Gentle Trekking Nakasendo Trail

Day 1 - Arrive Tokyo. Group transfer to hotel.

Fly overnight London to Tokyo.

Overnight: In flight

Day 2 - Arrive Tokyo. Group transfer to hotel.

You will fly in to Tokyo international airport where you will be met and transferred to your hotel, conveniently located in the central business district. Please note that you may not be able to check in to your hotel until 2pm. However, you will still be able to use the hotel's luggage storage facilities as well as the hotel's bar/restaurant. You may also like to go out to explore what the city has to offer. Your guide will take you out to dinner.

Overnight: Shiba Park Hotel or Similar

Day 3 - Sightseeing in Tokyo.

Your first full day in Japan will be spent enjoying a walking tour of the Yanaka and Ueno areas of the city. Yanaka is an old quarter of Tokyo which still retains the charm of the Edo period, with many traditional houses, narrow streets and small temples. Popular with artists for its scenic quality, this area survived the bombing of World War II and gives a flavour of what Tokyo was like before it became a huge, concrete metropolis. The local shopping street, Yanaka Ginza, with its traditional shops stands in sharp contrast to high end Ginza district beloved by international brands.

You will stroll through peaceful neighbourhoods, visit Yanaka Cemetery and discover historic Tenno-ji Temple. In the afternoon, you continue on to Asakusa where you walk through the lively Nakamise shopping street and visit Kappabashi Kitchen Street. Asakusa is an old quarter in Tokyo's shitamachi ('low city') which still displays some narrow streets reminiscent of the Edo period of Tokyo's history. Its main attraction is Senso-ji, a large Buddhist temple with a five-storey pagoda, dating originally from the 7th century and rebuilt after its destruction during World War II. With Asakusa Shrine nearby, the complex serves as the site for several religious festivals throughout the year. Leading up to the main temple buildings is the Nakamise-dori, a pedestrian street lined with shops selling a variety of Japanese arts, crafts and souvenirs. At the end of the street is the Kaminari-mon, the famous entrance gate to the temple.

Overnight: Shiba Park Hotel or Similar

Day 4 - Transfer to the Kiso Valley, Walk to Narai - 2 miles, 1 hour.

Today brings the start of your journey through rural Japan in the remote Kiso valley region. Over the next three days you will walk by day from village to village, staying by night in small, family-run country inns (ryokan and minshuku).

To begin, a train takes you from Tokyo to Shiojiri where there is the opportunity to enjoy a lunch of buckwheat noodles. You then start your walk from Kiso-Hirasawa which is known for its locally-produced lacquer ware. There may be a chance to see the craftsmen at work before setting off for Narai - about 1.5 miles along the trail that follows the river. Narai is one of 11 'post-towns' along the Kiso valley section of the Nakasendo Trail. Post-towns were resting places where travellers could find accommodation and food as they walked between Kyoto and Edo (as Tokyo was then called). Narai marked the half-way point of the route between the two centres and remains one of the most beautifully preserved of all the post-towns. It is a fascinating place to wander round, and time permitting you can visit the re-built cedar bridge and the shrine just above the small town.

Your luggage today will be sent ahead from Tokyo to Kiso-Fukushima (where you will stay tomorrow) allowing you to carry just a light daypack on your short walk, with your overnight essentials. Your accommodation tonight is a delightful, minshuku inn in Narai.

Overnight: Shimada Minshuku or Similar

Day 5 - Walk to Yabuhara over the Torii Pass, 1,196m/3,927ft - 4 miles, 3 hours. Transfer by train to Kiso-Fukushima.

Narai grew as a post town because it lay at the start of the highest pass on the Nakasendo Trail, and travellers would gather here to wait for good weather. It is a 270 metre/885feet climb on the extremely well graded path to the Torii pass, through beautiful mixed forest of chestnut, cedar and walnut trees. The pass is marked by a small re-built and uninhabited tea-house. There are beautiful views back down the hill to Narai from here. The descent from the pass is again on a very good path, with small shrines along the route. This is bear country, and there are bells to ring along the route to warn the bears to keep away! You walk into the small town of Yabuhara, where you will have lunch before continuing a short distance by train to Kiso-Fukushima.

Here you will stay up a secluded valley in a lovely, traditional ryokan with its own natural hot spring. You may soak in the large indoor bath or try the outdoor baths surrounded by trees. Many of the inns you stay in on your trek have been owned and run by the same family for many, many generations, so they take great pride in their high standards of service, comfort and cuisine. Your luggage, sent from Tokyo, will be waiting for you.

270m/885ft ascent, 344m/1128ft descent.

Overnight: Komanoyu Ryokan or Similar

Day 6 - Transfer to Nojiri. Walk the Nakasendo Trail to Tsumago - 9 miles, 6-7 hours.

Your luggage will be sent ahead this morning to Mount Koya. You will transfer from Kiso-Fukushima to Nojiri by train and, after a short taxi ride, walk for just under 9 miles along the Nakasendo Way to Tsumago. En route you will pass through delightful small villages, rice fields and scenic countryside. The path is undulating, with stretches of giant bamboo forests, cedar forest and deciduous trees. The small farming hamlets are incredidly picturesque and neat, with fields of rice well protected by fences from the bears, deer and wild-boar that inhabit this hilly landscape. Another of the post-towns on the former Nakasendo trail, Tsumago has been preserved by strict self-imposed rules that prohibit the sale, rental or destruction of the handsome houses. It’s a living museum, but one which is still inhabited by the local residents. You will arrive in the afternoon and have a chance for a quick look around before continuing for a short distance to your accommodation at the attractive hamlet of O-Tsumago.

344m/1,128ft ascent, 723m/2,275ft descent.

Overnight: Tsutamaraya Minshuku or Similar

Day 7 - Explore Tsumago, walk to Magome over the Magome Pass, 800m/2,624m - 5 miles, 3-4 hours. 3-4 hours. Transfer by bus to Nakatsugawa.

In the morning, you will have a leisurely start to the day, enjoying some time in Tsumago and have the opportunity to eat lunch there before continuing on to walk the five miles to Magome, your last stop in the Kiso Valley. The trail from Tsumago to Magome is the most beautiful and best-preserved part of the Nakasendo Trail and your walk is a delight from start to finish. Climbing gradually from Tsumago you reach a tea-house that has been used as a luggage depot for hundreds of years. After you enter the forest, you ascend on an ancient path to reach the two waterfalls of Odaki and Medaki. After climbing a little further you reach the Ichikokutochi tea-house. This large, wooden building, set in a pretty clearing, is little changed since the Edo period, and it is still possible to have a cup of Japanese tea here. You are almost at the highest pass of the day here, and it is a stunning walk down from the pass with beautiful mountain views to reach the post town of Magome. You’ll have time to look around this popular little town, before catching the bus to nearby Nakatsugawa where you will spend the night. 430m/1,410ft ascent, 326m/1,069ft descent.

Overnight: Shinchaya Ryokan Or Similar, Nakatsugawa

Day 8 - Transfer to Mount Koya, walk in afternoon around the temples and vast cemetery.

Today you will take a local train out of the mountains before travelling on the bullet train to Osaka, and then on by subway and limited express train to Mount Koya, situated in a bowl-shaped valley filled with stands of cedar trees 900 metres up in the mountains of the Kii Peninsula. Since the 9th century, when the priest Kukai (also known as Kobo Daishi) founded the first temple and the Shingon sect of Buddhism, Mount Koya has been a place of religious devotion and ceremony. Today there are more than 100 monasteries, many of which have shukubo (temple lodgings). You will stay in one of the temples, run by the monks, and dine on shojin-ryori (Buddhist vegetarian cuisine). You will also visit Kongo-buji temple and there will be a guided walk through the vast Okuno-in cemetery, with thousands of graves and memorials to feudal lords and other past luminaries. Your luggage, sent from Kiso-Fukishima, will be waiting for you at your inn.

Overnight: Yochiin Temple Or Jofukin Temple Or Similar, Mount Koya

Day 9 - Transfer to Nara, afternoon sightseeing including the Todaiji Temple.

Your luggage will be sent ahead this morning while you travel by cable car and train to Nara. Nara was Japan's first permanent capital and many of its remarkable temples are spread throughout the beautiful park situated in the heart of the town. In the afternoon you will visit Todaiji Temple, one of the eight UNESCO World heritage sites in Nara.Todaiji temple’s Daibutsu-den is the largest wooden building in the world, housing a 16-metre tall image of the Rushana Buddha in bronze and gold. Prior to being rebuilt three hundred years ago, the awesome wooden structure was even larger than today.

Overnight: Piazza Nara Hotel Or Similar, Nara

Day 10 - Walk the Yamanobe No Michi - 8 miles, 4 hours.

This morning, following breakfast at your hotel, you will transfer to the trailhead to walk along the historic Yamanobe-no-michi, said to be the oldest road in Japan. This trail winds its way along the base of the hills along a mix of forested and paved paths, which mark the edge of Yamato Plain, south of Kyoto and Nara, associated with the early Yamato clan who were the founders of the first unified Japanese state. The route is dotted with old shrines and burial mounds of the first emperors. In between are small villages together with fields of rice, vegetables, strawberries and other fruits. Also famous are the thin Miwa somen noodles, served with a light broth. Small shops along the way sell snacks such as mochi (rice paste), cakes covered in kinako (soya flour) and matcha (powdered green tea).

Overnight: Piazza Nara Hotel Or Similar, Nara

Day 11 - Train to Kyoto, evening walk in Gion.

You will take the train to Kyoto and check into your hotel. Kyoto was Japan’s capital for many centuries and is still regarded as the country’s cultural heart. Luggage sent from Mount Koya will be waiting at your hotel. Kyoto is a very accessible city, with the delightful river-side path a lovely place to wander. There are numerous temples, museums and shops to visit, and in the evening you can enjoy a guided walk in Gion, Kyoto’s geisha district, where there is the possibility of seeing a geiko (fully-fledged geisha) or maiko (apprentice geisha) making their way through the narrow streets.

Overnight: Hotel Hearton or Similar

Day 12 - Morning walking tour of Kyoto, afternoon free for shopping and further sightseeing.

There will be a half-day walking tour this morning. You first visit the Sanjo-ohashi Bridge which marks the western end of the Nakasendo Trail. You continue to Nanzenji, a tranquil Zen Buddhist temple whose history dates back to the mid-13th century when the Emperor Kameyama built his retirement villa here and later converted it into a temple. You then stroll along the Philosopher's Path with craft shops, cafes, shrines and temples beside the waters of a small canal. The path ends near Ginkakuji - the Silver Pavilion. There will be free time in the afternoon so you can explore the area further or shop for crafts and last minute souvenirs. By now you will be well-versed in tackling Japan's extremely efficient public transport system on your own! We would highly recommend visiting the Nishiki food market, and perhaps one of the very popular vintage shops selling second-hand kimonos. In the evening, there will be a farewell dinner with your guide.

Overnight: Hotel Hearton or Similar

Day 13 - Group transfer to Osaka airport. Fly to London.

Time to bid goodbye to Japan as you transfer to the airport for your flight home.

Please note that there are normally two daily flights back to the UK: an early morning flight, arriving back in the UK on the same day, and an overnight flight. If booked on an overnight flight, you will have time at leisure this morning before an afternoon transfer to the airport. You will then depart Japan this evening and arrive back in the UK tomorrow.