Perfect Day Trip to Obuse, Japan

January 2025

Perfect Day Trip to Obuse, Japan

The excursion to Mount Togakushi did not take up nearly as much time as I planned so we had several hours to play with. Kevin suggested taking another half day trip to the town of Obuse. I had only briefly recalled reading about it when I was researching for this trip but there seemed to be quite a bit to this small countryside town that got us both excited.

Things to Do

Obuse is the smallest town in the Nagano prefecture but has quite a bit to offer visitors which is what attracted us to visit as a spontaneous half day trip from Nagano.

• Chestnuts – Obuse is famous for its chestnuts with a 600 year history of harvesting chestnuts and you can find the influence of them throughout the town’s cafes and shops. Treat yourself to a Mont Blanc –  a French-inspired chestnut cream cake, among many other chestnut treats.
• Flowers and Gardens – Unfortunately our visit was during wintertime but we could see evidence that warm weather brings some beautiful cherry blossoms, flowers, and other greenery to Obuse. In fact, many Obuse residents open their private Japanese gardens to visitors to walk through freely.
• Katsushika Hokusai Museum – The reason Kevin found Obuse is it is the destination of the Katsushika Hokusai Museum who famously painted the woodblock print Under the Wave off Kanagawa, also known as The Great Wave.
• Town center – The town center features many shops with souvenirs and treats, and you can also find sake and miso breweries like Masuichi Sake Brewery.
• Gansho-in Temple – While it is a bit on the outside of town, this features the original painting of Happo-Nirami-Hoozu / all direction gaze of a phoenix by Hokusai in 1848 which was his last artwork before passing away at the age of 90.
• Local Produce – Obuse is home to farmland that produces tons of fruits like apples and grapes. You can visit nearby Nakajo Fruit Farm during the harvest season for fruit picking but you can visit all year round.

How to Get Here

The train to Obuse is under 30 minutes by train from Nagano and this train line is covered by the Snow Monkey Pass which is active for two days so the trip to Obuse makes for a great half day trip while your Snow Monkey Pass is still active. To purchase the Snow Monkey Pass and for more on visiting the Snow Monkeys, check out this post. The Nagano Dentetsu Line is found directly outside the Nagano train station platform.

Our Wintertime Visit

Enjoy a scenic and relaxing train ride into the countryside. The mountains are beautiful and the train goes by many farms and even some grape vines. We enjoyed the ride and it was obvious we were the only tourists when we got off at Obuse – exactly what we were looking for.

The quiet town of Obuse welcomed us as we gathered our bearings before finding a lunch stop that was closing in a few minutes so we rushed over in hopes that we could still be served. Luckily, it was close to the train station and we arrived with no issues being seated immediately. The tonkatsu restaurant is listed as 味郷 (I think Mikyou in English) but here is their website with the address. I am being specific because this ended up being the best tonkatsu we have had to date. It was absolutely delicious due to their Mikyou sauce which was simply the best and covered the tonkatsu for every bite. And once again, we are blown away with how much food we are given and the bill at the end – how we ate two full meals and it was around $8 each. We both wanted to have more stomach room for more since we knew finding this Mikyou sauce would never happen again without visiting the small town of Obuse – the quote at the bottom of the menu is “The rich, satisfying flavor of home, only in Obuse”, after all.

That meal alone was worth the train ride to Obuse. But luckily, we had a few more things on the list to experience to keep exploring. We passed by Chestnut Alley but it was closed when we arrived. Here you can spot some of the famous Chestnut trees from which Obuse is known for.

Continuing on, our next stop was the reason Kevin discovered Obuse earlier in the day – visiting the Katsushika Hokusai Museum. Katsushika Hokusai famously painted the woodblock print Under the Wave off Kanagawa, also known as The Great Wave.

Read about our visit to the Katsushika Hokusai Museum here!

After searching a few shops, we finally found an open store selling takeaway Mont Blanc to indulge in Obuse chestnuts. I think normally there are lots of places to grab one of these but since we were there later in the day, shops were closed or required a sit down. We got our Mont Blanc at Sakurai Kanseido and enjoyed it while we waited at the train station. It was rich without being overwhelming and was super tasty – I am so glad we were able to try this specialty before leaving.

And with that, we hopped aboard the train back to Nagano for an easy journey. I would highly recommend taking a half day while staying in Nagano to venture to Obuse. We had such a great time exploring and spending time in Obuse.

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!