Japan Guide
Central Honshū
Tsumago
Given the tourist crowds who flock here now, it's hard to believe that, back in the 1960s, TSUMAGO, 80km south of Matsumoto, was virtually a ghost town, with most of its traditional Edo-era houses on the point of collapse. That's when locals banded together to restore the village's buildings, eventually earning Tsumago protected status and helping to spark the idea of cultural preservation across Japan. Telegraph poles and TV aerials have been banished from sight, so that the scene that greets you on the pedestrian-only street is probably very similar to that encountered by lords and their retinues passing through the village hundreds of years ago.
The walk from one end of Tsumago to the other will take you less than 30 minutes. Along the way you should drop by the Nagiso-machi Museum (daily 9am–4.45pm) which consist of two sections, the main one of which is the Waki Honjin Okuya (¥600), a finely constructed two storey mansion dating from 1877, which was once one of the village's designated post inns for government officials. Attached is the Historical Museum, with exhibits on the history of the Nakasendō and the village, including photographs showing just how dilapidated Tsumago once was. Across the street is the Tsumago-juku Honjin (¥300), once the home of the village headman. For a bird's-eye view of the village, hike up to the former site of Tsumago castle, destroyed sometime in the late sixteenth century.
The closest train station to Tsumago is Nagiso, from where the village is an hour's walk south or a ten-minute bus ride. One of the best placesto stay is Fujioto ( 
0264/57-3009; Price: ¥20000-30000), a charming traditional inn with friendly English-speaking owners.
The area's only youth hostel, Kiso-Ryojōan ( 0264/23-7716; ¥3000 per person), is in a large, traditional building in the peaceful mountain village of Ōhara.
Most places serve sansai soba (buckwheat noodles topped with mountain vegetables) and gohei-mochi (balls of pounded rice coated with a sweet nut sauce). A good place to sample these local specialities is Yamagiriat the north end of the village near the water wheel.