Nagano
長野
Nagano
Located in the heart of Honshu (the largest of Japan's four main islands), Nagano is a mountainous prefecture comprising roughly 80% mountains, some towering around 3,000 meters in height. This makes Nagano a mecca for winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding, and it was even the host of the 1998 Winter Olympics. Surrounded by some of Japan's most well-known mountains, the region offers beautiful scenery such as Kamikochi and a wealth of outdoor activities such as skiing and hiking that take advantage of the bountiful nature.
With its cool climate ideal for soba production, Nagano Prefecture boasts Japan's second-highest soba production volume, and the delicious water available in Nagano enhances the taste of "Shinshu soba." Among the many famous local authentic dishes, "Oyaki" is a signature Nagano soul food, made by mixing flour or buckwheat flour with water, kneading it, stretching it out flat, then wrapping ingredients such as azuki beans and vegetables inside. The prefecture also has a high consumption of "Nozawana," a pickled leaf vegetable. It is home to Yudanaka Onsen, where you can witness firsthand hot spring-loving Japanese snow monkeys, take a stroll down the nostalgic streets of a hot spring resort, and enjoy other sightseeing activities unique to Nagano.
Getting there and around
Located in the middle of the Chubu area, Nagano Prefecture can be reached in a reasonably short time even from Tokyo and Aichi thanks to a well-developed highway network, an extensive railroad network including the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line, not to mention several flights connecting Nagano's Shinshu Matsumoto Airport and Osaka, Kobe, Fukuoka and Sapporo airports.
Top Destinations
Nagano
Nagano City is the prefectural capital located in the northern part of Nagano Prefecture and has flourished as the gate town of Zenkoji Temple. With the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train line, the city can be reached from ......
Matsumoto
Located practically in the center of Nagano Prefecture, Matsumoto City has long served as a bustling trading post due to being where the former thoroughfares between the ancient capital of Kyoto and Edo (modern-day Tokyo) ......
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