Nakasendo Luggage Transfer: Magome–Tsumago Bag Service and Inn-to-Inn Options

Yes, there is a luggage transfer on the Nakasendo: ¥1,000 a bag between Magome and Tsumago, and private inn-to-inn services for the rest of the Kiso Valley. The old road runs on stone paving and forest paths over mountain passes and is easier with only a day pack. Without a car, there are four ways to deal with a suitcase: the local bag service between Magome and Tsumago, an inn-to-inn transfer, a station locker or a courier such as Yamato.

Prices and times below come from the Tsumago Tourist Association, Nakatsugawa City, the Narai-juku Tourist Association, Yamato Transport, the Nagano Prefecture Tourism Association and JR Central, checked on October 20 and 21, 2026. For which sections to walk and how to reach them, see my Nakasendo Trail guide.

Which option fits your walk

At ¥1,000 a bag, the bag service costs less than the other ways to move a bag, but it only covers the 9 km between Magome and Tsumago. North of Tsumago, toward Narai, I found no town-run bag service, so the choice is between an inn-to-inn transfer, a courier and leaving the bag at a station.

Magome to Tsumago luggage forwarding

The Tsumago Tourist Association's page lists this bag service between the two post towns, with drop-off and collection points at both ends.

Where: at the Magome end, the Magome Tourist Information Center or Magome-juku BASE. At the Tsumago end, the Tsumago Tourist Information Center or your inn in Otsumago.

What the page does not say: size or weight limits, whether to book ahead and how to pay. Call before you arrive with a large suitcase:

• Magome Tourist Information Center: 0573-69-2336
• Magome-juku BASE: 0573-64-2750
• Tsumago Tourist Information Center: 0264-57-3123

Timing: the 11:30 drop-off deadline sets your start. Leave your bag by 11:30 and you have until 17:00 to collect it, enough for the 2.5- to 3-hour walk and lunch. The buses to Magome and back from Tsumago are in my Magome to Tsumago walking guide.

In winter: the temporary service is priced per trip, not per bag. One bag costs the same ¥4,500 as three, so it suits a group more than one walker.

Three nights, two suitcases: Magome, Tsumago and Narai

The table shows how the options fit together on a common route: a night each in Magome, Tsumago and Narai, with two suitcases.

Day 3 is the only day with no town-run service. From Tsumago, the Nagiso town bus reaches Nagiso Station in about 9 minutes, and the Tsumago Tourist Association lists a taxi at about 10 minutes. Walk Lite is the option if you would rather not carry them on the bus and train.

Inn to inn: private transfers along the Kiso Valley

For a walk of two or more days, a bag has to move from one inn to the next. Nakatsugawa City's luggage page lists two private services. Neither is run by the city, and I have not used either, so confirm the price and the pick-up time when you book.

Contact details and links to both are on Nakatsugawa City's luggage page. NLTS has an English website.

Walk Lite's listed area runs from the Nakatsugawa area to Matsumoto, so it should cover a route like Magome → Tsumago → Narai with a night in each. Confirm a pick-up in Magome when you book.

Sending a suitcase ahead by courier

Yamato Transport's TA-Q-BIN can deliver a bag to a hotel or ryokan. It suits a trip where you leave the big bag behind for a few days, or send it from Tokyo or Kyoto to your first inn.

Prices are Yamato's cash prices, tax included; Yamato lists cashless prices in a separate table. Yamato takes ¥100 off a bag you take to one of its offices, an agent or a convenience store. Magome is in Gifu Prefecture, and Tsumago and Narai are in Nagano Prefecture, which Yamato prices as two different regions.

Size: a 140 size bag is up to 140 cm (length + width + height) and 20 kg. A 160 size bag is up to 160 cm and 25 kg. Yamato does not take a bag over 30 kg.

Rules for sending to an inn, from Yamato's FAQ:

• Ask the inn first. Some do not accept bags, and some limit when they receive them.
• Send it to arrive by the day before you check in. Delivery takes 1 or 2 days, depending on the address.
• An inn may charge for keeping a bag that arrives early.
• Collect it at the front desk when you check in.
• The stay date on the label can be up to 10 days after the day you send it.

Storing a bag for the day

• Magome: pick up by 16:30. Nakatsugawa City warns that after closing, a bag may not be returned the same day.
• Narai information center: it does not take fragile items, cash or valuables. From 11:45 to 13:00 the counter curtain is closed, but staff are inside, so call out.
• Narai lockers: between the bicycle parking south of the station and the soba restaurant with the water wheel. There are 6 small lockers (60 × 42 × 46 cm) and 4 large ones (90 × 42 × 52 cm), and you pay each time you use one.

A day on the Torii Pass with your bag in Narai

On the Torii Pass you can walk without moving your bag at all. Leave it in Narai, ride one stop south to Yabuhara and walk back over the pass to where your bag is.

1. Leave your bag in a coin locker at Narai Station, or at the information center from 8:40.
2. Take the train one stop to Yabuhara, about 6 minutes (the 8:44 from Narai reaches Yabuhara at 8:50).
3. Walk from Yabuhara Station over the Torii Pass to Narai Station: about 6.4 km, about 3 hours.
4. Collect your bag at the information center by 16:40.

The information center opens 4 minutes before the 8:44 train, so use a locker if you plan to catch that one.

For the one-day walk with buses at both ends, see how to walk from Magome to Tsumago over the pass. To plan the rest of the old road, including where to stay without a car, see more of the Nakasendo in the Kiso Valley.

Frequently asked questions

Keep planning

Sources

1. Luggage forwarding service 2026 — Tsumago Tourist Association
2. Magome – Tsumago walking course — Tsumago Tourist Association
3. Luggage service and storage in Magome and Nakatsugawa — Nakatsugawa City
4. FAQ: coin lockers and luggage storage — Narai-juku Tourist Association
5. TA-Q-BIN rates from Kanto — Yamato Transport
6. TA-Q-BIN rates from Kansai — Yamato Transport
7. TA-Q-BIN rates and size categories — Yamato Transport
8. Sending bags to a hotel or ryokan — Yamato Transport
9. How many days delivery takes — Yamato Transport
10. Access to Tsumago — Tsumago Tourist Association
11. Nagiso town bus timetables and fares (from April 1, 2026) — Nagiso Town
12. Getting to Magome-juku by bus — Nakatsugawa City
13. Chuo Line timetable at Nagiso (March 2026) — JR Central
14. Chuo Line timetable at Narai (March 2026) — JR Central
15. Maximum size for TA-Q-BIN — Yamato Transport
16. Chuo Line timetable at Yabuhara (March 2026) — JR Central
17. Torii Pass — Nagano Prefecture Tourism Association