Magome Pass

The Magome Pass (馬籠峠 magome tōge) is a mountain pass that is part of an old Edo era highway.

The pass, as well as the two towns at either end of it known as Magome (馬籠) and Tsumago (妻籠), were part of the old Nakasendō (中山道) which was one of the two-major highways in the Edo era that connected Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto. The other of the two routes, the Tōkaidō, ran through Mie from Kuwana through Kameyama (the route closely followed what is now the JR Kansai Main Line). As Edo and Kyoto were the two main cities for hundreds of years, these two highways were the most significant routes in Japan.

The Magome Pass is still maintained as a hiking path, and Magome and Tsumago are done up as Edo-style inn towns (宿場 shukuba). The hike is fairly easy and the two towns have become popular tourist attractions.

Hiking

If you are hiking from Magome to Tsumago one-way, there is a service that you can use to send ahead any unnecessary bags.

Getting There from Mie

By Train

1. Get yourself to Nagoya Station by either Kintetsu or JR.
2. From Nagoya, you'll be riding the JR Chūō Main Line (中央本線 chūō honsen). Take a rapid service train (快速 kaisoku) bound for Nakatsugawa (中津川) Station. You will be riding all the way to the last stop (Nakatsugawa), and the ride will take about an 75 minutes.
3. From Nakatsugawa, take a bus bound for Magome Juku (馬籠宿).