By the way, there is a tourist office at both ends who will supply walkers with a simple map and that is all you need other than a hat and a bottle of water.

Tsumago is a delightful, original heritage town. Whilst not large is a delight to experience. we stayed in the Fujioto Ryokan which was a wonderful, authentic Japanese experience, and in retrospect the highlight of our Japanese experience. It's small, and you need to book early, but do go, its fabulous!

Jane, I met a couple that had done this same route, but in reverse. They had placed their large baggage in a week long storage at a hotel they were staying at in Kyoto, and did the five day journey with smaller hiking backpacks. I know this doesn't answer your question exactly, but I thought it might be helpful to know that the other travelers I encountered doing this were carrying their belongings with them each day.

From Nagoya, there are buses from Meitetsu Bus Centre to Iida that stops at Magome highway bus stop on the way. It takes off on the hour every hour during the day and it takes about 1 hour 20 minutes to get to Magome. From the highway bus stop, just use google map to find your way to the Magome town (about 15 minutes walk). Alternatively, take JR from Nagoya to Nakatsugawa Station (48 mins). Then take a bus to Magome (15 buses each day, about 30 minutes one way). Search for the train schedule at HyperDia. For bus schedule, check out Go! Nagano. From Tsumago, take a bus to Nagiso station. (10 buses each day, find the schedule on Go! Nagano.) Then it's 75 mins by express train or 140 mins by local train to Matsumoto. Note that Nagiso station does not accept credit cards. You must have enough cash with you if you don't have a JR pass.

Be ready for at least ice in the shady areas. Some of the trail could be a bit treacherous. Magome will be open, as will Tsumago. In between, nothing. Should be gorgeous.

Hello, You do not need a to hire anyone. I would recommend staying nearby, and you can walk one end to the other. It is not a very long hike, but it only follows one path through villages and forest. It is a lovely walk. There are buses at either end you can catch to the nearest town.

Hi - My son & I walked this last week as part of a 6 day walk along the Nakasendo. From Magome to Tsumago is a 12km hike, with the first section uphill over the Magome pass on the good and well-marked Nakasendo Way trail. We actually stayed the night at Tsumago and then continued walking next day to Nojiri via Nagiso. We then caught a train from Mojiri to Kiso Fukushima although you can also do that from Nojiri. Check the timetables for both to make sure that they fit your planned walking schedule. A shame you're only hiking for a day, the hike is fabulous.

Hi...we caught the train from Tokyo to Nagoya...another train from Nagoya to Nagatsagawa, then a bus to Magome. We walked from there to Tsumago. If you are walking from Tsumago to Magome you just reverse the trip. The 8km walk is great...as is the tea room stop midway...make sure you do that. Some walk right past...there’s no rush as the 8km is an easy walk. We also walked on from Tsumago to Nojiri then train to Kiso Fukushima. We booked all our accom online ourselves, no problem. The little towns of Tsumago & Magome are worth a wander so allow time for that. If you are brave enough to try the onsen experience do that too. The ryokans we stayed in included amazing & plentiful Japanese breakfasts & Dinner...good luck in you planning 👍

There is a bus to Magome.

Hi...everywhere we stayed were private rooms for sleeping. Some had shared bathrooms though & sometimes only an onsen male and female separate for bathing/showers. Ask if there are ensuites first if you want a private bathroom. Anne