Hi all,
Sorry for my bad English beforehand.
I’ll be going on a 15 days trip to Japan. I’m planning to walk the trail from Magome to Tsumago so I need some advice on this leg of the trip.
The trip will be in early October and the starting point will be Nagoya. i will most likely use JR pass for the train rides and bus for the rest. I plan to have my luggage delivered from Nagoya to Matsumoto so i’ll only be carrying an overnight bag.
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Some issues/challenge i thought of:
\- Hardly find any room vacancy for an overnight stay in Tsumago though many people recommend to stay there. (From online booking platforms).
\- More reasons to walk from Magome to Tsumago instead of Tsumago to Magome.
\- Planning to continue onwards to Narai then Matsumoto. Won’t it be inefficient if I do a daytrip from Nagoya.
\- Limited bus timings.
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Some of the options i thought of:
1. Depart Nagoya early in the morning straight to Magome. Drop off our overnight bag at an accommodation in Magome. Walk the trail to Tsumago. Take a bus ride back from Tsumago to Magome in the afternoon. Depart from Magome to Narai the next day. (2 days)
2. Depart Nagoya early in the morning. Stop at Nakatsugawa to drop overnight bag. Proceed to Magome. Walk the trail to Tsumago. Take a bus ride back from Tsumago to Nakatsugawa in the afternoon. Depart from Nakatsugawa to Narai the next day. (2 days)
3. Depart Nagoya early in the morning. Stop at Magome Tourist Office and send overnight bag onwards to Tsumago. Walk the trail to Tsumago. Pick up the bag at Tsumago and take a bus ride from Tsumago to Nagiso in the afternoon. Stay overnight in Nagiso. Depart from Nagiso to Narai the next day. (2 days)
4. Take a day trip from Nagoya. Complete the trail from Magome to Tsumago and return back to Nagoya. Proceed to Narai the next day. (Day trip)
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I’m having a hard time deciding on these options or if there is any better way. Any advice/input is greatly appreciated.
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Cheers
5 comments
Here is what I did. I chose the option to spend the night in Magome and checked out magome that day (I didn’t have bags with me, just my hiking pack and light), woke up early the next day, hit the trail at 8 am, hiked to Tsumago, checked out tsumago, took the bus to Nagiso, traveled back from Nagiso station that day. Your itinerary is a little different however.
The direction depends on your walking preference. From Magome it’s a fairly short, but steeper climb to the pass, and then a long downhill towards Tsumago. The other way around you spend almost all of the hike going up, and then lose all the altitude in the last hour. Also, Magome is a higher elevation.
I’m planning this same trip in a few months. I landed on going to Magome, chilling there for the day and staying overnight, next day sending our luggage to Tsumago in the morning and walking the trail to Tsumago, then staying overnight there. This may be a bit slower but it’s our sort of rest/break period of our trip between Tokyo and Kyoto. We were lucky enough to find back to back nights available in Magome and Tsumago I suppose. If you keep looking I think you’ll find something.
Magome is super beautiful in the evening, the sunset from up there is just gorgeous. And the lanterns they put out! If you can find lodging, that’s where I’d stay. Magomechaya is a great option, for example. So I’d recommend taking the bus back to there after you finish the hike!
I did your number 2 option to a T in 2019 although I came from Narai and went to Nagoya after. I think it worked out very well, I only wish I had more time in Magome (a big part of that day was spent in Narai). But the actual hike was super enjoyable, talked with two older men who were running(?) some sort of rest area about halfway down, they gave us tea and stuff. I could also have spent more time in Tsumago, pretty much just walked through, had lunch and left, but that was more our planning. Wish you luck with finding accommodation