Magome Juku post town on the old Nakasendo Highway

Hiking the old Nakasendo highway in Gifu and Nagano prefectures is a must do if you are interested in Edo history. Most people hike form magome post town to Tsumago post town which is over 8kms and can be done in about 3 hours. Below are photos of Magome post town which is a very interesting start to the hike.

The view from the bus stop at Magome village is very nice. To the south is a large mountain and fields of farmland. One of the first structures you will see is the samurai styled watch tower shown below and after seeing that you get the feeling you are going to be treated with some nice authentic Japanese historical sights.

The signs point to Edo and Kyoto showing the direction of the old Nakasendo highway.

Above is where the highway starts after you get off the bus in Magome post town. The highway heads uphill through a cosy little village atmosphere.

There is a notice board in Magome post town too which was a propaganda device used by the shogun.

Looking back at the notice board and the entrance to magome post town from the north.

More on the hiking trail to Tsumago later.