Hi all. I am looking to do a trip to Nagano city from Tokyo on the long weekend in October. One weekend isn’t enough to see everything so I am interested in what others would recommend. My rough outline is below.
Saturday: Arrive before noon. Explore town with an emphasis on shrines closer to the town center.
Hopefully find a good looking restaurant for dinner.
Sunday: Early start for Togakushi. I will choose a hike dependent on weather. If conditions are good I want to do this hike. If conditions are less than ideal I will spend more time exploring just the shrine area.
Monday: Early start for Matsumoto castle. Then return to Tokyo.
Thoughts? Recommendations?
I also posted this in one of the japan travel subreddits where proper usually send long term itineraries. I figured it may be more fitting here given I already live in Kanagawa.
4 comments
Seems like a good plan.
Are you driving? Everything up in Nagano city / around there is pretty far apart so if taking public transportation add extra time for each leg.
If you eat meat, [this](https://www.sukitei.com/sp/shop.php) place is great for dinner in the city. They specialize in sukiyaki using local Shinshu beef.
For the hike in Togakushi, if you don’t do the hike there isn’t much else in the shrine area so you might want to look into other stuff to do.
If you don’t mind another 45 minute drive away from Nagano city, the Nojiri lake area on the northern side of Togakushi is also a great little mountain town to explore.
And it’s been too long since I’ve been to Matsumoto or it’s castle so I can’t comment on that but it’s on the way back to Tokyo (sort of) so good routing.
It’s a great time of year to visit Nagano. Have fun!
I visited Matsumoto Castle during silver week (Sep. 17-19). I was standing in line the entire time (entering, touring, leaving), and there wasn’t much to see other than a small section with historic items. So, I recommend getting there early if you plan to visit during a long weekend.
You’ll basically be around Zenkouji, when you’re in Nagano city. Shops around the temple close at around 5pm, so make sure you buy/eat everything you need before that time.
The Togakushi hike isn’t that long, but very worth it. Make sure to try the Togakushi Soba near Chuusha, as it’s very famous around the prefecture.
In Matsumoto you have the castle and a few cute roads to explore, like Nawate Doori and Nakamachi. There’s also the Yayoi Kusama museum if you’re into that.
Having a car helps a lot, if not, look into the bus time tables for Togakushi. Trains from Nagano to Matsumoto shouldn’t be a problem, as they run hourly.
Snow Monkey Park(Jigokudani Yaen Koen)
0269-33-4379
https://maps.app.goo.gl/FmXXNohaEZTEcvSN6?g_st=ic
It’s not near the Nagano station but snow monkeys are always fun to go see. Pretty good hiking around the snow monkey park as well