Narai-juku & Matsumoto - Private Day Tour from Tokyo

Three hours west of Tokyo the Nakasendo, the old inland highway between Edo and Kyoto, climbs into the Kiso valley. Narai-juku was its richest post town, and a full kilometre of its wooden inns, lattice fronts and sake shops survive unchanged. Most tours that reach the Nakasendo go to Magome and Tsumago, another two hours on; Narai is just as beautiful, closer, and nearly empty.

We collect you at your Tokyo hotel early and drive west along the Chuo expressway. At Narai your guide walks you the length of the street: the Nakamura residence, a comb merchant’s house you can enter, the six temples along the back lane, the water troughs where travellers drank, and a lacquerware workshop, the craft the valley is famous for. Lunch is Kiso soba on the street.

In the afternoon we drive down to Matsumoto. Matsumoto Castle is one of only five castles in Japan with an original keep, built in the 1590s, black-walled and moated, with steep wooden stairs to the top floor and the Alps behind. Then, if the day allows, Daio Wasabi Farm in Azumino, the largest in Japan, where wasabi grows in fields of running spring water under black shade cloth and you can eat wasabi ice cream. We drive back to Tokyo in the evening.

What you pay is what you pay

The price is one fixed amount for your whole group: the private van, fuel, tolls, parking and your driver-guide for the day. There are no per-person supplements and no booking fees. Castle entry and lunch are paid by each guest on the day.

Good to know

This is a long day with about six hours of driving; the van is comfortable and there are stops. The castle keep has very steep stairs. In heavy snow the wasabi farm may be dropped for time.

Flexible day

This is your private tour, so the day is flexible. If you want to skip a stop, stay longer somewhere or add a place nearby, write it in the booking notes or tell your driver-guide on the day and we will adjust the route where time allows.