Walking the Nakasendo Trail

The 332-mile Nakasendo road connected Edo (modern-day Tokyo) and Kyoto, where travelers can still visit this popular Japan sight — Kinkaku-ji, or the Temple of the Golden Pavilion. // © 2014 Mark Edward Harris

Between the towns of Hosokute and Okute, Walk Japan tour leader Yohei Totsuka crosses a small bridge to visit a shrine to Benzaiten, one of the Seven Gods of Fortune in Japanese mythology. // © 2014 Mark Edward Harris

A woman in a traditional yukata walks the hallway outside a shoji-screened room in Hosokute’s Daikokuya ryokan. // © 2014 Mark Edward Harris

The haiku-inspiring view of the moon setting behind the mountains in Kiso-Fukushima, as seen from the nearby Iwaya ryokan. // © 2014 Mark Edward Harris

The town of Magome is located along a well-preserved section of the Nakasendo in Gifu Prefecture. // © 2014 Mark Edward Harris

A man in traditional clothing at a tea house in Minami-Kiso-Cho serves weary travelers on the Nakasendo trail, between the post towns of Magome and Tsumago. // © 2014 Mark Edward Harris

A display of sake barrels outside the showroom of the Hazama-syuzo Brewery in the town of Nakatsugawa // © 2014 Mark Edward Harris

A monk makes his way down the street on a rainy day in Narai, located halfway between Kyoto and Edo on the Nakasendo. // © 2014 Mark Edward Harris

A member of the Walk Japan Nakasendo Way tour walks up a stone path toward the historic postal town of Shinchaya. // © 2014 Mark Edward Harris

A view of the inner courtyard of Okuya, an inn-turned-museum in the center of Tsumago that once served government officials on their way to and from Edo // © 2014 Mark Edward Harris