany with his girlfriend and is planning to travel around Japan for about 30 days and then propose to her. We had a lively conversation and ended up talking for about an hour in the indoor bath. I'm going to bump into him tomorrow at a teahouse on Samurai Road and then we'll have dinner together in Tokyo.