Where to Stay in Hakuba, the Top Winter Destination in Nagano, Japan

Hakuba is much larger than your average ski town and offers various accommodations to choose from at every price point. The valley is comprised of many neighborhoods and I recommend staying at the three closest to Happo-One, the largest resort.

Travel Tips Chubu

John Blagys

December 30, 2018

Ichijodani Asakura Clan Historic Ruins and Reconstructed Street

Just over 440 years ago Ichijodani was a bustling Muromachi Period castle town. Today the location attracts interest with both history buffs and sightseeing visitors alike wanting to take in the beauty of the surrounding countryside whilst learning the history of how this once-important and busy town fell to ruins.

Chubu

Phillip Jackson

December 3, 2018

101 Reasons to Visit the Sea of Japan Coast

Sixteen of Japan’s forty-seven prefectures along its coastline. Here’s over 101 starting points, from north to south and east to west, for exploring the amazing Japan coast of the Sea of Japan.

Chubu Chugoku Hokkaido Kansai Tohoku

Dkun

November 27, 2018

A Beginner’s Guide to Skiing Hakuba

Have you decided to take your first ski trip in Japan this season but don’t know where to start? Then you’ve come to the right place. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about skiing Hakuba.

Nature Chubu

John Blagys

November 9, 2018

Tsubame Onsen: Tiny, Milky, Secluded, and Free-of-charge

Located at the trailhead of Mount Myoko, the highest mountain in the Hokushin area, Tsubame Onsen is surrounded by forest and gives its visitors a private bathing time with abundant nature around.

Sightseeing Chubu

Cara Lam

November 5, 2018

Autumn in Yamanashi Prefecture – A Great Time for Grapes and Mt. Fuji

Yamanashi, about 2 hours by bus from Tokyo, certainly changed a few perceptions I had of Japan: where Mt. Fuji was, where Japanese wine was made, what the technology to make the world's fastest train looks like. I had wondered about these before moving to Japan, but was completely unaware that one prefecture in the entire country could answer all of them at once.

Food & Drink Nature Chubu

Victor Ifeajika

October 30, 2018

Nagano: A Small Prefecture With a Big Impact

Whilst the Alps do, as one would expect, give rise to a huge amount of winter sports tourism, they also have the added benefit of limiting the number of inhabitable areas within the prefecture. However, the cities of Matsumoto, and the prefectural capital, also called Nagano, offer plenty of sites for an avid tourist to see.

Nature Travel Tips Chubu

Liam Carrigan

October 26, 2018

Narai-juku, Nagano: The Traditionally Designed Japanese Town

Narai-juku is a quaint post town that is located in present-day Shiojiri City, a mountainous region in southern Nagano. This nationally designated architectural preservation site is part of the Nakasendo Trail which used to be a 534-kilometer-long route connecting Kyoto and Tokyo in Edo Period.

Chubu

Cara Lam

October 22, 2018

Hakone Hachiri Declared a Japan Heritage Area

Hakone Hachiri is the name given to the stretch of old Tokaido between Odawara and Mishima, via Hakone. Much of the old Tokaido route has been replaced by modern roading. But the Hakone Hachiri stretch has a reasonable proportion still intact, and so has just been declared a Japan Heritage Area.

Sightseeing Chubu Kanto

Tony Everitt

September 7, 2018

The Summer Lights of Minowa

While the typical illumination event in Japan is held in the winter, Ina usually has a special illumination event in the summer for everyone to enjoy.

Events Chubu

Koyomi

September 7, 2018

Eating Vegan at Healthy Penguin Café

As healthy lifestyles are picking up in popularity, more and more people are finding themselves opting for healthier food choices. Whether you are vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, or just someone looking for a delicious, but all the while, nutritious meal in Japan, Healthy Penguin Café in the Matsumoto City of Nagano is an amazing find!

Food & Drink Chubu

Koyomi

August 27, 2018

Cycling & Camping along the Sea of Japan, Ishikawa to Aomori

Sunsets alone along the Sea of Japan, or Nihonkai as it’s called in Japanese, make getting there well worth the effort, and the cycling and camping it offers make it more than well worth it.

Travel Tips Chubu Tohoku

Dkun

August 14, 2018

Kunozan Toshogu Shrine

Kunozan Toshogu is one of the many shrines in Japan that is dedicated to the late shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. It is because of the many accomplishments of Ieyasu that many people visit Kunozan Toshogu to pray for the safety of their family, academic success, health and protection against danger.

Nature Chubu

Sean McGeough

August 7, 2018

Become a Wasabi Expert at the Daio Wasabi Farm

I spent years eating sushi and burning my nose before realizing I didn’t know much about this spicy little devil. Then I visited the Daio Wasabi Farm in central Nagano. Just a quick trip from the popular castle town of Matsumoto, Daio is a sprawling display of meticulous farming methods and pristine natural resources.

Food & Drink Chubu

Kevin Kato

June 30, 2018

Zunpachi Ramen: Friendly, Quick Service and Delicious Noodles Make This a Local Matsumoto Favorite

The ramen here at Matsumoto City’s Zunpachi just happens to be a local favorite! Every day, no matter what the time, you can see a line going out the door of people waiting to eat the ramen at Zunpachi.

Food & Drink Chubu

Koyomi

May 26, 2018

Niigata Rose Festival at Echigo Hillside Park: Life is Indeed a Bed of Roses Here

The park’s roses come in packs; a big patch of red here and a big patch of white there. The petals of the roses are made up of so many layers and visitors are welcome to get close with the roses and take as many pictures as they fancy.

Events Nature Sightseeing Chubu

Cara Lam

May 26, 2018

Top Things to Do in Niigata Prefecture

Easily accessible from Tokyo via the Joetsu Shinkansen, there are plenty of reasons to pay this part of the country a visit - and not just for the bucketloads of winter activities! Wondering what Niigata has to offer? Here are 15 of the best things to see and do in this part of Japan.

Events Sightseeing Chubu

Kim

May 24, 2018