I've seen ads for self-guided multi-day walking tours in which they arrange accommodations, carry your luggage between places, provide transport to skip less attractive parts of journey, etc. We will be traveling in June.
Do you have any experiences with these trips? Would you recommend a specific one? Too hot and rainy for June?
Your input would be appreciated.
Thanks
Hi - I haven't used them yet, but got good information from this website https://reallyruraljapan.com
I will be traveling with family in June and will just be doing the most popular segment Magome-Tsumago with the founder, Mike. Seemed a little pricey but we decided to splurge and then are planning on spending a night at Takami Onsen before heading back to Kyoto . Mike was really responsive to email inquiries and looks like you can "consult" with him to help you set up your own self guided tour.
I have a similar question, so I was really happy to see this post! I have been looking at options for a 4-day walk on the Nakasendo in October 2026.
I first looked at Macs Adventure because they offer self-directed walking tours in Japan and we were very happy with them for a 10-day hike on the West Highland Way (Scotland) back in September 2024. However, I am a little concerned that they just subcontract their Japan hikes and I wonder how deep thier knowledge or customer base is for Japan. I just can't find a lot of commentary about their tours there. And the other concern I have is that while a self-guided tour was perfect for Scotland, a tour guide could make sense for rural Japan (based on what I'm reading). And for some reason Macs doesn't transport luggage between inns on its Japan hikes, although I believe it does that everywehre else. And that was a lifesaver on the West Highland Way! https://www.macsadventure.com/us/walking-tours/asia-walking-tours/japan/
That led me to look at Walk Japan. Although the owners are based in Hong Kong, they seem to have good reviews and more local depth. And they offer guided walks. Their youtube videos are pretty low energy and not very compelling, though, so that caused me to pause and wonder about other tour companies. https://walkjapan.com/
I've read great things about Mt. Sobek but not sure we want to commit 8 days to this (their shortest option). And its pricey. https://www.mtsobek.com/trips/asia/japan/
Anyway, I am so happy you posted this and hope to gain some insights. Thank you!
Thank you, sloo, for the tip about Really Rural Japan. I hadn't heard of them and they look interesting.
Sharing in case this is helpful to anyone else ...
We just booked a Nakasendo guided walk with Michael at Really Rural Japan (https://reallyruraljapan.com/). We booked this WAY in advance for October 2026. But we know our travel dates and what we want to do, and it's worth it to us just to make sure we have it locked in. We ran into accomodations being sold out a year in advance when we walked the West Highland Way in Scotland last Fall -- so we are erring on the side of caution.
I was very impressed with Michael's responsiveness, helpfulness, and willingness to work with us on a customized approach.
I had reached out to a few other companies that do walking tours in Japan but they were very package-driven with limited (or no) options for customization. At least that was my experience.
Thanks, again, for turning us onto Really Rural Japan!
We have been to Japan a number of times, and I would not not use a tour agency if you are primarily interested in the larger cities--it's easy to travel by rail and air and there is little problem getting around in English. However, if you want to do a more rural trip and get off the beaten path a bit, it is worth considering an agency. We did a self-guided walk with Walk Japan (Kumano Kodo). They were excellent, everything was seamless, the accommodations and food were good to excellent and would have been hard to find on our own, and I don't think we would have found or easily organized that trip on our own. They organize a limited number of self-guided trips for solo or couples, as well as guided trips, most focused on walking that offer several levels of difficulty (easy to quite challenging--the Kumano Kodo, an old pilgrimage trail, was fairly challenging but very beautiful). They are not inexpensive, but the self-guided tours particularly are not very expensive considering that most include transport of luggage, accommodation in traditional inns, and meals. The guided trip are more expensive but get very good reviews, we are considering one or another self-guided trip later this year. Walk Japan is registered in Hong Kong but the people who run the tours are Japan-based, and they are a reputable group, note that they have a limited number of trips and fill up fairly quickly well in advance. Worth a look.
