Day 12

If you think I could get through a single day without a detour, you’re wildly optimistic. The day began rather innocently—I rose from a delightful little inn and enjoyed a light breakfast, before being taken down to the village centre, where I fully intended to catch a train. Easy enough, right?

At the station, a charming lady inquired whether I was doing the Nakasendo Trail, and naturally, I confirmed. She then let me in on a little secret: while the "official" path ran alongside the river (and an admittedly less charming street), there was a far more distinguished route. Apparently, back in the day, they created an alternative trail through the woods for princesses and shoguns—presumably to avoid being mugged by the locals. If a princess could manage it, I thought, surely so could I.

There was, however, one tiny hiccup: this trail began exactly )!) at the inn I had just left! Fortunately, the innkeeper, an absolute gem of a man, was still about and kindly whisked me back up the hill, sparing me a grueling 5-kilometre climb. Marvelous chap. So, there I was, back at square one, but finally ready to begin the hike.

Ahead of me were some lovely folks from New Zealand who had already been trekking for four hours! Naturally, I thought, "Perfect, I’ll just follow them—safety in numbers and all that." A stroke of genius, or so I believed. Alas, it quickly became clear that they, equipped with both GPS and Google Maps, were just as lost as the rest of us mere mortals. They paused at a junction, debating which direction to take. I, ever the optimist, noticed a sign pointing the way, but one of the Kiwis declared with absolute certainty that it was the other direction. Naturally, I followed.

After a steep, 1-kilometre climb, they stopped for lunch while I, feeling rather smug, pressed on... only to discover that the road led to a dead end. Brilliant. So, back down I went, to follow the signs like a sensible human being.

The hike itself was, in all fairness, rather splendid. The trail meandered through enchanting woods and alongside babbling rivers, with the occasional bell to ring and ward off any curious bears. Nothing says ‘adventure’ like a good bear-scaring bell!

Finally, after a modest 14 kilometres and a casual 20,000 steps, we arrived at Nojiri train station. From there, we took a train to Kiso-Fukushima, where I’m now staying for the night. The hotel bath tube, built seemingly for dwarves, was a much-needed respite for my weary limbs, and I’m now eagerly anticipating dinner and the welcoming embrace of a futon.