Last February, I spent 48 hours away from my family & went around the beautiful city of Nagano. After spending 36 hours in Tokyo, I took the overnight Willer Express bus from JR Tokyo Station to JR Nagano Station. I arrived in the morning & started exploring Nagano.
Nagano is a prefecture in the mountainous region of Central Japan. This area is known for its ski resorts & various nature sights. This is the perfect holiday destination for people who are up for anything snow-related during winter & for hiking & nature trails during summer season. In fact, Nagano hosted the Winter Olympics way back in 1998. Nagano is also known as the place to see the snow monkeys which are pretty much everywhere in the mountains during winter. Nagano City is the capital. It is a small & laid back city; it is the city that connects Nagano to the rest of Japan.
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Access To Nagano
People can easily go to Nagano by shinkansen or bullet train, JR local trains & by bus. JR Nagano Station is connected to major shinkansen stations like Tokyo & Kanazawa. It’s also connected to local JR stations like Matsumoto & Nagoya. The most affordable way to reach Nagano is by bus. Willer Express & Alpico Bus Lines connect Nagano to major & small Japan cities. I took the overnight Willer Express Bus from Tokyo Station. The 6-hour bus ride cost me ¥2,500 one way.
Accommodation
There isn’t many cheap & shared accommodations in Nagano at the time of writing. Luckily I came across this traditional house turned hostel called Dot Hostel Nagano. It is a hostel that can accommodate up to 15 people in private & mixed dormitory rooms. Know more about this simple yet affordable hostel in this separate post I made. I stayed 2 nights in this hostel & made some fun memories with the other guests.
Nagaden Railway
The Nagaden Railway, also known as the Nagano Electric Railway or Nagano Dentetsu, is an old & a private electric railway that connects Nagano Station to Suzaka, Shinshu-Nakano & Yudanaka. This railway opened way back in 1926 & remains functional up to the present. This old train operates with modern train cars along the old & preserved train stations.
The railway operates using the traditional system – that means, no electronic gates or whatsoever. You purchase tickets from the booths at your station of boarding & surrender the ticket in your final station. The railway runs local & limited express trips between town & cities within the Nagano Prefecture.
A train ride from Nagano Station to Shinshu-Nakano, Yudanaka or even just the nearest Zenkoji Station should be part of one’s Nagano experience. Luckily, I tried this line a lot of times during my stay. The experience buying tickets through the gates & going through the very old train stations was one of a kind.
Snow Monkey Pass
I availed the Snow Monkey Pass while I was in Nagano. This tourist pass allowed me to have an unlimited use of the Nagaden Railway, Nagaden express & local buses for 2 consecutive days. The pass also included a one-time free admission to the Snow Monkey Park (Jigokudani Yaen-Koen). The pass cost ¥3,500. Note that the pass can’t be bought online. It is only available in the following Nagaden Railway Stations – Nagano Station, Gondo, Suzaka & Obuse.
Based from this page, the whole return trip to the Snow Monkey Park (entrance fee included) cost around ¥4,000. It doesn’t include the small trips you need to take in between stations. The Snow Monkey Pass saved me tons of yens. It even allowed me to take an afternoon trip to the nearby town of Suzaka. I was able to maximize the pass for 2 days.
Nagano Station
The first place you see when you get off Nagano is its main station, the Nagano Station. This modern train station serves as the main hub of the city. As mentioned above, this station connects Nagano to the rest of Japan.
Zenkoji Temple
Zenkoji Temple is one of Japan’s most famous & important Buddhist temples. It has housed the 1st ever Buddhist statue that was brought to Japan when the religion was introduced in the 6th century. The original statue is kept safe by the authorities while a replica is available for viewing (no cameras & videos allowed) in the temple’s main hall.
Suzaka SIDE Trip
The Snow Monkey Pass allowed me to go to the nearby city of Suzaka. This peaceful city is about 12 kilometers away from Nagano City. There isn’t much happening in the city when I visited. I just walked along streets full of old houses. I also walked to Garyu Park, which happens to have a frozen lake. I was told by 1 of the locals that this park transforms into a sakura park during spring season.
Gondo Shopping Street
Gondo Shopping Street is a long covered shopping arcade which has shops, service stores, cafes & restaurants, bars & pachinko outlets. The shopping street is a long quiet alley in the day but transforms into a busy area at night.
Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park
The main purpose of this Nagano leg is to see the snow monkeys in person. As mentioned above, I used the Snow Monkey Pass to board the Nagaden Railway & bus to Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park.
The snow monkey hot spring area is about 20 minutes hike up to the mountains. I was there during the winter season so the whole park was covered with snow & ice. The snow monkeys freely move around the park. They are also fed by the staff a few times a day. These monkeys are generally nice; just don’t show them a plastic bag or anything they can get from you.
The visit to the snow monkeys was the highlight of my Nagano trip. I used to only see them in blog posts & internet photos. Glad I was able to see them in real life & up close. The long hike up to the snow park was worth it & I won’t trade it to any other day trip in Nagano.
Note: The Snow Monkey Park charges an entrance fee of ¥800 per person. This fee is already included if you use a valid snow monkey pass during your visit.
Kamenoyu
One of the most unique experiences I had during my visit in Nagano was to try a local onsen or public bathhouse. The Dot Hostel Nagano staff recommended that I should try Kamenoyu, a public bathhouse in the city. This facility is owned & maintained by the City of Nagano.
I went there on my last night in Nagano & enjoyed a relaxing hot bath. Luckily, there were only a few people during my visit. The men & women have separate bathing facilities. This wasn’t my 1st time in an onsen. I’ve been to onsens in my previous Japan trips; the last one was in Hokkaido when I went to an outdoor onsen called Hoheikyo Onsen.
Missed Places
2 days isn’t enough to go around Nagano. Too bad I missed a few places during my visit. 1st place I wish I went to was the Togakushi Shrine. This shrine is located on the top of the mountain & requires at least a day to finish. Winter isn’t the perfect time to visit this shrine due to thick snow & slippery ice in the walkway & stairs.
I didn’t have time to visit a ski resort & to go skiing again. Nagano has a lot of ski resorts & is one of the main reasons why people go to this place. I’ll definitely check out these 2 places when I go back. I will also find time to visit the nearby towns of Shinsu-Nakano, Obuse & explore the town of Yudanaka more.
I only had 48 hours in Nagano & I’m happy I made use of the time well exploring the city. The visit to the snow monkey park was definitely the highlight of this trip. I’d love to see them again in the future. I’ll probably check out Nagano during spring or summer next time.
Have you been to Nagano? Have you been to nice places which I can include to my list of places to visit when I go back? Were you able to see the snow monkeys? Share your trip highlights & experiences in the comments section below. Do you have any question about anything written or mentioned above? Feel free to email me at contact@thewkndtravel.com & I’ll respond as soon as I can. Make sure to follow me & please also help me in promoting my social media channels – Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Thank you for your time today. Until next time.
PS. Photos were taken using my HTC U11.