They are the two most well-preserved post stations along the Nakasendo. The 2-hour walk between the two is easy and a real joy. An easy day trip.

There was a similar question on japan-guide.com forum two days ago - someone posted quite a bit of info there - do a search for it.

I did the walk from Magome to Tsumago only and that was very well marked....

http://www.nakasendoway.com/?page_id=95

I found this link in my bookmark file - maybe it will help...

My husband and I walked the Nakasando Way with Walk Japan ( http://www.walkjapan.com ) in 2005. It involved 8 days of walking, with some train rides to get to different sections, bookended by a couple of days in Kyoto for a 12-day trip. One of the most awesome trips we've ever been on. I loved the Nakasendo trail, and doing it with a guide fluent in Japanese and 4 other couples (whom we first met in Kyoto) made it extra special. Some long days of walking but nothing strenuous, and the trail was well maintained (though I didn't pay much attention to whether it was well marked, since our guide led the way). We ran into some really nice Japanese walkers along the way but, aside from the Magome/Tsumago route no other other Westerners.

I would do it again in a heartbeat, and may well do so.

I'll dig up our trip notes (didn't post a trip report) later tonight and see if I can give you some more information about the less-visited sections you are going to. Good choice!

The link that Mara posted has good information and should be helpful to you.

Here are some notes about what we did on the portions of the Nakasendo you are planning to walk. Our trip was in mid-April, and the cherry trees were bursting into bloom the whole walk--lovely!

Your day 1: Nakatsugawa-->Magome-->Tsumago

We took 2 days to do this portion. We had walked to Nakatsugawa in the morning from Ena. After lunch in Nakatsugawa, we climbed out of town along both roads and pathways until we came to the small former post town of Ochiai, where we stopped briefly to visit a former inn that has been reconstructed as a museum. We continued fairly steeply uphill along the road until we came to one of the most scenic places on the Nakasendo, a long stretch of ancient paved trail (ishidatami) that led up through a forested hillside. Emerging from the trail onto a road, we passed an abandoned teahouse, behind which was the house of a monk and his dozen dogs. Shortly thereafter we reached our destination for the night, a wonderful ryokan that was formerly a teahouse, Shinchaya. The walk from Nakatsugawa to Shinchaya took about 3 hours. Fantastic dinner at the inn--you might want to stay there and spend the next day walking to Magome and Tsumago. Both these towns get lots of tourists, so visiting in the early morning would be preferable. (See day 3 below for way to do this.)

The walk from Shinchaya to Magome is just 2 km, about 30 minutes. The road heads steeply uphill past rice paddies, then trough a rural setting with small farms and gardens. A specialty of Magome is buckwheat cakes, so be sure to try some (we loved the eggplant and pumpkin ones). An hour there is sufficient to enjoy the scene.

The section from Magome to Tsumago is probably the most frequently walked part of the Nakasendo, but it was hardly deluged with people. It's mostly forest path, with some sections of ishidatami. We spent the night in O-Tsumago, visiting Tsumago from there (about 25 minutes away). Tsumago has an interesting historical museum as well. We were able to soak in the hot spring in the evening--took a taxi to the hotel complex with the spring, about 5 miles away. Fun and relaxing after a day of hiking.

Your day 2: Tsumago-->Nojiri, then train to Kiso-Fukushima

We walked out of Tsumago in the morning, arriving at Nagiso in about 90 minutes, taking a brief side trip to the site of Tsumago Castle (good views of the Kiso Valley). From Nagiso we walked uphill for about 3.5 hours, some of it on the road. Forested hill sections alternated with valley farmland until, after about 3 hours, we started up a forested path that led to the pass. From the pass it was a steep descent of about an hour to Nojiri train station. About 15 km from Nagiso to Nojiri, but the views were worth it. You can also take the train from Nagiso if you don't feel up to the walk.

The train ride includes great views of the Kiso River, and snow-covered peaks in April. We stayed at a lovely royokan in Kiso-Fukushima, across from the train station. Another wonderful dinner! Kiso, by the way, had the world's most perfect weeping cherry tree--worth searching out.

Your day 3: Kiso-Fukushima-->Kaida Plateau

We combined your day 3 and day 4--doing so would allow you to break up your walk for day 1. From Kiso we took a short train ride to Yabuhara, a center for making wooden combs. From here we walked a lovely route, fairly steep in places, that took us out of the Kiso valley, mostly along paths that led through forests up to Torii Pass. At the top was a Shino fox shrine and stunning views that included the volcano Ontake. We descended from there to Hirasawa, then headed down more short road stretches and forest paths into the post town of Narai. Not as well-known as Magome and Tsumago, but really nice (and less crowded with tourists). Both Narai and Hirasawa are nice places to buy locally produced lacquerware. The walk took about 4 hours. Stayed overnight in Narai.

The next day we took a train from Narai to Matsumoto, with its wonderful castle. Spent time touring the town and then took the train back to Kyoto.

This trip will be a fantastic experience. Even if you don't speak Japanese, I think you will find people to be very helpful in pointing the way. Have your destinations written in Japanese so you can show them to people if needed. Wish I were going with you!

Many thanks Belllisanol, Mara and aprillilacs! Your answers and links were very helpful.

aprillilacs, walkjapan is exactly the itinerary we were copying! Thanks so much for the details. I am now a little more confident about doing this. I do have a few more questions though, if you don't mind answering.

1. You said that there were no other Westerners on the trail except between Magome and Tsumago. So does this mean the trail from Tsumago to Nojiri is deserted? Or are there at least Japanese walkers that can hopefully point the way? You mentioned that you didn't notice if the way was well-marked or not. Do you think, in your best opinion, that we can find our way by asking people we meet (are there enough of them along the way?)?
2. I mentioned that the walkjapan itinerary was the one we were trying to do. As per their itinerary, they go on the Hida trail. Would you know if this the one you're mentioning that took you out of the Kiso Valley, up to the Torii Pass? And that ended in Hirosawa, then to Narai? Is this trail well-marked, or at least well populated? Would you know if its on a map?

After your comments, I'm no longer worried about from Magome to Tsumago, as you said it was well-marked. Do you think we'll be able to find the trails from Tsumago to Nojiri, and from Kiso to Narai? Or at least, follow a map?

Sorry for asking so many questions, and I really do appreciate you sharing your experience.

The way from Tsumago to Nagiso is easy to find. It's mostly along roads, and locals could certainly help you, but from there to Nojiri it's not so not easy to follow--part of it is on roads; our guide knew where to go. It's possible you could get guidance from people along the way, but I don't want to mislead you. We did see one huge group of Japanese hiking the other way on part of that route, but other than that it was mostly just our group.

You could take the train from Nagiso to Nojiri if you want to avoid that section, though it is certainly one of the nicest hiking routes on the trail, if you can manage to follow it!

I am not sure if we followed the Hida trail--I just don't remember. The path over the Torii Pass to Narai is definitely on the Nakasendo, though. I don't think that is hard to find and follow.

You might want to try contacting the Japanese Tourist Bureau to see if they can provide maps of the trails in the area.

I was just going to suggest the JTB. They always seem to have maps of popular hikes. Sometimes they are only in Japanese, but often have little drawings of landmarks, and certainly could be used to ask a resident if you are heading in the right direction.

When we were in the Izu area in November, we got maps for some of the most obscure little routes and found them very useful. We usually hit up the info offices, often across the street from the train stations whenever we arrive in a new town. They often have info on tiny festivals, markets, hikes, etc that are unavailable elsewhere, as well as the ability to book you into a local inn or hotel.