Easy Travel in Japan
Short on time in Nagano? Here are eight places and experiences first-time visitors and repeat travelers both keep coming back to — a quick list to work from if you’d rather not plan every hour of your trip.
1A National Treasure temple with roughly 1,400 years of pilgrimage history, its central Buddhist statue hidden from public view for over a thousand years. Beneath the altar, the pitch-dark Okaidan Meguri corridor lets visitors feel along the wall for a key said to grant a promise of salvation.
2Wild Japanese macaques bathe in a naturally heated hot spring pool built specifically for them, in a valley about 40 to 50 minutes from Nagano by bus. Reaching the park requires a final 30-minute walk through forest, part of what keeps it feeling like a genuine wildlife encounter.
3A mountain shrine complex honoring sacred Mount Togakushi, its innermost shrine reached by a roughly two-kilometer approach through centuries-old cedar trees. One of the more atmospheric shrine walks in the Nagano area.
4A striking angular building right beside Zenko-ji, reopened in 2021, with a dedicated wing for landscape painter Higashiyama Kaii's donated works. The free rooftop terrace looks out over the park and temple below.
5Japan's first indoor 400-meter speed-skating rink, built for the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, its distinctive curved wooden roof inspired by Mount Fuji. The Olympic rings and 1998 Games logo are still displayed on the exterior.
6The ice hockey venue from the 1998 Winter Olympics, still used for sports, concerts, and events. Its name and rounded profile reference the shape of a traditional hat.
7Nagano's most respected regional buckwheat noodle, grown in the cool mountain climate around Togakushi and served in small bundles on a round bamboo tray. Small family-run shops near the shrine have served it for generations.
8Dough wrapped around fillings like pickled greens, eggplant miso, or pumpkin, then roasted or steamed until lightly crisp — a genuine Nagano specialty developed to stretch buckwheat and wheat flour in a mountain climate not suited to rice.
A pilgrimage temple town and former Winter Olympic host, and the closest base for the Jigokudani snow monkeys. A friendly starting point for planning a visit built around a 1,400-year-old temple and the mountains beyond it.
A well-paced two days through Kanazawa: the garden, castle, and market on day one, then a ninja-tricked temple and the historic chaya and samurai quarters on day two — everything you need for a proper visit to this castle town, not just a rushed stopover.
A well-paced two days around the Fuji Five Lakes: the classic pagoda-and-lake views on day one, then spring-fed ponds, a lava forest, and a pilgrimage shrine on day two — everything you need for a proper visit, not just a rushed day trip from Tokyo.
Book shinkansen and local rail tickets in advance and skip the station ticket-counter queue.
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Book highway, overnight, and tour buses across Japan — an affordable way to reach cities and sights that trains skip.
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