Hiking the Nakasendo Way

Hiking the Nakasendo Way was invigorating- it was rainy and wet, but we were in high spirits and had been looking forward to this for so long. The country side of Japan is gorgeous. We walked through several little towns, and even stopped in a tea house at the mid-way point, where a very old man poured us tea, lent us umbrellas and sold Josh the best hat ever (he needed something to keep him dry and his options were seriously limited). My calves hurt for days afterwards because the climb was so steep. It poured during parts of the walk, and we trudged on. There were waterfalls, and rivers, and bamboo forests, and mist everywhere! The air was moist and the rock paths were slick and we almost fell on our heads once or twice. The total walk was over 5 miles and we were so happy that Luna hiked the whole thing without too many complaints…

When we arrived in Tsumago, we ate bowls of warm homemade soba noodle soup (this region is known for their soba) for lunch and warmed right up. We stayed at Fujioto Ryokan in Tsumago and it was picture perfect in every way. The gardens were immaculate, the people who ran it were so kind, and we had backs on our chairs! I gave Luna her first Japanese bath- where you soap up and shower off before you get in the water- and everyone shares the same water in the communal cedar bath with steaming water. We really enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere, and wearing yukatas (the robes) to dinner, and even to take a stroll at night while Mom and Dad watched Luna. Tsumago was a very special place and we’d highly recommend it to anyone visiting Japan.