1-Day Tour from Matsumoto: Discover Old Japan on the Nakasendo Trail Trek

Embark on a 1-day tour from Matsumoto and discover Old Japan on the Nakasendo Trail Trek. Experience traditional post towns, ancient forests, and mountain passes on this exciting hike.

Duration: 8 hours, 55 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Tsumago Post Office - Our tour will begin in earnest when you and your guide step off the bus at Tsumago-juku Post Town. Once a vital station on a road connecting Tokyo (then called Edo) and Kyoto, the town’s appearance has not changed since its heyday. Here you can find streets lined with traditional wooden buildings that have been meticulously…
What's Included
  • Transport to and from all locations in a dedicated tour vehicle
  • English-speaking guide
What's Not Included
  • Lunch
Additional Information

Prepare to experience Old Japan on foot with this exciting hike through traditional post towns, ancient forests, and dramatic mountain passes. Starting in Tsumago-juku post town, your guide will explain a bit about what kinds of people traveled the roads in Old Japan, where they were going, and how they lived. You will get a chance to enter some…

Location
Tsumago Post Office
2197-5 Azuma
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(20 Ratings)
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1 star
Karteek
Apr 18, 2025
Tsumago to Magome Nakasendo Trail - A nice way to explore the Nakasendo trail from Tsumago to Magome. We started our journey from Matsumoto by a private bus van to Tsumago - which has buildings dating back to the 17th century. Our guides, Kim and Hemi took us through the trail providing a detailed history and thoughtfully answered our questions. If you are looking for a day trip, enjoy history, hiking and scenery - you’ll love this.
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Dianneb535
Apr 18, 2025
Great tour. - The tour was fabulous. Lots of amazing scenery and beautiful streets with gorgeous old buildings. The tour guides were very knowledgeable and friendly and the tour was well organised. I give this tour 10 out of 10.
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804lisam
Apr 3, 2025
Beautiful Day Hike on Nakasendo Trail - What a great way to see the countryside of Japan & walk a section of the Nakasendo trail. Our guide, Kieran was excellent, very knowledgeable & accommodating to our small group. Our driver was very skillful & safe during our full day of travel. Each of the three traditional post villages were unique in their own way. My favourite village was Magome. I would highly recommend Snow Monkey Resort tours for future adventures!
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Susananderson2003
Nov 29, 2024
Traditional Nihon - Guide and driver fantastic. Views and walk perfect. Quiet, self reflection opportunity, guidance given as required. Beautiful part of Japan.
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Venture44412857372
Nov 16, 2024
Great day! - This was a great experience! Our guide Kieron was very friendly, took the time to answer all our questions, and he knew a lot of info! The pace of the hike was very manageable for my 70 year old parents, the road was mostly paved with some inclines. We had time to shop and grab food throughout the day, and lots of restroom facilities. The scenery was beautiful and the hike was so peaceful. Thoroughly enjoyed. Very easy to find the meeting spot, and lucky for us it was a small group; just us and another couple. A bit pricey, but worth it for the transportation. We were picked up in a very comfortable van and drove for 2 hrs to get to the starting point. Thank you for a great day!
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Imelda
Nov 11, 2024
Must do! - Shawn was a great guide and we were the only ones on the tour (so i guess it became a private your for us! Horray for us! ). Great trail walk. Not too hard. 2/10. Had fun stops at some post offices. Tourist offices and snacks of venison burger, wagyu sushi. (Note we were the only ones so we had a lot of time) beautiful towns on the edo road.
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V4115bbnancyw
Nov 11, 2024
Amazing hike and tour guide. - The Nakasendo Trail is a beautiful experience that I highly recommend. The 5mile hike, though gradually uphill, is very easy to complete. Our 6 year old who's been an avid hiker didn't have an issues but we did stop several times to check out sites or rest. There are plenty of bathrooms along the way. Our tour guide, Shawn, always made sure our group of 9 didn't get lost. We didn't feel rushed and the pace was great (on the slower side). We had about 45 minutes at the end to explore the cute shops and town. The stop on the way there was at seven-eleven and a clean pit-stop on the way back to grab food so we could eat in the van. The van was clean and our driver, Mr Tanaka, gave us a smooth and safe driving experience. The tour was booked through our tour guide. The only thing was we were informed our guide would be in a snow monkey hat and to look for that at the taxi station, which he wasn't, so unsure where that miscommunication was. Anyway, great times, highly recommend!
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Janhw8378pt
Nov 7, 2024
This tour was everything we hoped it would be. - The Nakasendo Trail was a great experience and everything we had hoped it would be. We picked up the tour in Matsumoto and, while it was a bit of a ride to get there, the scenery was marvelous and the bus was on the smaller side and new, modern and comfortable. Our guide, Devin, was friendly and personable and shared a wealth of knowledge about the origins of the trail and post stop structures and history in general. My husband and I hiked at our own pace and connected with our small group at the end of the trail. The scenery was just gorgeous and the time allowed was completely adequate for the hike and browsing shops at the end. It was a great time!
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Kellyk65653
Oct 11, 2024
Highly recommended - Excellent. If you like nature, hiking & and history, then this is a small size group tour for you. Around 3.5 hours of moderate level hiking through picturesque forests and mountain scenery, with lots of nice stops along the way. Our guide was excellent & well versed in the nakasendo history, and local history surrounding nagano. Thank you very much!!
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32flof
Jan 2, 2025
An Amazing Walk - Nakasendo Way Kiso Valley Road - An Amazing Walk - The Nakasendo Kiso Valley Guided Tour My husband and I were part of The Nakasendo Way: The Kiso Road from 21-26 December 2024. The tour was well organised and provided a spectacular experience. The beautiful scenery, the historic villages, the wonderful variety of accommodation and food were unforgetable experience. Thank you Walk Japan and our guide Julie Turnbull for making this tour very enjoyable, memorable and fulfilling. Julie's passion and in-depth knowledge of the tour destination made our holiday extra special.
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From $221
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).