Hiking in Japanese winter

I am currently in Nagoya, for a few months on an assignment. I have basic fitness and I want to hike in Japan, and have heard that it's not the safest, but as with all adventures, the payoff seems big and beautiful mountains and hiking trails and a good challenge overall. I have hiked and trekked a bit in the past but nothing too extreme. I want to know if there are any english guided tours across Japan and how I could join and/ot plan an Itenerary of my own to do this daunting task.I'm looking for
1. Places I could hike with ease on a weekend from Central Japan(Nagoya)
2. Places with good hiking trails
3. Operators or online forums where I can find a group doing such a task and try to coordinate with them.
4. Best time to do this from December 2018 to March 2019

The nakasendo trail would tick the bill I think. Tsumago - Magome is the most poular but it is more a scenic walk than a hike. There are also some hikes around Hikone

Try to checkout Meetup application. In Tokyo there is a big group that organizes a hike every week or so.
There are also several books about hiking in Japan in English and you an Tohoku game alone. I don�ft know Nagoya but in Tokyo region there is for example Takao san where many many people go hiking every day. So you can hike as a beginner very safely as well.
Also the �g hike�h between Tsumago and Magome is more like an extended walk. You can really do that alone risk free.

If you can read some Japanese there are also good books about suggested walks. At least in Kanto area there were. My husbands prefered one was one where all the hikes finished in an onsen. He doesn�ft read Japanese very well but with the map in the book and some planning he was perfectly able to follow those hikes.

Enjoy hiking in Japan!

Lots of places along the Nakasendo are good, not only Magome to Tsumago.

Do you like castles and castle ruins?

Some castles that can be hiked near Nagoya are Naegi Castle, (Mino) Kaneyama Castle, and Iwamura Castle. Gifu Castle has a cablecar, but there are also hiking trails to the castle.

The Kumano Kodo area is also accessible from Nagoya. The Matsumoto Pass combined with Onigajo and the other World Heritage Sites in Kumano City is a nice hike.

You can walk from Ise Shrine's Outer Shrine (Geku) to the Inner Shrine (Naiku) and Oharaimachi.

I was just reading this & thinking it seems like a more interesting hike than Magome <> Tsumago (Which I have done more than once & enjoyed) https://www.japan-guide.com/ad/gateway-to-kansai/181024.html

I want to stress I have not done any of these, but if you don't mind snow shoeing and want to go deeper into the mountains some of these tours look fascinating.

https://alpinewonderland.com/products/?swoof=1&pa_season=white

Good luck!