Every day on the Nakasendo brought surprises and fresh experiences, including those of the culinary kind. Meals were traditional Japanese and often quite spectacular. Sometimes I could not manage to finish all of the many different dishes and courses served at dinner because rice or soba noodles would be served last and by then I was satiated.
While passing through a very small village I was surprised by a vintage 60’s Volkswagen.
We did not see much wildlife, though on some sections of the route there were signs warning of bears (ferocious! 😉 and bells hanging from posts, intended to be rung to alert the bears. We never saw any but we rang the bells as instructed.
When hiking with a group I often like to walk in front to improve my chances of spotting something shy and interesting. This approach was unexpectedly rewarded one day when I briefly locked eyes with a 1m tall Japanese serow or kamoshika which is distantly related to goats and sheep but distinctly different. It was only about 7m (22 ft) away from me in the shade but no vegetation was between us and its appearance was so different from anything I had seen before that I was momentarily disoriented. We stared at each other, and then as I reached from my phone to take a photo, the sound of Velcro separating on my phone holder likely caused it to turn and bound off into the forest. There are many photos of Serows available online, so I am borrowing this one from a Japanese government national park website.
A variety of smaller animals were also interesting.
Certainly our most unusual dining experience was in a little village at a very small restaurant that was attached to the house of the couple who owned it. We were served very tasty pizza and apple cake, and then entertained by the wife playing old American folk songs on the harmonica followed by the husband playing the shaminsen, a traditional Japanese instrument with only three strings. He was a model train enthusiast, so after our meal we went out to the backyard and watched him operate his train, periodically blowing on a train whistle while announcing the stops (I assume) as she continued her harmonica playing. I’m not expecting you to take my word for this, so here is the proof. You really can’t make something like this up!
You can view a detailed description of the trip here by selecting “Itinerary”. I can highly recommend it for anyone who can walk up to 24km (15 miles) with 700m (2,300 ft) of elevation gain. Most days were less strenuous and it is possible to shorten the longer days, your guide will assist you or if you are doing the unguided version there are detailed instructions provided. Our guide was outstanding, handling everything so that the guests could relax and just enjoy the experience.
Electric Travels 
