"I started from yabuhara town. Easy to find trail through town. Well marked. Uphill to trail. Then it's a big zig bag up to summit of Torii pass. Lots of little markers on way and views and places of interest. Only hard part was an intersection and trying to figure out map they had. I went one way, changed mind went back, took other path, realised the 1st path I took was right. They should have marked much better not trail...... I've read others also confused. Take path which says narai juka that's right. Easy walking no rocks roots etc. No need for poles. Markers are okay. Finished in Narai Juku and it's a great village. Then I trained to accommodation. Not many trains so plan your walking to transport. About 2hrs easy walk and I'm 70."

Redfern Redfern

"A nice hike/ walk of 2 hours on Nakasendo trail."

Anh Tung Vu

"🔭🔭🔭A view spot from Narai-juku has appeared!🔭🔭🔭
In recent years, Torii Pass has become a popular spot for hiking along the Nakasendo Kiso Road, second only to Magome Pass.🥾
Mostly Westerners visit Magome-juku, but the number of foreign tourists is gradually increasing, drawn in by Magome Pass. Magome-juku has become somewhat overtourized, and with the increasing tourism, road construction almost every year has changed the route, leaving almost no trace of its former glory. Many visitors prefer the relatively quiet Torii Pass. Many people who hiked Magome Pass the day before stay overnight near Nojiri Station, the midpoint, and then head over Torii Pass from Yabuhara Station the next day, heading for Narai-juku. As a result, I often miss them on the route, even though I usually hike from Narai-juku.

Leaving Narai-juku, you'll find the entrance to the old Nakasendo road to Torii Pass. From there, a stone path continues for a while, and after about 15 minutes of walking, I was surprised to see a red sign parked on the road and a new road sign. 👀
It said, "Narai-juku Viewpoint 10 meters from the road," so I went over and found a photographer with a tripod. He had come by car from Nagano City and apparently had been here last fall, where he'd seen the local government and landowners discussing cutting down the trees. He'd returned this spring knowing that an observation deck was being built. Despite only cutting down a few trees, you can still get a panoramic view of the houses of Narai-juku, just like a sign. It didn't cost much.

Incidentally, on the same Kiso Road, in nearby Magome-juku, if you walk for about 15 minutes towards Magome Pass, you'll find a splendid observation deck with a view of Mount Ena, one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan. And as you approach Tsumago-juku from Magome Pass, there's a rather unassuming observation point with a view of Tsumago-juku.

I've hiked mountains all over the country, and although there are observation decks everywhere, most of them are left abandoned, and in many places, the view that was originally good has been ruined by overgrowth.

Japan claims to be a tourism-oriented nation. As a nation heavily in debt, with all industries in decline, perhaps because it's easier to allocate funds for tourism, so-called observation terraces are popping up all over the place. There are plenty of quick things you can do without spending a fortune on observation terraces.

In this case, the view from Torii Pass towards Yabuhara-juku is the worst. The 🌳 trees have grown so tall that they barely block the view from the pass, from Torii Shrine ⛩️ just below, and even from Maruyama Park below the shrine ⛩️.
I'm not in favor of cutting the 🌳 trees so easily, as it's environmentally damaging, but if only a few of them were cut, we'd be able to see Mount Ontake and Mount Kiso Komagatake, two of the 100 famous mountains in Japan, making it a great 📷 spot. It's a waste, and I can only say it's a shame.

While I was eating 🍱 in Maruyama Park, an older man 🧙‍♂️ from Tauranga, a port town on New Zealand's 🇳🇿 North Island that I'd visited before for fishing, asked me, "I know Mount Ontake, but what's the name of that snow-capped mountain 🏔️?" I immediately answered, "Kiso Komagatake." Both are mountains I've climbed in recent years. Westerners who hike the Nakasendo and Kumano Kodo trails, rather than just sightseeing, often thoroughly research their destinations beforehand, which often surprises me. They have no mountain worship, so they're intrigued and ask, "Why did they even go to such a remote place?"

Near Maruyama Park, Mount Ontake is depicted as seen from Torii Pass in the "Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaido," a painting from the Edo period. There's even a sign for it there. 😭📷

Before arriving in Yabuharajuku, I visited the Kiso Town Hall, which handles the Yabuharajuku side of Torii Pass, near the route. I visited the tourism department and made recommendations, not just verbally, but with photos I'd taken to make them easier to understand."

山部旅人