I can’t decide which place to stay at. I’ve got a three-day weekend coming up and I intend to visit both cities but I’m wondering which is the better one to stay at. I wonder if one has a more fun/livlier night life or is prettier at night.
Thanks in advance for any insight!
3 comments
Matsumoto is nice (compared to Suwa)
But Suwa provide good and great Hotels in the Hills.
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Matsumoto is more a kind of Hub and you are close to many different Spots.
Suwa has a nice sake all you drink ticket (or at least I think so). Where you go to all the different breweries and drink free. There is the lake and Geiser. The only ryokan in my budget range wasn’t amazing, but it had in-room dinner plan with a free bottle of sake. Matsumoto is just a plain city, I think because of that you might have more nightlife options. Honestly I liked Suwa more. I’m not a local, just tourist who likes visiting nagano and going to all the beer and sake breweries there, so its very surface level understanding.
100% Matsumoto.
Suwa is not a very nice town (imo). I might be biased as I live just next to Matsumoto, but I honestly avoid going to Suwa as the place depresses me. The lake is okay (it’s not particularly picturesque like Biwa-ko but has at least got cleaner in recent years, it used to smell horrendous) but the town itself is dying. It is close to Yatsugatake which is a great hiking spot.
Matsumoto is vibrant and thriving, lots of cool places to eat, shop, and drink. I think it’s a bit classier. There is a local beer brewery that has a tap room, the town is compact and pedestrian friendly at night. The castle is lit up at night too, and that is very pretty.
Matsumoto is more geared up for tourists as it has the castle (one of the nicest in Japan) and serves as a gateway to Kamikochi (beautiful and popular mountain resorts), Norikura (Japan’s highest carpark with a short hike to beautiful 3000m peak) the Utsukushigahara highlands & Venus line (lovely mountain road that runs down toward Suwa), hiking in the Northern Alps, and its a short train ride up to Hakuba, more mountains and skiing.
Also if you venture out along the Oito line (Matsumoto – Hakuba) you can visit beautiful Azumino, and see some lovely countryside, shrines, mountains, and the worlds largest Wasabi farm which is a very popular tourist spot.
If you want to see beautiful lakes I recommend heading up to Omachi on the Oito line to see Kizakiko & Aokiko (smaller than Suwa, but way nicer, you can swim & paddle board on them, which Suwa is pretty much regarded as too dirty for), or hiking to the spectacular Myoujin-pond in Kamikochi or Happo-Ike in Hakuba!