We caught a train from Tokyo to Narai which is a historic tourist-oriented post town from the Samarai – Shojun era of the 17th century when the Shojuns ordered the Samarai and their leaders from Kyoto to walk to Edo (now Tokyo) via this trail in the Japanese highlands.
Mt Fuji from our train from Tokyo to Narai (power lines have been removed in editing)
We had decided to start our trail hike in reverse direction to the usual direction and take on the 1250m elevation Torii Pass on the first day with our backpacks full of 3 days gear – but no camping gear as we had booked accommodation for each night of our hike.
Narai
Narai-juku was one of the post towns on the Nakasendo highway officially ruled by the Edo Shogunate and is situated exactly between Edo and Kyoto. It retains a historical row of Edo period houses along the street. The buildings are unique in that the second floor overhangs the first (ground floor), with eaves sloping further to overhang the entire building. Originally the roofs were wooden slats held down by rocks but now are steel sheets.
Torii Pass hike
The Torii Pass was considered one of the most difficult ones to go through on the Nakasendo highway. Narai-juku prospered as travelers rested and stayed there in order to prepare for the crossing of the Pass.
The start of our hiking trail
We soon had gained some elevation over-looking Narai-juku
Guess we were supposed to leave money to ensure our safe passage?
No one warned us about the black bears – there was strong advice to ring the bells loudly to scare off any bears on the trail – we dutifully did so along the trail and thankfully did not see any bears.
Traditional toilet near the top of the Torii Pass – we passed on that one as it did not come with instructions
Map near the top
Sorry more ascent to go yet!
Lost in translation – no online Google translate here
Slight misprint on the sign needed to be corrected apparently
Ontakejinja Shrine near the top of Torri Pass
wild magnolias at 1100m elevation
Views of our destination, Yabuhara in the rain
Final descent trail
Yabuhara
Practically the only graffiti seen in our whole trip in Japan
Spring growth on the bonsai maple
Yabuhara hair dresser salon
After hiking down to Yabuhara, we caught a train from there to Suhara where we had booked accommodation for the night