Perfect Day Trip to the Togakushi Shrines – Mount Togakushi, Japan

January 2025

Perfect Day Trip to the Togakushi Shrines – Mount Togakushi, Japan

During our trip to Nagano, one of the day trips I was excited to experience was heading to Mount Togakushi for the shrine walk. We enjoyed our shrine walk so much when visiting Kyoto so I was really looking forward to venturing out into the countryside.

Things to Do

There is so much going on at Mount Togakushi.

• Hike of the Fives Shrines
  • Okusha – The main Togakushi shrine said to grant good fortune and answer prayers
  • Chusha – The god of wisdom said to grant good luck, success, and prosperity
  • Hokosha – the god of childbirth, women and children
  • Kuzuryusha – The patron deity of Togakushi for grains and rain
  • Hinomikosha – Shrine for matchmaking
• The Lane of Cedars – Scenic tree line that paves the way to Okusha shrine
• Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden – 70 hectares park that has walking trails and the opportunity to see flowers, wildlife (bird watching is noted as well as black bears during certain times of year), and forest all for free of charge
• Lake Kagamiike – With Mount Togakushi in the background, this lake makes for a stunning location for walks and photography
• Togakushi Soba Museum Tonkururin – There is a big soba culture in Togakushi and this museum not only offers the chance to learn more but also to make your own soba
• The Ninja Folk Museum with Ninja Trick House – Restored from the Edo period, the museum showcases traditional culture and life in Togakushi and the Trick House puts you in the action as an interactive experience – I was most excited for this!
• Kid’s Ninja Village – An amusement park that features various ninja themes like obstacle courses and challenges that while advertised for kids, I think adults are keen on getting in on the action
• Togakushi Kamituge Onsen – Day use Onsen that also offers food
• Togakushi Skifield – Ski resort offering a variety of trails for all levels, including rental gear and restaurants
• Climb Mount Togakushi – For adventurous visitors with extra time and mountaineering experience, the challenging trail is quite rewarding
• Enjoy the various shops and restaurants along the way

When to Visit

While Togakushi is certainly an all year round destination, if you have your heart set on something, when you visit Togakushi matters. For example, in the winter time, the bus route changes where it does not travel to the Okusha shrine and many of the attractions are closed. But if you want to experience the skifield, you will have to travel in the wintertime. The shrines are beautiful in the winter as well and you can still walk or even snowshoe between the shrines.

April to November

April to November is when most of the attractions are open daily. It is important that if there is something you really want to see on your visit, double check the opening times since it varies depending on the season that year. With so much to experience, it is easy to spend a full day here.

The best itinerary for your day is planning on hiking the fives shrines. By completing the hike of the five shrines, you will see pretty much everything listed above and can make stops as you want. In general, it is best to take the bus to the last stop and start at the farthest point at Okusha shrine and then walk down to the beginning of the Togkaushi area where the first shrine, Hokosha, is located. This is about 5.5 km long and takes 2.5 hours without stops.

• Take the bus to Okusha bus stop
• Walk the Lane of Cedars to Okusha Shrine
• Visit Okusha and Kuzuryusha Shrines
• Either walk south to Lake Kagamiike or return back to the starting point and visit the Ninja Folk Museum with Ninja Trick House
• Return to the main road south towards Chusha Shrine and can stop at the Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden along the way
• Visit Chusha Shrine
• Near Chusha Shrine is a great spot to get lunch at a local soba shop and stop by Lamp Cafe
• Add a stop at the Kid’s Ninja Village or Togakushi Kamituge Onsen if it is on your list
• Continue south and visit Shrines Hinomikosha and Hokosha
• End your day at the Togakushi Soba Museum Tonkururin
• Hop aboard the bus at the Togakushi Soba Museum Tonkururin and return to Nagano

The best part is you can mix and match stops that interest you and it is certainly not a requirement to see all five shrines if you had your fill after the first few. The biggest ones are definitely Okusha and Chusha so I would prioritize those if you do not plan on visiting all five or are short on time. Do not forget that if you want to save some steps you can also hop on the bus to take you closer to the next destination of interest.

December to March

There are some essentials to know when visiting during the winter season and the specific dates vary from year to year depending on snow fall so be sure to double check anything you are interested in to ensure it is open. First, the bus does not go all the way to Okusha stop but rather goes as far as Chusha Shrine before turning off and heading for the Togakushi Skifield. This does not mean you cannot visit the Lane of Cedars and Okuksa Shrine but it does mean you have to walk 4km each way from Chusha Shrine to Okusha Shrine. This area is gorgeous in the snow so just plan accordingly. If you have a car, you can also drive directly to the shrines but just know winter conditions can make driving challenging. You can even rent snowshoes for the walk if the snow fall is significant at the time of your visit. The other thing to note is many of the attractions – Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden, The Ninja Folk Museum with Ninja Trick House, Togakushi Soba Museum Tonkururin, and Kid’s Ninja Village are wither closed for the winter season or have limited hours of operation so be sure to check before you plan your day.

The best itinerary for visiting during the winter time gives visitors two options – visit the Togakushi Skifield for a day of winter sporting adventures or visit the shrines. If you want to visit the shrines, here is the best route with stops for making the trip to o Togakushi but know this will require a lot of walking and will be largely dependent on the conditions both of the weather and the roads.

• Take the bus to Chusha bus stop
• Walk 2km north to Okusha bus stop
• Walk the Lane of Cedars to Okusha Shrine
• Visit Okusha and Kuzuryusha Shrines
• Walk 2km south to Chusha Shrine
• Visit Chusha Shrine
• Near Chusha Shrine is a great spot to get lunch at a local soba shop and stop by Lamp Cafe
• Add a stop at the Togakushi Kamituge Onsen
• Either continue south and visit Shrines Hinomikosha and Hokosha or hop aboard the bus at the and return to Nagano

How to Get Here

The bus is the best way to travel from Nagano to the Togakushi area. The Alpico Ticket Office is across from the Nagano train station where you can purchase bus tickets. We stopped in the Alpico Bus Ticket Office the day prior to our trip to figure out the logistics of visiting Togakushi and I am glad we did this the day before. The kiosks only distributed bus tickets for day of travel so we used Google Translate with the lovely staff at the front desk who assisted us in purchasing bus tickets for the next day.  

At the time of our visit, the round trip ticket that could be used an unlimited amount of times during the day was 3000 yen. This is great because once you get to Togakushi, there is a lot to see so hopping aboard a bus to get help around can save you some steps and time. You will be looking for bus 70 or 73 depending on your starting or ending destination but the two lines are very similar.

Our Wintertime Visit

Our visit to Togakushi occurred on our second trip to Japan in January so we were very much visiting in the winter season and I had every intention of completing the winter itinerary I outlined above. We started by grabbing the #70 bus in Nagano and heading out into the mountains. Our bus had roughly 80% going to the Togakushi Skifield and the remainder heading to visit the shrines.

We got off the bus at the Chusha Shrine bus stop and watched as the others that got off as well dispersed. We first explored the Chusha Shrine itself which has several areas to it. The cedar trees here are simply giant both in width and in height. Everything was blanketed in snow so it really added to the beauty and ambiance. An occasional wind would come through shaking some snow from the trees giving the illusion of snowfall. We both enjoyed exploring this shrine and the various pieces to it.

The winter conditions were in full effect as the roads were icy and packed with snow. We did not rent snowshoes and had some concerns clocking 8 km of walking a round trip from where we were stationed. We tried looking for a taxi or rideshare but there was nothing up in this direction which is what I would have expected this time of year. So we made the decision to skip going to the Lane of Cedars and Okushu Shrine which while definitely disappointing, was the right call given the conditions.

Instead, we turned to finding a soba shop to enjoy since this is the land of soba. We visited five soba shops in the area of Chusha Shrine – Uzuraya, Iwatoya, Shinanoya, Yutakaya, and Togakushido – all closed! Even though Google had them as open with many having reviews from as recently as yesterday, nothing was open and had no signs of opening anytime soon. We were far enough away from the holiday that I definitely did not expect at least one to be open but alas, we were caught empty handed.

Kevin took to the map and found a few cafes – the first one suffered the same issues as the soba shops but the second one hit and it was one of the highlights of the trip – Lamp Cafe. Walking inside felt like stepping into someone’s home – the environment was so cozy and we were the only ones there. The owners who have been there for over 40 years are simply wonderful and took such good care of us. The front of the shop has a small gift shop and the back area is a large seating area with a wood burning fireplace and decorated in an Alps flare. There are also bookcases to enjoy. Since our visit was in the morning, we were offered a variety of hot beverages and cakes that rotate daily depending on what they made fresh. We ordered a few beverages – Kevin always enjoys trying a few different coffees and they had several preparation styles here – and he went with the cheesecake and I ordered the apple pie. The apple pie is 100% the way to go – anytime we are given a heads up that it will take fifteen minutes to prepare is good news to me. The apples are well known for this region and the pie was perfection. The fruit rotates depending on what is seasonal. If you come later in the day, Lamp Cafe offers hearty dishes like curry or flatbread so this really is an all day establishment. We just had the best time relaxing here and it was the best pick me up to forgoing the 8km walk in the winter weather. Make sure you stop here on your visit to enjoy the best hospitality!

And with that, we hopped back aboard the bus at Chusha Shrine and headed back to Nagano. While we did not accomplish nearly what I anticipated on our day trip to Togakushi, we had a great time visiting the Chusha Shrine and Lamp Cafe. I cannot even imagine what it must be like visiting this area in the peak season when everything is open – I would certainly consider revisiting just to experience it all.

Continue reading all the details of our trip – here!

To see our full itinerary – here!

Read what to expect in Japan – here!

My complete packing list for Japan – here!

See all blog posts for Japan – here!