Magome

Magome, 5 km south of Tsumago, is one of the most atmospheric stops to include in 14-day Japan trips that follow the old Nakasendō route. Set 800 m above the Kiso Valley, the village climbs a steep slope lined with plaster and wooden buildings on either side of a stone-flagged path.

Magome means “horse basket”, a reference to the days when travelers had to leave their horses here before tackling the mountainous road ahead. Although the village looks old, many buildings date from the twentieth century, after repeated fires, including one in 1915 that destroyed 42 houses.

Magome is also known as the birthplace of Shimazaki Tōson, whose historical novel *Yoake Mae* (*Before the Dawn*) put the town on Japan’s literary map. In the middle of the village, the Tōson Kinenkan displays fragments of the author’s life, though most labels are in Japanese.

To start the hike to Tsumago, continue up the hill, past the kōsatsu, the old town noticeboard on which the shogunate posted rules and regulations, including the death penalty for anyone found illegally logging the forests’ trees. The steepest part of the hike is over once you’ve reached the Magome-tōge (pass), where there’s an old teahouse beside the road and a stone monument engraved with a lyrical verse by the haiku master Masaoka Shiki. From here, the route enters the forest and later passes two waterfalls, O-dake and Me-dake.

The closest train station to Magome is in Nakatsugawa (中津川), a 55-minute journey northeast of Nagoya by limited express. Buses to Nakatsugawa also run from Nagoya and the spa town of Gero (下呂) on the JR Takayama Line. Buses to Magome run from platform three outside Nakatsugawa Station (30min; ¥540).

Magome’s tourist information office, opposite the Tōson Kinenkan, has an English map of the area; staff speak Japanese only and can help with accommodation bookings at the village’s numerous minshuku. Two good places to stay are Magome-chaya (馬籠茶屋; ¥10,001−15,000), close to the tourist office, which also runs an attached restaurant, and Tajimaya (但馬屋; ¥15,001−20,000), a little further downhill – both places include two meals in their rates.