The Nakasendo was the main roadway connecting Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto during the Edo period (1603-1867), and many travelers, led by the imperial family and feudal lords, took this route. However, it is possible to see traces of people's lives from as far back as the Paleolithic Age, and to trace Japan's origins and its spirituality.
The Nakasendo route reaches from Edo to Kyoto over a distance of about 534 km and 69 post towns. You may walk the entire route, but we especially recommend the area from Suwa to east part of Mino (Higashi-Mino). There, you can trace the history of the area before the Nakasendo, starting from the Paleolithic period, as well as the footprints of people's lives and travelers amidst the blessings and threats from the long scale of natural activities.
Geologically, the Japanese Islands were formed as an arc-shaped archipelago separated from the Eurasian continent by the movement created by the overlapping of the Eurasian plate, the North American plate, the Pacific plate, and the Philippine Sea plate. The islands are formed by rugged mountainous terrain and are active areas of crustal movement and orogenic activity, with about 10% of the world's known volcanoes located within the Japanese archipelago. While these activities have brought earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters to people, they have also created diverse and rich soil, water, vegetation, and ecosystems from the rugged natural environment ranging from mountains to oceans. And the threats and blessings of nature brought about unique values in the beliefs and lifestyles of the people living under these environment. The Nakasendo, developed in the Edo period (1603-1867), is a mountain road that traverses the central mountainous region, also known as the ridge of Japan, from Edo to Kyoto, with several mountain passes looming over it. Along the route and in its vicinity, the lives of people who have lived in the mountain villages since the Paleolithic Age have accumulated over the ages and been spun out as a “living heritage. Travelers have come and gone along the roads, and post towns have hosted travelers along the way, from the obsidian roads of ancient times, to the ancient Tosando Road, the Nakasendo Road, and today's roads. A visit to the Nakasendo Road is a journey that traces the origins and spirituality of Japan. In other words, it is a journey that traces a glimpse of the reverence for nature brought about by global activities and the way of life of the people living in the midst of nature. Through this journey, we will experience the lives, beliefs, travel, hospitality, food, and crafts of people who have lived through the ages under the threat and blessings of nature in the mountain village environment, and come into contact with the spirituality and aesthetics that are linked to the mystique of today's Japan. The journey is one that moves forward along a route. To feel the present moment ahead, which cannot be repeated - “Ichigo-Ichie” - and, an experience that evokes and relives the traveler's memories through the ages - “reincarnation” -.
The hardest point of Nakasendo is the fullness of rich content and cannot be discussed in just one context or route. However, we have compiled four episodes (model routes) and seven chapters (day trips) based on each episodes to propose content and travel narratives that provide experiences that reach deeper into the Nakasendo, and Japan. You can travel along eposodes, or you can choose the chapters and experiences that interest you and create your own itinerary. We, 'Nakasendo Concierge', will suggest the best trip for you.
※ Major / recommended routes and experiences
Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and tsunamis are constant threats to the people living in the Japanese archipelago.
On the other hand, the natural environment is also an indispensable source of blessings for people, with its abundant and beautiful waterways, rich vegetation, animals for hunting and gathering, and trees for farming and raw materials for crafts. These threats and blessings, along with the reverence for nature, have given rise to the idea of symbiosis, of living together with nature.
This has left behind a variety of primitive Shinto practices and values as “nature worship,” ranging from beliefs related to mountains and trees that have persisted since the Paleolithic Age to those related to agriculture, in various regions and among people.
On the other hand, Buddhist thought brought to Japan in the Middle Ages fused with the “ancestor worship” that had existed among people up to that time, in which the spirits of ancestors were revered and deified as objects of prayer, and spread among people.
All of these beliefs remain in the Nakasendo area. - From the nature worship practices that remain among the people today, to the stories of the gods that have been passed down and the festivals that honor them. Or, it could be mountain worship or Shugendo as a way of life.
A journey along the Nakasendo Road will bring you into contact with various aspects of the deep and complex beliefs that lie at the very heart of the Japanese people and their spirituality.