How to Travel from Tokyo to Nakasendo Way

There are two common routes to reach Nakasendo Way in Kiso Valley from Tokyo.

1. Travel to Nagoya + Nagoya to Nakasendo Way

2. Tokyo to Nagano - Shiojiri - Nakasendo Way
The first route is to enter the north-south Kiso Valley from the southern entrance, while you’ll get to the trail from the north as following the second route.
If you are going to hike on the southernmost section of Kiso Valley between Tsumago and Magome, it’s a more popular and convenient access via Nagoya. If you plan to visit Nagano, Matsumoto, or more other places north to Kiso Valley before the journey of Nakasendo Way, it’s also great to choose the route via Nagano area. Anyway, the section of routes is up to your itinerary.

Tokyo – Nagoya – Nakasendo Trail

Tokaido Shinkansen is very convenient to take travelers to Nagoya. Shinkansen bullet trains depart at Tokyo Station, and also have a stopover at Shinagawa Sta. in the south of Tokyo city.

► Tokyo Station – Nagoya:
1h 35-41min, JPY 10,560 (non-reserved seats) / JPY 11,300 (reserved seats)

Shinkansen Train

Upon arrival in Nagoya, trains are accessible to post towns or stations on Nakasendo Way. Nakatsugawa near Magome, Nagiso close to Tsumago, etc. are all train stations on JR Chuo Line along the Nakasnedo Way.

Limited express train Shinano would stop at Nakatsugawa, while a few part of them would also stop at Nagiso. In the valley, local trains would stop each station along the trail. Thus, you can make a transfer as reaching a major station like Nakatsugawa.

To the most popular trail section of Magome & Tusmago in the south of Kiso Valley, the main transportation routes are:
► Nagoya to Nakatsugawa train – Nakatsugawa to Magome bus
► Nagoya to Nagiso train (Nagoya-Nakatsugawa-Nagiso perhaps) – Nagiso to Tsumago bus/taxi/hiking

Read details on Nagoya to Nakasendo

Tokyo – Nagano – Nakasendo Way

This route offers a way into Kiso Valley in the other direction, with a transfer at least in Nagano region. For a high-speed way, it’s advised to take Shinkansen bullet train to Nagano from Tokyo Station. If you have plenty of free time, you can also take the ordinary trains all the way to the destination from Shinjuku Station. Here are the routes mostly applied.

Nakatsugawa Station

1. Fastest Way: Tokyo Sta. - Nagano - Nakasendo Way, 3.5-4.5h & JPY 12,950-14,190

Tokyo to Nagano Bullet Train + Nagano to Nagiso/Nakatsugawa Ltd. Exp. Train Shinano + Bus to Magome/Tsumago

Tokyo Sta. to Nagano Shinkansen	Limited Express Train Shinano	Bus to Magome / Tsumago
1h 20-49min JPY 7,810 for a non-reserved seat JPY 8,340 for a reserved seat	Nagano to Nakatsugawa: 2h 8min JPY 5,280 (non-reserved seat) / JPY 5,810 (reserved seat)	Nakatusgawa to Magome Bus: 25 minutes, JPY 570
	Nagano to Nagiso: 1h 55-59min JPY 4,840 (non-reserved seat) / JPY 5,370 (reserved seat)	Nagiso to Tsumago Bus: 7 minutes, JPY 300

Notes:

A few Ltd. Exp. Shinano trains would stop at Nagiso Station before reaching Nakatsugawa, which departs at 06:09, 14:00, 15:00 & 16:00 from Nagano Sta. respectively.

If you don’t catch the Ltd. Exp. Train Shinano to Nagiso, you can make a transfer at Matsumoto or Shiojiri. The local trains may run a little slower on the way, but it is correspondingly cheaper somewhat.

Bus Nagiso to Tsumago & Magome

2. Cheap Way with Least Transfers: Shinjuku Sta. - Shiojiri - Nakasendo, 5-6h & JPY 8,260-10,080

Shinjuku Sta. to Shiojiri train + Shiojiri to Nagiso/Nakatsugawa train + Bus to Tsumago/Magome

Going from Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, you can get to Shiojiri directly, where is also a post town on Nakasendo Way, and it’s not far to Kiso Valley southwards. Also, Shiojiri is a transfer station in the north of Kisoji trail, from where you can take a train to the post towns on Nakasendo easily.

Shinjuku Sta. to Shiojiri	Shiojiri to Nagiso/Nakatsugawa
Ltd. Exp., 2h 26min - 3h 15min, JPY 6,620	To Nagiso: 1h 24-45min, JPY 1,340 / 52min, JPY 2,540
Ltd. Exp., 2h 26min - 3h 15min, JPY 6,620	To Nakatsugawa: 1h 2-3min, JPY 2,890 / 2h 5-11min, JPY 1,690

Notes:

Only normal trains are available from Shinjuku Sta. to Shiojiri, while no Shinkansen trains run there.

Nakatsugawa to Magome Bus

On the section from Shiojiri to Nagiso/Nakatsugawa, Ltd. Exp. train Shinano would be faster and relatively expensive, but there are not many such trains available, especially the trains to Nagiso. Local trains are slower but cheaper as well.

3. Nice Option: Tokyo Sta. - Nagano - Matsumoto – Nakasendo, 4-5h & JPY 10,800-13,920

After going to Nagano by Shinkansen, you can go to Matsumoto for a transfer if it takes a quite long time for waiting the limited express train Shinano. On the other hand, Matsumoto Sta. runs many more trains to the post towns on Nakasendo Way, including Nagiso and Nakatsugawa certainly. Besides, you may also drop into Matsumoto Castle with the oldest main building Tenshukaku around Japan if have leisure time, in 15 minutes’ walk only from JR Matsumoto Station.

Nagano to Matsumoto	Matsumoto to Nagiso/Nakatsugawa
1h 18-25min, JPY 1,170	To Nagiso Sta.: 2h 17min, JPY 1,520 or 1h 1-4min, JPY 2,720
1h 18-25min, JPY 1,170	To Nakatsugawa: 1h 13-14min, JPY 3,840 or 2h 34-46min, JPY 1,980

Another Workable Means of Transportation from Tokyo to Nakasendo

Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal to Magome (Nagoya Line): about 4.5h
JPY 4,900 (off season) / JPY 7,700 (peak season)
2 buses a day departing at 06:50 & 16:45 respectively