The Nakasendo was an Edo Period (1603-1868) road used for travel between the capital of Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto, the former capital. The 69 post towns along the way provided accommodation and services to daimyo and their entourages, who passed through on their sankin kōtai biennial visits to the Tokugawa shogunate.

I'm set to hike the most popular and picturesque section, the lower Kiso Road, from the post town of Magome-juku in Gifu Prefecture to the next, Tsumago-juku in Nagano Prefecture. Over this 7-kilometer stretch, I aim to get some insight into the local palates and what travelers may have eaten along the path when it was Japan's most-traveled highway.

Though it's well known that the poet Matsuo Basho wandered the Nakasendo, it is Magome's native son, Toson Shimazaki, who is most inextricably linked to this section of the Kiso Road. The Shimazaki family served as the village headmen, taking care of the feudal lords as well as pilgrims such as Basho and others who passed through.