Magome and Tsumago in a day

Hi all,
We would like to visit Magome and Tsumago on the way from Kyoto to Tokyo and stay 1 night at Fuki no Mori hotel in Nagiso. The hotel provides shuttle service from Nagiso station or Tsumago/Magome.

From Kyoto, we plan to alight at Nagatsukawa, take bus to Magome, send luggage to Tsumago and start Nakasendo, and request for pickup to hotel at Tsumago. The next day we plan to walk around Tsumago or Magome town before proceeding to Tokyo.

Can this be achieved at a leisure pace by 5pm? I'll be with my parents and reviews for Nakasendo are quite assuring that the track can be completed by elders at leisure pace for around 3hr. We thought of staying 2 nights but if it's raining then it's kind of a waste of time spending 2 days there.

Thank you.

Are you referring to the Magome and Tsumago walk?

Magome and Tsumago are fairly interesting. However, I found the walk in between was a waste of time- totally boring.

Yes, I'm referring to the walk between Magome and Tsumago, as well as the walk around the city.

I would highly recommend the Alpine Route rather than the Magome and Tsumago hike.
Hopefully, your timing is perfect for Snow Corridor or koyo.
You could stay the night at Toyama and start the trip early the next morning; finish at Ogizawa and overnight at Matsumoto. You may visit Matsumoto castle the next day before heading for Tokyo.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7550.html

Additional info here:

http://www.alpen-route.com/en/

Magome, the walk over Magome Pass and down to Tsumago, and then to Nagiso can be done in a day with an early start. Since you're starting in Kyoto, you'll be slowed down a bit. The earliest you can get into Nakatsugawa is 7:49 AM with a 6:17 AM Kyoto departure. The bus to Magome is right outside the station. This train would get you on the 8:10 to Magome.
http://www.japan-guide.com/bus/kiso.html
The walk from the bus stop/parking lot in Magome through Magome is all uphill. At the top of town there's a short downhill before it's all uphill to the pass. I suppose if you take your time and your parents were semi-fit, you shouldn't have any problem. The pass has a tea shop and vending machines for a further break. From the pass to Tsumago, it's all downhill. I enjoyed it a lot but I don't stare at an iPhone 24/7. The first building on your left as you go down is the old Edo guard post, which checked everyone's travel passes in the old days. The man here can give you directions to the two waterfalls which you'll miss if you just stay on the trail. Further down, there are some old architecture buildings before you get to Tsumago as well as views over the valley. Once you get to Tsumago, you'll know you're in a tourist trap from the crowds and souvenir shops.

It's possible to do it all in just one day, but if plan on returning to Tsumago the next morning to explore it before returning to Nagiso and a train to Tokyo, you should have plenty of time. I took the first bus from Nakatsugawa to Magome and was in Nagiso by 1 PM. I walked the whole way and took side trips to the falls and up to the old castle site above Tsumago. Trains are infrequent in Nagiso and you usually have to take a local to Nakatsugawa to pick up an express to Nagoya.

If you cover both Magome and Tsumago in one day, you could use the next morning to take the train further northward to Naraijuku for a look around that post town or the next village north, Kiso-Hirasawa, to look at the local lacquerware before taking an express from Shiojiri to Tokyo.

Thank you Anaguma for the advise.
Looking at the time, it's tough to leave Kyoto by 6am as we need to check out from hotel. We will take the next train and take the 10:10am bus from Nakatsugawa to catch the luggage transfer service. We hope to start from Magome at 11am and reach Tsumago by 4pm, so there are 5 hrs in between, including lunch. I guess this should suffice.

Regarding the walk, does the scenery from Magome to Magome Pass worth the walk? Depends on our stamina, we may consider to take bus until Magome Pass.

Also, from Magome until Magome Pass, are there any cafe/restaurants along the road? Otherwise we'll get early lunch at the beginning of the walk.

@liem, thanks for the suggestion for Alpine route. We will be going end of this month and not considering to go up to the Alpine route, but I'm bookmarking your suggestion for the future trip!

Thank you.

Me and my 19yo son travelled tokyo - magome, and carried our bags to Tsumago in Sept 2014. We were on our way to do a four-day hike from Kamikochi - so were at the fitter end of the scale.

The walk is well described by Anaguma, a steady climb up and a steady descent, we took a couple of hours to do it easily in drizzly conditions.

We were the only walkers, and there was no place open to buy food/drink (not even at the store at the pass) between the two towns. There did seem to be a small store halfway up that may open sometimes, and maybe on the way down. Places may open on the weekend or holidays. Eating first, and carrying what you need allows you to stop and enjoy what you want along the way.

My recollection is that the route up is more agricultural, versus the more forested descent. I found it all interesting - frankly, I was simply joyous at the opportunity to be walking through a variety of rural environments in Japan, ringing the bear bells at the start of each forested section, looking at old buildings, shrines, and the forest. I suspect that your level of enjoyment will simply reflect your attitude.....

The path was a bit rougher on the descent, so sturdy footwear would be useful. The descent into Tsumago on the cobbles is notoriously slippery in the wet - I caught a few slips despite wearing high-end walking boots. Take it slowly and carefully in the wet.

Staying at a Minshuku on the outskirts of Tsumago was probably my best accommodation experience in two trips to Japan......

Thank you insecteater for the detail description and forewarning about slippery paths. Well noted on the suggestions, we will grab lunch/early lunch at Magome and proceed to Tsumago if not raining. If the weather doesn't permit, we'll just walk around the two cities using bus and spend the rest of the day at the hotel enjoying onsen and food.

There's a convenience inside Nakatsugawa station where you could get onigiri or obento and drinks. About halfway up to the pass on the Magome side is a small shelter with a bench if you have some rain or want to get out of the sun. There's also a small shrine up to the right just before you get to the pass that's always a quiet place to have a sit-down and something to eat. At the pass, the Magome-touge Chaya (teahouse) has picnic tables out front and a couple of drink vending machines. If it's not open, you can at least sit down at a table. On the way down, once you get past the old Edo checkpoint, there is not much except rocks to sit on.

Here's a website introducing Tsumago and Magome for your reference:

http://tourguides.nagoya/en/tsumagomagome.html

Hi, sorry for reviving this old discussion. I am now in Kyoto and will be heading to Nagiso tomorrow. Due to the physical condition of my parents, we wont do the Nakasendo trail. We will be leaving Kyoto in noon and reach Nagiso at 4pm. The hotel offers pickup at Nagiso on 5pm. Is there any left luggage service as we will carry 2 luggages? Is there also things to see around Nagiso station to kill time until the pick up?

Thank you.