Japan Beyond the Golden Route: A Trip to Nagano, Japan

January 2025

Japan Beyond the Golden Route: A Trip to Nagano, Japan

When searching for off the beaten path destinations in Japan, I read about Nagano when I was planning our first trip to Japan as a great add on when visiting Tokyo. It is a bit much for a day trip as there is a lot going on and since we were primarily sticking to the Golden Route with day trip extensions, Nagano was cut from the itinerary. But now, Nagano was perfectly situated along our Hokuriku Arch Shinkansen route and became stop number two for this trip. 

Nagano is located in the Japanese Alps in the Nagano Prefecture. Known as the “Roof of Japan”, Nagano is known for mountains that thrive in the winter time filled with ski resorts – one that even hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics. It is also a great destination outside of winter as well – with over 80% of this region covered in forest, there are five national parks you can explore and it makes for an incredible area for sakura cherry blossom season and fall foliage season. And of course there are plenty of historic temples to visit and a dense history in the region.

The train ride into Nagano was easy and once we emerged from the platform, it was clear we were somewhere else – it was mobbed with people everywhere. Since our arrival was early in the day, we had time before our check in so we found coin lockers at the train station to stash the bags while we did a bit of exploring. Coin lockers can generally be found all over and they come in varying sizes. We were able to fit both backpacks comfortably into a large locker for a few hundred yen. 

With the bag secured, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go on the most popular excursion from Nagano – visiting the famous Snow Monkeys. 

Read about visiting the Snow Monkeys and if it is worth the addition to your itinerary here!

The bus ride back to Nagano was easy and when we arrived, we took a walk around the train station shops before grabbing our bags. In need of a snack, we found several stand selling oyaki – a Nagano prefecture specialty. These dumplings are stuffed with various fillings then baked or grilled. We ordered two different ones to try, both stuffed with a different type of mushroom filling, to share and instantly loved these little delights. Nearby, JINS eyeglass store drew Kevin in and he found out you could get eye glasses, prescription lenses, and a complimentary eye exam for 5,900 yen – that’s $40! Wild. And they are ready in half an hour. We were tempted to grab a pair but had to keep moving – but we were intrigued and kept this in mind if we had some time to dedicate at some point of the trip. Finally, on our way out of the station we swung by the Don Quijote store since it is a requirement when in Japan. 

For our day trip tomorrow, we stopped in the Alpico Bus Ticket Office 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 tomorrow. 

Finally, we collected our bags from the coin lockers – so easy to use and so convenient – and hopped on a bus towards our accommodations. Since we booked this trip relatively ‘last minute’ when it comes to Japan planning and we were traveling to a destination that is not as tourist centric, we booked hotels for this trip. For Nagano, I selected Jizokan Matsuya Ryokan and after an easy check-in experience, we returned outside to explore our new home for the next several days. 

Read the review for Jizokan Matsuya Ryokan here!

Since the ryokan is located right on Zenkōji Nakamise Street within the temple grounds, we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring. The Zenkoji Temple is a large complex with many buildings and gates to see, and is a highlight of Nagano. In fact, the center of Nagano is Zenkoji Temple and it is one of the most important temples in all of Japan.

Read about our visit to the Zenkoji Temple here!

Nakamise street shops are within the temple grounds past the Niomon Gate and Omotesando Avenue shops lead up to the Niomon Gate entrance – both areas are worth exploring. Shops here sell all sorts of items such as traditional souvenirs, replica relics important to the temple, and various food items – including apples which we learned Nagano is famous for. We walked both streets and picked up some treats along the way – Beni Beni for an apple custard pastry and a hot rice beverage. Both were delicious, especially that apple custard party – highly recommend.

As twilight began to settle in, the crowds began to dissipate and we could really appreciate how many buildings were sandwiched along these streets. Many looked like shrines or mini-temples as they were adorned with many statues. Lights even turned on to illuminate the way – I am not sure if this is leftover from the holidays or they are up all year round but it was such a beautiful touch.

With some time before dinner, we visited Mallika Brewing which featured an impressive craft beer list for a small set up. You can even observe the brewing process that takes place on the first floor. This is definitely a great stop if you are in Nagano and is easy to miss since it is just off the main street.

We returned to our accommodations at Jizokan Matsuya Ryokan as we had a traditional and typical kaiseki style meal booked for the evening. I have a full review of the meal here but if you are able to, I would highly recommend staying at a ryokan at some point on your Japan trip and if you are not able to, book a kaiseki meal at one so you are able to have this experience. After another long day, we settled in for the evening.

Day 5

After a restful night of sleep, we had an early rise to experience the Oasaji Morning Service at the Zenkoji Temple – a centuries old tradition that few tourists get to witness.

Read about our experience at the Oasaji Morning Service at the Zenkoji Temple here!

Since it was still early, breakfast options were not plentiful so we decided to experience a Japanese Starbucks which was surprisingly delightful. And it is no surprise that the Starbucks is just so wonderfully designed – everything is better here.

Our next adventure took us out of Nagano and into the mountains where I knew we would meet snow and a winter wonderland. This was a day trip I was really looking forward to – Mount Togakushi and the Five Shrines – where we may have had the best cafe experience of the trip.

Read about our winter experience exploring Mount Togakushi and the Five Shrines here!

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 after finding the Katsushika Hokusai Museum. 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. And spoiler, we had the best tonkatsu of our life to date so it is 100% worth the trip.

Read about our spontaneous trip to Obuse here!

While the day did not go as planned, I dare say it ended up even better by venturing into two different countryside areas and getting to experience both Togakushi and Obuse. After a long day, we grabbed a light dinner at 7-Eleven before passing out.

Day 6

We woke up to a rainy morning in Nagano and decided to start our day by properly walking Nakamise Street and Omotesando Avenue. There are so many shops along these streets so it is definitely worth spending time exploring. It was still early so many spots were either still closed or just getting ready to open and one such place was on my list – Ogawanosho. While we had tried oyaki while in Nagano, this shop seemed like ‘the’ place in Nagano to get them. Is oyaki a breakfast food? Unclear to us but they opened at 9AM so we decided at least for now, oyaki was a perfect breakfast item.

Read about our experience at Ogawanosho and if it is the worth the hype here!

The next stop on my list was the Gondo Shopping Street which is an outdoor / indoor mall full of stores. But unfortunately, it was completely dead – no one was open! I am unsure if it was the season or it was too early but it was getting late enough in the morning that it did not seem likely places were opening soon. We headed back towards Zenkoji Temple and stopped in a coffee shop, book store, wood working shop, a very fancy hotel, and wine shop along our walk.

Besides the Zenkoji Temple, there are some many small shrines along Nakamise Street and Omotesando Avenue. Make sure to stop and explore some of them along your walk down these streets.

We originally had plans to stay another night in Nagano but given how quickly we were able to see Nagano and the surrounding areas – mostly because things were closed – we decided to pack up and head to our final stop of the trip – Tokyo.

Overall, we really enjoyed our time in Nagano. While we certainly ran into some unexpected road bumps, it allowed us to explore more. I can only imagine how lovely this area is during peak season! There truly is so much to do in and around Nagano that I would definitely return during the warmer season to see all the things we either missed or see them during another time of year. I would highly recommend adding Nagano to your Beyond the Golden Route Japan itinerary.

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!