Neighbourhood · Kiso Valley ·1–2h
Magome-juku 馬籠宿
The 43rd post town on the Nakasendo, unusual in running steeply uphill rather than along a valley floor, with a stone-paved street, water wheels and an open view south over the Gifu hills. It burned twice and was rebuilt, so it is less architecturally pure than Tsumago but more lively — shops, gohei-mochi grills, and the Toson Memorial Museum for the novelist Shimazaki Toson who was born here. It is the standard start of the Magome–Tsumago walk because from here the trail is mostly downhill.
Tip: Reached by Kitaena bus from Nakatsugawa Station, 25 minutes, ¥800, roughly every 45–60 minutes; the bus is not covered by the Japan Rail Pass. Walk up the street to the viewpoint at the top before starting the trail. Day-trippers from Nagoya flood it 11:00–15:00, so start early.
free to walk; museums ¥300–500; gohei-mochi ¥200 morning source ↗ Hike · Kiso Valley ·half day
Magome to Tsumago Nakasendo walk 馬籠峠越え 中山道
The best-preserved walkable section of the old Edo highway: 8 km from Magome over the 801 m Magome Pass and down to Tsumago, about 2.5–3 hours at a normal pace, on a mix of stone-paved forest path, farm track and short stretches of asphalt. Signage is bilingual and impossible to get wrong. On the way are the twin Odaki and Medaki waterfalls, a free teahouse where a volunteer keeps a hearth going, and bear bells mounted on posts that you ring as you pass.
Tip: Walk Magome to Tsumago, not the reverse — that direction is markedly less climbing. March conditions: the trail stays walkable through winter but carries snow and ice patches, especially on the shaded north side of the pass and in the early morning; hikers report snow on it in March. Bring microspikes or chain spikes for five people (cheap, packable) and expect mud where it has thawed. Ask at the Magome information centre for the day's trail condition before setting out — this is the standard local advice and worth following.
Museum · Kiso Valley ·1h
Wakihonjin Okuya and Nagiso Town Museum 脇本陣奥谷
The secondary lodging where lesser lords stayed, rebuilt in 1877 entirely from Kiso hinoki cypress the moment the shogunate's ban on felling it was lifted — so it is a showcase of the timber the valley was logged for. The attached history museum explains the post-town system, the checkpoints and why these villages exist at all, and there is a famously photogenic shaft of light through the smoke of the irori hearth. Best single indoor stop in Tsumago.
Tip: Buy the ¥700 combined ticket — the standalone Honjin at ¥300 is a reconstruction and much thinner on its own. A 20 percent group discount exists but needs 20 people, so it does not apply to five.
¥600 alone, ¥700 combined with the Honjin and history museum (~€4) morning source ↗