We drew every track by hand before we left, then followed them: 18 days on foot, and the last stretch into Tokyo by bike.

Nakasendo trail map: our 19-day route from Kyoto to Tokyo, drawn as GPX tracks
Nakasendo trail map: our 19-day route from Kyoto to Tokyo, drawn as GPX tracks
The Nakasendo GPX route, day by day, Kyoto to Tokyo
DayFrom → ToPrefectureDistancePost towns
Day 1 Sanjo Ohashi, Kyoto → Kusatsu Kyoto → Shiga 23.9 km Kyoto, Otsu, Kusatsu
Day 2 Kusatsu → Echigawa Shiga 31.8 km Kusatsu, Moriyama, Musa, Echigawa
Day 3 Echigawa → Kashiwabara Shiga 31.2 km Echigawa, Takamiya, Toriimoto, Banba, Samegai, Kashiwabara
Day 4 Kashiwabara → Akasaka Shiga → Gifu 19.1 km Kashiwabara, Imasu, Sekigahara, Tarui, Akasaka
Day 5 Akasaka → Kano Gifu 20.3 km Akasaka, Mieji, Godo, Kano
Day 6 Kano → Ota Gifu 27.8 km Kano, Unuma, Ota
Day 7 Ota → Hosokute Gifu 21.9 km Ota, Fushimi, Mitake, Hosokute
Day 8 Hosokute → Ooi Gifu 20.1 km Hosokute, Ookute, Ooi
Day 9 Ooi → Magome (Part 1 · Part 2) Gifu 21.7 km Ooi, Nakatsugawa, Ochiai, Magome
Day 10 Magome → Suhara Gifu → Nagano 29.1 km Magome, Tsumago, Midono, Nojiri, Suhara
Day 11 Suhara → Miyanokoshi Nagano 27.6 km Suhara, Agematsu, Fukushima, Miyanokoshi
Day 12 Miyanokoshi → Seba Nagano 31.3 km Miyanokoshi, Yabuhara, Narai, Niekawa, Motoyama, Seba
Day 13 Seba → Shimosuwa Nagano 23.1 km Seba, Shiojiri, Shimosuwa
Day 14 Shimosuwa → Nagakubo Nagano 29.1 km Shimosuwa, Wada, Nagakubo
Day 15 Nagakubo → Iwamurada Nagano 26.7 km Nagakubo, Ashida, Moda, Mochizuki, Yawata, Shionada, Iwamurada
Day 16 Iwamurada → Karuizawa Nagano 22.7 km Iwamurada, Otai, Oiwake, Kutsukake, Karuizawa
Day 17 Karuizawa → Annaka Nagano → Gunma 34.6 km Karuizawa, Sakamoto, Matsuida, Annaka
Day 18 Annaka → Honjo Gunma → Saitama 31.1 km Annaka, Itahana, Takasaki, Kuragano, Shinmachi, Honjo
Day 19 Honjo → Nihonbashi, Tokyo Saitama → Tokyo 12 km on foot + 78.7 km by bike Walked Honjo to Fukaya, then cycled via Kumagaya, Konosu, Okegawa, Ageo, Omiya, Urawa, Warabi and Itabashi to Nihonbashi

Which devices and apps the tracks work with

  • Garmin Basecamp: import the whole folder directly.
  • Garmin devices and watches: connect via USB and copy the .gpx file to the Garmin/GPX folder, or sync through BaseCamp.
  • Garmin Explore app: upload the file and follow it offline on your phone.
  • Google Maps (mobile): GPX won't import directly — use the Google My Maps link for each day instead, then find it under the "You" tab → Maps.
  • Apple Watch: import via Footpath or Workoutdoors on iPhone, then sync to your watch.
  • AllTrails and Komoot: both support GPX import — set your privacy settings to private first, since both default to public.
  • Browser preview: open any file in Google Earth or gpx.studio to see the route and elevation profile without installing anything.

Get every track, inside the field guide

The complete field guide (EPUB and PDF), 21 GPX tracks and our full accommodation guide, with honest reviews of every place we stayed on the 540km Kyoto-to-Tokyo Nakasendo trail. Early-reader price: £5 until the last chapter is out (then £10), one-off, no subscription.

Get the field guide — £5

The tracks come inside the Nakasendo Field Guide: see everything that's in it →