We awoke to a misty and drizzly morning in our 150+ year old shukuba, it had been a good nights sleep and I was excited to be hiking on the Nakasendo in a few short hours. Although we were staying closer to Tsumago I wanted to start the hike from Magome-juku so most of the trail was downhill, rather than up hill. We had a 40-minute drive to star the day and the rain continued on our way but it miraculously stopped as soon as we parked.

There is plenty of free parking at the southern end of Magome-juku, which was almost entirely empty when we arrived (perhaps due to the inclement weather!). We initially suited up in our waterproof over trousers and coats, but it was so incredibly humid and so we quickly realised they weren’t needed. Sadly, the clouds and humidity meant we had no view of the surrounding mountains, but the empty town was so beautiful it almost didn’t matter.

Although it was early shops were starting to put out their signs and we perused what was available, making note of shops to return to later in the day. The hike was enjoyable, even with numerous photography stops it took 3 hours from town to town. The route was more varied than I expected with a few small villages along the route, some road portions, as well as the ancient mountain paths. There were also some stunning mountain/wild hydrangea which was a treat to find as the hydrangea season had already finished across Honshu.

There is an off-shoot from the route to visit the Otaki and Metaki falls (male and female falls)- a common naming convention when two waterfalls are close to each other. The larger is always the male falls and the smaller the female falls. They were really beautiful and we spent a good bit of time there.

The final part of the hike went quickly, after passing the lucky point (at 777m elevation) you descend further passing small villages along the route, and coming to the famous bend in the stone path. Just around the corner is a monument to the cows of the Nakasendo.

Before long we arrived in Tsumago, it was less lively and picturesque than Magome – perhaps it is less developed into a tourist area and is left as it was hundreds of years ago. It was a nice end to the walk, and the sky began to brighten and we walked to the end of the town. The Nakasendo continued going, but this was the end of it for us. We found the bus stop which had taxi’s available and we were able to get back to Magome quite quickly.

The taxi dropped us off at the car park where we had left our car hours earlier, and we were able to get rid of our heavy hiking bags and gear as the day had become really hot with the sun out. We wanted to slowly explore the shopping options through Magome, and even though it was the afternoon there were still relatively few people there. It was lovely visiting the stores, there were several original shops who weren’t just selling the usual tourist stuff.

There were hours of daylight left, and so I wanted to take the opportunity to visit Ryujin Falls further north in Gifu prefecture. I had seen this on some YouTube videos from Tetsu & Reid and I had really wanted to visit. We drove up the winding mountain roads and found ourselves at a dead end, a wild-looking car park that was on multiple levels, and little of it was flat. We were directed to park on a jutting piece of grass, on quite a camber, it was a stress to get the car up on the slope, but it seemed okay. The falls weren’t quite what I expected, you are funneled across a bridge and then across viewing platforms. It was a bit like a conveyer belt and it meant less time than I’d like to appreciate the falls. They were stunning, with such clear emerald water.

On our way back to our accommodation we stopped at a michi no eki and explored the river across from it the Shizumo Forest – River and Green Park. It was absolutely boiling hot, but enjoyable to explore the riverside. We also picked up some local sweets at the michi no eki – a type of three flavoured mochi used on Hina Matsur – it was delicious, I would certainly recommend picking some up if you are in the area.