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| Tsumago: view from the old castle ruins |
After seeing the astounding view from the top of Tsumago, the
title of Ishiguro’s book “A Pale View of Hills” kept echoing in my mind. We
were surrounded by the Central Alps and nestled in the Valley Below was Magome,
an old and well preserved post town. We just hiked from Tsumago to Magome into
beautiful autumn foliage.
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| Mill close to the entrance of the town |
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| Magome |
We started our early morning in Magome. As soon as you get
off the bus, it feels as if you stepped back into time and arrived in the Edo
period (minus all the tourists wearing full-on hiking gear). No cars are
allowed in the area and beautiful paved stones line the roads. Small streams of
water cobble alongside the road, feeding lush green gardens and crystal clear
fish ponds. One or two wooden mills silently turn in the streams.
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| Big koi fish in crystal clear water |
We tried some chestnut-filled cakes, looked at the various
souvenirs of the area (wooden and straw combs, bowls and toys).
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| Beautiful views of pale hills |
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| Beautiful autumn colours |
From there we started walking to Tsumago, which was 8km away,
following the Nakasendo route. The Nakasendo route used to be a road that
connected Tokyo and Kyoto. The walk wasn’t too demanding and we definitely had
more descents than ascents (and this was also evident on the worn-out look from
the travelers who were travelling from the opposite direction). We travelled
through beautiful forests and were wrapped in beautiful autumn colours. The
calm sound of flowing rivers with clear waters echoed through the forests and
mountains. The scent of wet foliage and wet wooden fires drifted through the
moist air. The hike was actually very relaxing, despite all the “bear bells”
around the route (which is supposed to chase the bears away when you ring it,
not that I believe there are many bears to scare away to begin with).
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| Watch out for the bears! |
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| Vibrant autumn foilage |
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| Beautiful stream in the woods |
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| Tsumago |
After strolling around Tsumago, we made our way to the train
station, but not before Armand dragged
me to a lookout point on top of a mountain. The lookout point is situated on
the old ruins of a castle, not that there is much left to see of the castle
though. But the view was beautiful and made it the slow walk up the mountain
worth it (although I was initially too stubborn to admit it!).
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| Tsumago |
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| Tsumago main street |
Kiso valley was definitely worth the trip and it was amazing
to see the beautiful foliage and enjoy the very comfortable autumn climate.
And, of course, our trip didn’t end without trying some local flavour Kit Kats:
Chili Kit Kats and Apple Kit Kats. Delicious.
So, have you ever been to Tsumago or Magome? Do you enjoy
spending time outdoors. Please share your experiences!
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