Nakasendo Trail, Day 3

Today, turned out to be pretty easy.  We walked 4 miles from Yabuhura to Narai, with an elevation changes of 1,128 feet up and 885 feet down.  We are in Narai which is the middle post town of the Nakasendo route.  It is town number 34 of 69.  It is also the highest town on the route at 3,150 feet.  

We started the day at our inn outside of Kiso-Fukishima.  

We awoke to fog and cooler weather, which later changed to clear and warm (at mid-60s).  We were shuttled down the valley arriving to the train station about an hour before the next "local" train.  We had to travel three stops to Yabuhara.  We walked a bit of the big city of Kiso, seeing the river front and little else.  We boarded the train, on-time, of course, and journeyed for about 15 minutes.  We passed through several tunnels as the main valley curved.  

A sign Betsy discovered in the tran station toilet

We started hiking by first walking through the town, then began ascending on very even paths, properly graded.  

We reach the Torii Pass after 3.5 km.  There is a torii gate at the top, which was built by an 15th century samurai who prayed at this point for victory over a revival clan.  He was praying to Mt. Ontake which is visibe from the pass.

Another view of Mt. Ontake and its many vents

We rested a bit further on at very nice rest stop/toilets and while there a group of older men came up from Narai (obviously an retired-guy hiking group).  They were impressed that we had walked the Kumano Kodo.  Of course, they were fit and enjoying a nice day on the trail.  I envied them because they were walking one-way and I sure would hop on a train to return home.

We also saw some type of very old, large tree, but could not identify it.  I have a picture of the sign and we might be able to figure out which type it is by using a language translation app.

We arrivedl in Naria just before check-in time, so we walked the 1 km by 200 meter wide historic town.  It is on the National Architectural Preservation List, so the buildings are maintained as they were in the Edo period.  Narai was known as the "Narai of 1000 Inns," as this was the most prosperous of the 69 post towns.  Travelers prepared or recovered before or after tackling the Torii Pass.  The town relies on tourism for its survival now, unlike Yabuhara, which has none of their original structures, lost due to many fires.  Although, they are famous for making hair combs out of Minebari trees.  I even bought one.

We checked in, got the run down on where things were and timing for dinner and breakfast, had tea, and bathed.  It was "famly-styled," which meant Betsy and I bathed together.