中山道—Nakasendō—Central Mountain Route
Kiso Valley waterfall
My friend Noriko and I spent a few days traveling through the beautiful Kiso Valley on the historic Nakasendō trail this past November. The Nakasendō is a feudal mountain route that connected Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo). There aren't exact dates of when this highway was first formed, but some say it has been around since between 600-700AD. For our journey, some 1400 years later, we traveled from Tokyo to the Kiso Valley by Shinkansen (186 miles per hour!!!), bus, and then walked between two small "post-towns" on foot. These towns are reflective of what life was like during the Tokugawa era, when samurai and other travelers would pass through them, with old small inns and shops catering to those passing through.
Fall forest in the Kisō Valley
The Nakasendō wasn’t the only or the most traveled route from Kyoto to Edo (Tokyo) in olden times. The Tōkaidō (東海道—East Sea Road) route was by far the most used. But travelers who didn’t want to ford rivers would take the Nakasendō. I imagine choosing a route also depended on where you were geographically, the time of year, and the weather conditions.
Persimmons and chiles
All of this fascinates me as an avid geographer, wondering why and how people move from place to place, and the stories that are attached to their quests. Walking along this trail, through mountains and post towns, made me think of the amazing stories of journeys that must have occurred. It’s a samurai film fan’s fantasy world come to life. This is where it all happened—swords, kimonos, shoguns, samurai.
Meeting room for daimyo and samurai
I can't recommend this trip enough. The Kiso Valley is not difficult to get to from Tokyo, is incredibly beautiful, and is a great escape from the ultra-modern throng of Tokyo The Nakasendō is gorgeous. There’s no charge to walk its path. You just need to get there.
