Kiso-Fukushima Joyama Nature Trail Hiking Experience

If you're looking for hiking and forest bathing in Japan, we recommend the Joyama Nature Trail in Kiso-Fukushima. It's a wonderful hiking course offering stunning views of the Kiso-Fukushima townscape and surrounding mountains from up on the hill.

This course is also ideal as a warm-up before walking the Nakasendo, with well-maintained, easy-to-walk paths and thorough signage throughout, so you can enjoy forest bathing safely without worrying about getting lost.

The beauty of Gongen Falls near the end of the course is truly exceptional, and it's sure to be enjoyable for everyone from beginners to seasoned hikers. In this article, we share our firsthand experience walking the red route of the Joyama Nature Trail (approx. 3.6km, approx. 100 minutes).

Course Details:

• Distance: approx. 3.6km

• Duration: approx. 100 minutes (including breaks)

• Difficulty: Beginner to intermediate (well-maintained path)

• Highest point: approx. 850m

• Admission: Free

Access:

• 10-minute walk from JR Kiso-Fukushima Station to the starting point (Kozen-ji Temple)

• Parking: A few spaces available near Kozen-ji Temple

Recommended Clothing and Gear:

• Comfortable walking shoes (sneakers are fine; hiking boots not required)

• Easy-to-move-in clothing (layer according to the season)

• Water for hydration

• A camera (there are many scenic spots)

• Insect repellent (summer)

• A bear bell

As you can see from the map below, the Joyama Nature Trail in Kiso-Fukushima has seven hiking courses in total. They're color-coded, so you can choose one based on your fitness level and available time.

Among these, we mainly walked the Gongen Falls Course (red route), which is 3.6km long and takes about 100 minutes. This is one of the most popular courses on the Joyama Nature Trail, packed with highlights.

For the Shiroyama Nature Trail, starting from Kozen-ji Temple is far more recommended than starting from Gyonin Bridge (Gyoninbashi).

Benefits of starting from Kozen-ji Temple:

• The route begins with a gentle climb, making it physically easier

• Starting from the footbath/Gyonin Bridge side means a steep staircase right away, which is very demanding

• You can also enjoy sightseeing at Kozen-ji Temple before your hike

About Kozen-ji Temple, the starting point: Kozen-ji is a historic Zen temple featuring a beautiful Japanese garden and karesansui (dry landscape garden). It's a great opportunity, especially for visitors from overseas, to see traditional Japanese temple architecture. Since the hike ends far from Kozen-ji, be sure to visit the temple before you start hiking.

There is a public restroom near Kozen-ji Temple. Since there are almost no restrooms along the trail, it's essential to stop here beforehand.

Now, this is where the hike begins.

As you pass Kozen-ji Temple and continue further in, you'll see the sign marking the entrance to the Shiroyama Nature Trail. The path starts as a paved road and gradually turns into a mountain trail.

The path is well-maintained throughout, with clear signage at key points, so you won't get lost even if you can't read Japanese.

Continuing along the road, you'll soon reach the start of the proper walking trail. That said, it's well maintained and easy enough to walk in regular sneakers, no trekking poles required.

The first spot along the Joyama Promenade in Kiso-Fukushima is Momijigaoka (Autumn Leaves Hill), a hill partway up Mt. Joyama. It's a fantastic viewpoint with an open outlook.

Spread out before you is the beautiful townscape of Kiso-Fukushima, a former post town on the Nakasendo highway nestled in the valley. In the distance, you can see the majestic peak of Mt. Kiso-Komagatake, the highest peak of the Central Alps. Below, the meandering Kiso River comes into view, with a beautiful panorama of lush, green mountains lining the Kiso Valley on the opposite bank.

Unfortunately, it was cloudy when I visited. On a clear day, the view would have been even more stunning.

I took about a five-minute break here, breathing in the crisp afternoon air and letting the sight of Mt. Kiso-Komagatake soothe my mind. Enjoying such a stunning view as a warm-up before walking the Nakasendo is a real luxury.

Not just along the Nakasendo — bear bells (kuma-beru) are commonly set up along Japan's walking paths and hiking trails. If you see one, be sure to ring it.

Purpose of the bear bell:

• Alerts bears to human presence

• Helps avoid sudden encounters with bears

• One of Japan's standard mountain safety measures

Bears live in Japan's mountains. They usually avoid people, but a sudden encounter can be dangerous. Making noise lets bears know a person is nearby.

Of course, I ring the bear bell myself every time I come across one.

After Momijigaoka (Autumn Leaves Hill), I briefly left the red Gongen Falls (Gongen-daki) course and detoured onto the pink, then brown, trail.

This brown course functions like a natural botanical garden, used for growth and cold-tolerance trials of trees from Japan and abroad. Each tree is clearly labeled with its name in Japanese, which you can easily translate with an app like Google Translate.

The hinoki (Japanese cypress) forest and metasequoia (dawn redwood) forest were especially impressive. You're greeted first by a row of hinoki trees.

About Hinoki:

• A representative conifer of Japan

• Used as a premium building material

• Its distinctive scent has a relaxing effect

• The benefits of "shinrin-yoku" (forest bathing) are scientifically proven

It offered an ideal setting for natural forest bathing, and I could really feel the distinctive scent of the hinoki.

Next, you'll come across the Metasequoia Forest.

About the Metasequoia:

• An ancient tree species dating back around 65 million years

• Also known as a "living fossil"

• Long believed to be extinct

• First confirmed to still exist in China in 1945

• Turns beautiful colors in autumn

Rising straight up toward the sky, these tall trees look like a true work of natural art. This Metasequoia Forest is another must-see spot.

As you can see, the brown hiking route is lined with many different kinds of trees. Signboards identifying each species let you learn about nature as you walk, making this a route that plant lovers in particular will enjoy.

After finishing the brown Experimental Forest course, you'll rejoin the red Gongen Falls course. Continue along the route and you'll reach a sheer rock face known as Byobu-Iwa.

The rock face rises vertically like a folding screen, an awe-inspiring display of natural sculpture. The striking contrast between the rock and the surrounding green forest makes for a stunning view and a great photo spot.

Continuing past Byobu Rock (Byobu-iwa), you'll reach Gongen Falls, the undisputed highlight of this hiking course.

Cascading roughly 30 meters down the rock face, the waterfall's powerful presence is simply breathtaking. It has long served as a site of ascetic water training for shugenja (mountain ascetics) making pilgrimages to Mt. Ontake. The path is well maintained today, making it easy to reach, but it must have been a difficult trek in the past.

About Shugendo: A uniquely Japanese religious practice in which followers seek enlightenment through rigorous mountain austerities. Standing under a waterfall, known as takigyo, is one such practice.

Fine mist brushes your cheeks, and the sound of rushing water breaking the forest's silence feels cleansing to the soul. Sensing the long history of ascetics performing water training here fills you with a sense of sanctity, making this the most photogenic spot on the trail.

After passing Gongen Falls, the course enters its final stretch, with more downhill sections. Along the way, we came across the Stone Shrine of the Mountain God (Yama no Kami no Sekishi). Though small, this shrine is a precious site that reflects both the history of forestry in Kiso and the faith of its people. We put our hands together in prayer for a safe hike.

This stone shrine is a memorial erected in 1871 (Meiji 4) to pray for safety when 10,000 sacred timbers were harvested for Ise Jingu Shrine. It stands as proof of the important role Kiso has played in Japan's forestry history.

Continuing downhill from the Stone Shrine of the Mountain God, you'll encounter more stairs. There are quite a lot of steps, so watch your footing to avoid slipping.

And the finish line of this hiking course is Gyonin Bridge. From here you can look down on the clear waters of the Kiso River and the surrounding mountains — a fitting view to close out the hike.

From the bridge, you can enjoy the clear, quietly flowing waters of the Kiso River, the lush green scenery of the Kiso Valley, and a distant view of the Kiso-Fukushima townscape. Looking back on the path we had walked, we were reminded once again of the richness of Kiso's natural beauty.

We finally arrived at our final destination, the AshiYu (foot bath), marking the end of an approximately 100-minute forest-bathing hike.

Soaking your hiking-tired feet in hot spring water is a truly luxurious experience. Combined with the sense of accomplishment from completing the 3.6km course, it made for the perfect spot to reflect on the hike. Relaxing in the foot bath while recalling the beauty of Gongen Falls and the richness of the forest, I felt genuinely refreshed.

The Shiroyama Nature Trail in Kiso-Fukushima is a wonderful hiking course that offers a deep experience of Japan's nature and culture despite its short distance. It's ideal as a warm-up before walking the Nakasendo, and it's equally rewarding as a standalone forest-bathing hike—a route we highly recommend.