Nagoya as a base for the Nakasendo and the Kumano Kodo

Video by Sunny in Japan: three days from one Nagoya base, walking Magome to Tsumago on the Nakasendo and a pass on the Kumano Kodo.

Sunny in Japan builds this three-day hiking trip around Nagoya, which sits between Tokyo and Kyoto and works as a transport hub for both trails. Day one walks the Nakasendo, an old highway through the mountains whose post towns offered travellers food and lodging, on the stretch from Magome-juku to Tsumago-juku: about 8km and roughly three hours on foot.

Day three crosses to the Kumano Kodo on the Kii Peninsula, a network of trails pilgrims have walked for over a thousand years and one of only two pilgrimage routes with UNESCO World Heritage status; the other is the Camino de Santiago. The hike takes the Matsumoto-toge Pass, about 4km long, then visits Onigajo, whose name means Demon's Castle, and Hananoiwaya Shrine, believed to be the oldest shrine in Japan.

Practical details make it useful for planning. Luggage can be sent ahead from Magome to Tsumago for 1,000 yen an item, and Nagoya is 1.5 hours from Tokyo by bullet train. In Magome the video stops for oyaki, a traditional Nagano bun with mountain yam and rice flour in its dough.