Home ACJS/Aichi OCJS/Online Japan Guide FAQ Network Databases Contact Us Multimedia Log in                                         yamasa.org / home / japan / english / destinations / nagano / naganoshi.html - Matsumoto Castle    -     Ní thuigim thú

Destinations... Japan Travel Guide The Yamasa Institute

Sitemap | Search Tips | Help Desk

Edited by: Declan Murphy Recommended: Suggested Itineraries Favorite Nagano moments... Best ways to get there Nagano Photogallery Newsgroups: fj.rec.travel.japan, Alt-FAQ Bulletin Boards: Fun/Clubs/Nightlife Accommodation/Discounts Practise your Kanji?

Nagano City is a temple town whose development was centered on Zenkouji, the grand 1,400 year-old National Treasure that continues to draw millions of people of all factions to make pilgrimages to visit its many ancient religious structures and artifacts.

Nagano is more known worldwide as the site of the 1998 Olympic Winter Games. Much of the legacy of that event remains. Tourists can still visit venues such as the Big Hat ice arena, which continues to host hockey games, the White Ring, the figure skating site, and M-Wave, where the speed skating competition took place and the local Olympic Museum now resides. Modern infrastructure improvements, such as the Shinkansen line that rapidly connects the city to Tokyo in a little more than an hour and a half, is also evident.

Nagano is located over 200 kilometers northwest of Tokyo and 260 kilometers northeast of Nagoya. It is the home to 360,000 people and is the capital of the prefecture of the same name. Nagano has relatively fewer attractions than some of the more famous Japanese tourist meccas; however, the city's location amongst the Japan Alps helps provide a unique variety of sites with historical, cultural, and natural characteristics that is hard to match elsewhere in the country.

Zenkouji is still, by far, the top attraction of the region and the heart of the city. The city was previously known as Shinano before the arrival of the Ikkou Sanzon Amida Nyorai, the Amida Golden Triad, believed to be the first image of the Buddha in Japan. The sacred image inspired the the construction of the temple during the seventh century and the city has developed around it ever since.

Another cultural and historical attraction is the Matsushiro district in the southern part of the city. Matsushiro has many samurai residences and Buddhist temples to visit. Of more recent historical interest are the World War II tunnels dug into the base of the local mountains, the result of a last desparate plan to protect the imperial family, government, and military headquarters from what seemed to be an inevitable invasion of the country at the end of that turbulent period.

Nagano's natural environment also draws skiers to the nearby mountains and nature lovers to the region's many parks and forests. Deep within the Joshin-Etsu Kogen National Park is also a famous small valley called Jigokudani which, during the winter, visitors can walk amongst hundreds of wild Japanese Macaques who come down from the mountains to warm themselves in an onsen by the Yokoyu River.

How to get there

From Nagoya:   By train, it takes three hours via the JR Chuo Honsen Line Limited Express to reach Nagano.

From Tokyo:     It takes about 100 minutes via the Nagano Shikansen.

Tours - Japan Discovery visits Nagano.
Click here for more information regarding when Discovery visits this destination.

Photographs and contributions

Do you have good photographs or a story to share about this destination? Please share it with us.

Bulletin Boards & Newsgroups

Fun/Clubs/nightlife
Accommodation/Discounts
fj.rec.travel.japan, Alt-FAQ

Disclaimer and Request:

Opening hours, prices, booking procedures, schedules etc are subject to changes beyond our control. This site is just a guide, and we advise that you always check and confirm in advance. Suggestions, additions and correction of errors are always welcome. Please contact us.