Tsumago to Magome along the Nakasendo trail

I have not been able to post the last few days because the Internet in the countryside has not been strong.

We are now in Osaka so I am able to tell you about the past few days as we have journey along the Naksendo trail.

The Nakasendo Trail in the inland pathway between Kyoto, the imperial capital and Edo , Tokyo. Every year the samurai had to make this journey on the demands of the shogun. The inland trail was the women' s trail.

We have found the trail difficult at times as it follows the river valleys and crosses numerous mountains to a height of a thousand metres. The main river valley we followed was the Kiso river which is 229 km long and empties into Ise Bay. Many crops which are produced in this area benefit directly from the river.

We stayed the night at Kiso Fukushima in a traditional inn before catching the train to begin our walk to Tusmago.