1:45 p.m.

Meet your guide upon arrival at Itoigawa Station.

Step outside the station and take a quick 10-minute shuttle bus ride to the beautiful hillside complex housing the Fossa Magna and Chojagahara Archaeological museums.
Enjoy a 2-hour tour guided by curators who will fill us in on the area’s unique history and geology. This fascinating information will provide invaluable context for our journey on the Shionomichi over the next three days.

5:00 p.m.

Check into Hotel White Cliff. This quaint hotel, located directly on the Salt
Road, is surrounded by rice fields and features a relaxing natural onsen bath.

6:00 p.m.

Sit down for a private, full-course French-fusion dinner featuring locally-
grown and foraged seasonal ingredients at a small, award-winning sake brewery. Each individual course is paired with a sake chosen by the brew master to compliment that particular flavor palette.

• Activity

  Museum visits with all transportation by reserved jumbo taxi

9:00 a.m.

Assemble in the hotel lobby packed and ready to go, and begin the day with
an easy, short walk to the Salt Trail Museum. Here we can see and feel the original handwoven straw boots, clothing, wooden-framed packs, and other implements used by the human porters and pack animals on the trail.

9:50 a.m.

Slowly ascend on roads with excellent views of the surrounding countryside
and eventually merge onto a forested path. This is the best-preserved section of the Shionomichi, and takes us past beautiful ponds, through stunning beech forest, over a mountain pass, and down along several waterfalls. Sit down for a bento (boxed lunch) at a quiet spot before crossing a suspension bridge and hiking up to the traditional rural settlement of Oami and our accommodation for the night– Tsuchi-no-ie.

3:30 p.m.

Settle into your room, enjoy conversation with our hosts, explore the local
shrine, relax, or help out in the kitchen with dinner, which starts at 6:00 p.m.

This is the shorter, yet tougher of our two walks, so we will keep the pace slow and even, stopping for breaks and a picnic lunch along the way. A side trip to a nearby summit with 360-degree panoramas is an option if time and weather allow.

• Activity

  Hiking | 10km (6.2 miles) | 6 – 7 hours

8:30 a.m.

Kick off the day with a downhill walk to JR Hiraiwa Station, followed by a 20-minute train ride on the rugged Oito Line. This local train line travels through a series of tunnels cutting through the mountainous landscape, with dramatic views between.

10:00 a.m.

Start walking from JR Nakatsuchi train station with a switch backing climb
up to a sprawling agricultural community Re-join the Shionomichi and follow it all the way to Tsugaike, passing through numerous other traditional settlements that give a real sense of life in the Japanese countryside. Stop for lunch at a local eatery, and later check out a restored guard station and a 200-year-old accommodation that were in use during the Salt Road’s heyday.

4:30 p.m.

Arrive at Resort Inn Yamaichi and enjoy some well-earned downtime. This is
another perfect chance to relax your tired body in the mineral-rich onsen bath before the fabulous homemade dinner made with rice and vegetables farmed by the owners.

• Activity

  Hiking | 15km (9.3 miles) | 6 – 7 hours

Today we leave the mountains for the valley and the countryside for the city as we make our way to Matsumoto and conclude our tour at the stunning centuries-old castle. We’ve done most of the hard work to get to from the ocean to Tsugaike, so today is our view-filled victory lap. Just as porters on the Shionomichi would have swapped their hard-working oxen for fast-moving horses here, we’ll be trading our boots for bikes.

7:30 a.m.

Gather after checkout, and participate in a brief orientation on safety and the
operation of your e-bike. Depart from the hotel, and pedal to neighboring Hakuba village, famous as an alpine sports paradise and host of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.

Now we’re in the heart of the HAKUBA VALLEY, sandwiched between the Japanese Alps to the west and lower-elevation satoyama to the east. Stunning views abound and will remain with us for the rest of the day, and our job is just to enjoy them. Stay low and cruise past a series of three quiet lakes, then traverse the mountainside through residential areas with beautifully manicured gardens and lofty views of the valley below.

Enjoy the impressive landscapes, quiet communities, ancient stone monuments, and local shrines as you go, before making a longer stop at the outstanding Nishina Shinmei Shrine.This quiet, local power spot is full of scenery and surprises. Stop for lunch, conclude the ride, and transfer by train to Matsumoto.

3:30 p.m.

Tour the castle, reflect on your accomplishment, and head to Matsumoto
Station for final goodbyes around 5:00 p.m.

• Activity

  e-Biking | 51km (32 miles) | 7 hours