Nakasendo and the Kiso Valley Tour Overview

Back from our second trip with Alison and Carolyn. What a special time. Just love the combination of outdoors / fabulous food / rural and forest Japan / great company / quirky and amazing accommodation / caring and convivial guides/ ahh the onsens at the end of the day! Both Alison and Carolyn are so caring and patient with us all. They love what they do. Can’t recommend these tours enough for a deep dive into walking and Japanese culture!

Highlights for me…Tea shop with Kabuki guy – loved it! Lunch in shelter between Magome and Tsumago – oishii!! Entertainment at Café Poppoya and view of Mt Ontake from there. Yamaka no yu Ryokan – so comfortable. Sweet in Tsumago – dried persimmon filling with chestnut filling. Waki Honjin in Tsumago – especially the bit about who sat where around the fire!! Greatly appreciated your notes for reference.

We walked with Alison and Carolyn on the Kumano Kodo in 2018. We chose them after considering other options as we were impressed by their personal approach and their life long love of Japan. We felt like we would be travelling with close friends rather than just making up the numbers on a tour. Our expectations were well and truly exceeded, so much so, that we booked a return tour on the Nakasendo this year. We were concerned that a similar holiday second time around may be disappointing. On the contrary it turned out to be refreshingly different and challenging thanks to Alison and Carolyn’s leadership and caring approach. If you want to be truly immersed in Japanese culture (food, Ryokans, landscape, history, etc) and want the personal touch you won’t do better than Kumano Camino.

I felt a sense of relief to begin with the group, having had some challenges with the language and communicating my needs. I felt things were well organised, fine attention to our individual and group needs. The places we visited were extremely interesting and having details around various historical or cultural matters enriched the experience. Carolyn and Alison helped make the whole group cohere and we had lots of fun together.

This is a fabulous way to discover Japan. In some ways it is a gourmet tour with walking on the side – but the walking is a highlight too. Alison and Carolyn leave nothing to chance – their attention to detail is superb. You must go!

I have now travelled the Nakasendo and Kumano trails – what a joy. We enjoyed rural inns, beautiful countryside, knowledgeable guides and gourmet food. We had fun, learned a lot about Japanese culture and history and appreciated our travel companions – all thanks to Alison and Carolyn.

I want to thank you both so much for such a wonderful experience on the Nakasendo Way. Every aspect of the trip – from your flawless pre-planning, your sharing of your knowledge of the history & stories along our journey, the uniqueness & comfort of the ryokan's, & the food (ooh the food!!) exceeded my expectations ten-fold. Walking the meandering ishidatami paths in the dappled light of the soaring cedar & cypress trees was my favourite part & I will treasure those memories for many years to come.

Thank you both for the wonderful introduction to Japan. It really couldn’t have been better! Walking the Nakasendo Way was a perfect way to start. Firstly there was the massive advantage of your knowledge and guidance and secondly, walking through the countryside, passing through post-towns and experiencing the history was a more authentic introduction to Japan than arriving in a big city. Even if I’d done heaps of research I never could have constructed anything approaching the Tour you’ve designed. I really appreciate your fantastic trip notes, even more after the event. The experience of the ryokans and food was amazing and our daily routine became everyday life rather than a one-off touristy experience.

Thank you for the extraordinary job you both did to make our walking tour so enjoyable - from the logistics of food and lodgings to sharing your love and your knowledge of Japan. I admired how you managed the needs and wishes of your clients, how you were always supportive and respectful to and about each other and how you use each other’s separate strengths to get things done.

Walking the Nakasendo trail guided by Alison and Carolyn was a pure joy. Not only had they chosen exceptionally beautiful sections of this famous ancient highway, but the accommodation in the traditional inns gave us a unique and authentic Japanese experience. Every meal was a journey into Japanese gastronomy, exquisitely presented and explained. Both competent Japanese speakers they smoothed the way through the normal difficulties, enjoyed the walk themselves and offered in depth information about where we were and the history along the way. We traversed remote countryside, forests, preserved ancient villages and small towns and were rewarded with a traditional hot bath/onsen and celebratory drink at the end of each day. We also appreciated the comprehensive lead up preparation and information before we departed. If you want to see the real Japan, we can highly recommend walking the Nakasendo with Kumano Camino. A unique experience.