Nezame-no-toko Gorge, Nakasendo

Leaving Tsumago, I passed the site of an old castle with spectacular views of the valley. The trail narrowed as it re-joined the Kiso River.

The next post-town was the once prosperous Midono-juku (#41), now part of Nagiso. It has a fabulous wooden bridge, the Momosuke-bashi, that was built for small trolleys in 1922. Today it is a footbridge with views of the town and the Kiso River. In 1881, a huge fire destroyed the town. It was rebuilt around a railway station and its location moved. The few buildings left behind represent the various eras between the late 16th and early 20th centuries, along with remnants of an electric station from the early 1900s.

From Nagiso to Agematsu, the old highway is superseded by a modern one. Here the valley becomes very narrow and the highway, rail line and river compete for space. The trek is noisy until a few miles before the post-town of Nojiri-juku (#40), where it veers off into a quieter area for a short while and then re-joins the highway to Suhara-juku (#39). Both Nojiri and Suhara are now part of Okuwa.

Suhara was a lovely town to explore given its close proximity to the railway station. Many Edo period buildings survived, along with a joyato (stone lantern). Some of the buildings still had wooden water troughs at the front that in the past were provided for travellers. A specialty of Suhara is hanazuke, tea pickled with salt and cherry blossoms. Behind the village is Mt Komatagate, a popular hiking location and from the summit one can see Mount Fuji in the distance. 

Five miles (8km) after Suhara, the Nakasendo veers from the modern highway, regaining the peacefulness of the old road. Just before I arrived in Agematsu (#38), I made a brief stop at Nezame-no-toko Gorge, a picturesque gorge with granite formations. 

During the Edo era, Agematsu had an office for timber control where woodcutters would need to register. Strict rules were in place and tree felling without license was severely punished. When the trees were felled, they were loaded on rafts and floated downriver to Nagoya. Today, the timber from the Kiso Valley is still highly prized with several furniture factories and cabinet makers located in town.

After my delicious soba noodles in Tsumago, I thought I’d try ramen noodles this time. Ramen was imported from China and made its first appearance in a Chinese restaurant in Japan around 1910. Based on wheat flour, the prepared dough is risen before being rolled. The noodles in my curry ramen had a firm texture complemented by a good dose of spiciness mixed with the rich flavouring of pork bone broth.