Sekigahara to Mitake to Hosokute

Today was the first day that we actually walked on the Nakasendo.

After bidding sayonara to our hosts at the Masuya Ryokan, we walked back to the train station and took the 8:45 am from Sekigahara to Nagoya. When we got to Nagoya, we had to change to the Meitetsu Line and we only had 5 minutes.

Luckily, I found a picture with the location of the Nagoya JR Train Station and the Meitetsu Station so we had an idea where we needed to go. When we got off the JR train, we followed the signs to the Marriott Hotel and crossed the street to the Meitetsu Station. Because we couldn't buy a ticket all the way from Sekigahara to Mitake, we had to stop and get a ticket to get from Nagoya to Mitake. There was a station attendant who helped us, which was fortunate because we didn't have much time. We actually got on the right train, transferred in Shinkani to a smaller train and took it to the end of the line--Mitake. The entire trip from Sekigahara to Mitake took 130 minutes and cost Y1940. Today's train trip was the hardest. We had 3 tight connections and had to change stations on top of that. It was such a sense of accomplishment--remember, we don't speak Japanese. I felt like I was on the "Amazing Race."

The small commuter train that took us from Shinkani to Mitake.

In Mitake, the TI IS the train station. There was no information in English and there were no maps available but there was the ever-present vending machine.

Across the street from the train station was a large map of the 1st section of the Nakasendo so we took digital pictures. 

Finally we were on the Nakasendo. We still had no map, no information and were not sure what we would find. We walked down the street and came upon a sushi shop. We had our lunch and the owner found a map for us. It was the first information we had gotten on the Nakasendo. After our lunch, she pointed us in the right direction. Before leaving town, there was a line at the croquette stand so we had to stop and get some. We didn't know what we were getting, but I raised 2 fingers. They turned out to be potato croquets. They were delicious and cheap--Y 50 each.

After leaving Mitake, the walk took us through rolling countryside at first then through woods. Turns out, there were markers along the way so it was fairly easy to find the route. 

The first leg of the trip was along small country roads, yet we were still surprised when we came upon La Province—a cake and herb shop, where you can stop for a drink. It was a Saturday afternoon and there were loads of visitors. The Japanese love to drive to this destination location--it was crowded.

The next leg of the trip took us through wooded areas. We found this shrine on the route.

Today's walk from Mitake to Hosokute was 12 km long and took us just about 4 hours. We arrived at 4:15 pm and checked into the Daikokuya Minshuku. It was located on the main road in Hosokute so it was easy to find. We breathed a sigh of relief. We survived our first day!

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