Easy Travel in Japan
Nagano rewards a second day. Day one covers the city itself — Zenko-ji, its neighboring art museum, and the still-standing venues from the 1998 Winter Olympics — all within an easy walk or short bus ride of the station. Day two heads into the mountains for Togakushi Shrine’s cedar-lined approach and the soba tradition that grew up around it. If wildlife matters more to you than a shrine walk, swap day two for the Jigokudani snow monkeys instead — both are genuine day trips in their own right, just in different directions from the city.
The temple, its art museum neighbor, and two venues still standing from the 1998 Winter Olympics.
1The Hokuriku Shinkansen's fastest Kagayaki service reaches Nagano from Tokyo in around 80 minutes, one of the shortest shinkansen trips to a major regional city. No transfers, and reserved seats are easy to book even a few days out.
2A short walk or bus ride from Nagano Station brings you to Zenko-ji. Beyond the main hall, pay the small fee to descend into the Okaidan Meguri, a completely dark corridor beneath the altar — feel along the wall for the metal key believed to connect you to the temple's hidden statue. Give the full complex at least 90 minutes.
3Pick up oyaki from one of the small shops along Zenko-ji's approach street — dough wrapped around pickled greens, eggplant miso, or pumpkin, roasted or steamed. It's an easy, portable lunch that fits naturally into a day spent mostly on foot.
4Right beside Zenko-ji in Joyama Park, the art museum's Higashiyama Kaii wing is worth an hour if landscape painting interests you, and the free rooftop terrace is worth the short detour even if it doesn't.
5A bus or short taxi ride brings you to M-Wave, Japan's first indoor 400-meter speed-skating rink, built for the 1998 Winter Olympics and still marked with the Games' logo on its curved wooden exterior. Public access depends on what's scheduled inside, so this is more of a photo stop and a look at the building than a formal tour.
6A short walk from M-Wave, Big Hat was the 1998 Olympics' ice hockey venue and is still used for sports and events today. Close the day here before heading back toward the station for dinner.
A cedar-lined mountain shrine and the noodle tradition that grew up around it.
1Catch a bus from Nagano Station toward Togakushi, roughly 45 to 70 minutes depending on the route and time of year. The road climbs steadily into the mountains, a clear shift from the city below.
2Walk the roughly two-kilometer cedar-lined approach to Okusha, the innermost of Togakushi's shrines, honoring the sacred mountain behind it. Budget two to three hours if you want to visit more than one of the complex's sub-shrines — the trails connecting them run through forest rather than along roads.
3Have lunch at one of the small, family-run soba shops near the shrine complex — Togakushi soba, served in small bundles on a round bamboo tray, is the whole reason many visitors make the trip out here in the first place.
4Catch the bus back to Nagano Station, then a Kagayaki service back to Tokyo, again around 80 minutes. If wild snow monkeys interest you more than a mountain shrine, Jigokudani Monkey Park in Yamanouchi makes an equally good — though separate — day-two swap; the two excursions run in different directions from the city, so pick one rather than trying to fit both in.
A quick, friendly rundown of Nagano's biggest highlights — from a 1,400-year-old temple with a pitch-dark pilgrimage tunnel to wild snow monkeys soaking in a hot spring — a good starting point for a first visit to this temple town.
A quick, friendly rundown of Shirakawa-go's best gassho-zukuri farmhouses, viewpoints, and local flavors — a good starting point for a day trip to this UNESCO-listed mountain village.
A well-paced two days through Takayama: the historic government office, old town, and sake breweries on day one, then the riverside morning market, festival shrine, and Hida Folk Village on day two — everything you need for a proper visit to this Hida mountain town.
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