The Nakasendo Trail Without a Car: Sections, Bags and Stays

The Nakasendo is a historic highway of Edo-period Japan, with 69 post towns along its route. In the Kiso Valley, between Nagoya and Matsumoto, several of those post towns survive as rows of wooden inns and shops, linked by stretches of the old road you can still walk. The JR Chuo Line runs along the same valley, so you can walk the old road by day and ride the train between sections without a car.

This guide covers the Kiso Valley part of the Nakasendo: why the post towns are worth the trip, which sections to walk, how to get there by train, where to sleep and what changes with the seasons. Times, fares and inn lists come from the Magome, Tsumago and Narai-juku tourism associations, the Nagano and Gifu prefectural tourism associations, Nakatsugawa City, Nagiso Town and JR Central, checked on October 20, 2026.

Why go: an old road with its towns still standing

Tsumago-juku (Nagiso, Nagano): in 1971 Tsumago's residents adopted a charter that puts preservation ahead of everything else, with a rule not to sell, rent out or tear down the houses and land along the old road. In 1976 Tsumago was selected as a nationally protected group of traditional buildings, after a preservation movement that the Nagano Prefecture Tourism Association says came ahead of the rest of the country. That rule is why the street still looks the way it does, and it comes up again in "Could you live here?" at the end of this guide. Cars are not allowed in the post town from 10:00 to 16:00.

Magome-juku (Nakatsugawa, Gifu): a post town built along a stone-paved slope. It is the birthplace of the writer Shimazaki Toson, and the Toson Memorial Museum on the site of his family home shows his manuscripts, according to Nakatsugawa City. Magome is the southern start of the Magome – Tsumago walk, 25 minutes by bus from JR Nakatsugawa Station.

Narai-juku (Shiojiri, Nagano): the post town runs about 1 km north to south along the Nakasendo. The Nagano Prefecture Tourism Association calls it the longest post town in Japan; in its busy years it was nicknamed "Narai of a thousand houses." Narai is also a nationally protected group of traditional buildings, and the Torii Pass path links Narai-juku with Yabuhara-juku.

The sections you can walk

"—" in the bag column means no bag service is listed on the official pages for that section. The Torii Pass distance and time are station to station, from the Nagano Prefecture Tourism Association.

The full guide is in my Magome to Tsumago hike guide: which way to walk, the bag service and the bus timetable back.

Getting there without a car

The Kiso Valley post towns sit along the JR Chuo Line between Nagoya and Shiojiri (March 2026 timetable).

• From Nagoya: on weekdays the limited express Shinano leaves Nagoya every hour from 7:00 to 16:00, then at 17:40, 18:40 and 19:40. Every Shinano stops at Nakatsugawa (for Magome) and Kiso-Fukushima. Only 4 a day stop at Nagiso (for Tsumago): on weekdays they leave Nagoya at 7:00, 10:00, 15:00 and 19:40.
• From Kyoto: take the Tokaido Shinkansen to Nagoya, about 33 minutes on the Nozomi according to JR Central Tours, then the Shinano.
• To Narai: no Shinano stops at Narai or Yabuhara. Change at Kiso-Fukushima to a local train, about 22 minutes to Narai: the 7:00 Shinano from Nagoya reaches Kiso-Fukushima at 8:29, and the 8:55 local reaches Narai at 9:17.
• From Tsumago to Narai: local trains run from Nagiso to Narai without a change, about 1 hour 6 minutes (the 8:11 from Nagiso reaches Narai at 9:17). In the daytime, local trains leave Narai toward Shiojiri at 9:17, 11:26, 13:26, 15:52 and 16:57, and most continue to Matsumoto.

From the station to the old road:

Drop-off times, the winter service and bag storage are in my guide to the Magome to Tsumago bag service and buses. The Matsumoto side of the Japan Alps connects to the same line: see my Japanese Alps without a car guide for routes and passes around Matsumoto.

Where to stay without a car

Sleeping in a post town lets you start walking early, and your bag only moves once. Narai-juku is 1 minute from its station; Tsumago and Magome are a short bus ride from theirs.

Numbers are the entries on each association's list on October 20, 2026. With only 8 places each on the Magome and Tsumago lists and 11 on Narai's, book before you fix your dates.

Seasons

• Bag service season: the regular Magome – Tsumago service runs March 20 to November 30, 2026. From December 1, 2026 to March 19, 2027, the temporary service costs ¥4,500 a trip for up to 3 bags.
• Rain: the stone paving between Magome and Tsumago is slippery after rain.
• Winter: the official walking pages do not state a winter closure. Ask the local tourist information center about snow and ice before walking between December and March.

Frequently asked questions

Keep planning

Could you live in the Kiso Valley?

Picture a year here instead of a week: the old road over the pass in every season, and the wooden post towns strung along the same railway line. If you can see yourself here, read on.

In Nakatsugawa, the city that includes Magome, the akiya bank had houses asking a few million yen, or tens of thousands of dollars, in October 2026, posted in Japanese. The Akiya Letter will send new houses from towns like this one in English, with a link to the town's own page.

I’m preparing guides to akiya — Japan’s empty houses — in the Kiso Valley: how akiya banks work, what an old house costs in its first year and what to check before the first winter. If you’d like to live here one day, join the waiting list.

The Akiya Letter waiting list

Join the waiting list and you'll get the first letter before it goes anywhere else.

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Official pagesNakatsugawa City: akiya bank (Magome) ↗ · Nagiso Town: akiya bank (Tsumago) ↗ · Shiojiri City: moving here (Narai) ↗