Magome consists of one main street that climbs ever upward to the old Nakasendo post road. 
Shops and inns and eating houses line this street. As we emerged from the town, a beautiful vista of mountains appeared before us, across green fields. a refreshing breeze sped us on our way.
We plunged into the forest and began the hilly 3 hour walk to Tsumago. We were thankful that 2 energetic japanese ladies did not mind us tagging along behind them to make sure we were on the right path, as the trail crossed the vehicular road several times. On the trail, we were welcomed by an old man who seemed like he had been welcoming travellers for centuries. Green tea and Japanese preserved plums refreshed us, and whetted our appetite for lunch. 
Our walking companions showed us a nice picnic area by the waterfall to have our bento lunch which we had carried with us all the way from Nagoya station! They continued on their way to Tsumago and beyond, to Nagiso station.
It was good to know that the end of the road was not too far away after lunch. It had started to get hot, and we were glad to be in the forest much of the way.
Tsumago seemed larger than Magome, but since we had a train to catch, we did not tarry long in the shops and Museum.
Alighting from the bus at Nagiso station, we found our walking friends who warned us that we were in for rain the next day. We were happy to have had calm weather and a lovely walk.
Sure enough, rain came down the next day and washed out most of our visit to Takayama.
The train ride from Nagoya took 2 hours, but near our destination there was some dramatic gorge scenary.
There were many tourists like us here, and everyone was just about walking up and down all the streets of Takayama which are lined with well-preserved houses of old Japan. Of course we had to try the Hida beef and the grilled rice balls with soya sauce.
We returned to Nagoya in the afternoon. Susan and Choo bought delicious fare from the Takashimaya food hall for our last meal together in Japan.
Our walking companions showed us a nice picnic area by the waterfall to have our bento lunch which we had carried with us all the way from Nagoya station! They continued on their way to Tsumago and beyond, to Nagiso station.
It was good to know that the end of the road was not too far away after lunch. It had started to get hot, and we were glad to be in the forest much of the way.
Tsumago seemed larger than Magome, but since we had a train to catch, we did not tarry long in the shops and Museum.
Alighting from the bus at Nagiso station, we found our walking friends who warned us that we were in for rain the next day. We were happy to have had calm weather and a lovely walk.
Sure enough, rain came down the next day and washed out most of our visit to Takayama.The train ride from Nagoya took 2 hours, but near our destination there was some dramatic gorge scenary.
There were many tourists like us here, and everyone was just about walking up and down all the streets of Takayama which are lined with well-preserved houses of old Japan. Of course we had to try the Hida beef and the grilled rice balls with soya sauce.
We returned to Nagoya in the afternoon. Susan and Choo bought delicious fare from the Takashimaya food hall for our last meal together in Japan.
