It snowed! The Iconic Nakasendo: Tsumago to Magome-juku | Hiking alone in Japan: Winter Edition

Episode 2 of my winter wonderland adventure on the Nakasendo trail in Japan. This trip was from the end of January through the first week in February. Woke up at the Ryokan O, grabbed a lovely breakfast, and took the 10:00am train to Nagiso. From Nagiso, I walked to Tsumago-juku and on to Magome.-juku. I was so happy the free tea shop was open between the two major post towns. On such a cold day (freezing temperatures and below that with wind chill) at the end of January, it was a great experience to sit in the historic tea shop before heading back into the snow. I also loved seeing the icy & snow covered waterfalls: Odaki and Medaki Falls. Amazing. I bare booted a lot of the snowy roads and trails, but I did use spikes on the longer climb up to the tea shop and beyond. I had them so I figured I might as well use them, and the chain spikes definitely helped me go faster. There was a good bit of ice below a thin slippery layer of snow on both road and track, but these conditions will vary depending on the freeze-thaw cycles and snow precipitation from year to year. Even though some shops and cafes/restaurants are closed this time of year, it is abosolutely wroth it to be here during the off-season. Quiet, cold, peaceful. I love hiking in the snow, so this was a GREAT day traveling in Japan. The trail for reference: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/japan... ♥️ I’m so excited to have some amazing supporters already. If you’d like to contribute to future adventures, it would mean so much to me. All funds go directly into channel content. Thank you so much for being a part of this journey! To be a digital trail angel, you can buy a “Super Thanks” on YouTube directly, OR use my “buy me a coffee” site: ko-fi.com/walkingwithmae #japantravel #nakasendo #solotravel #hikinginjapan #wintertravel #winterhiking #japanvlog Music licensed by Soundstripe.