[Shinshu Trip ②] Visiting Togakushi
A certain day in July 2026. Shinshu Trip ②
If I went to Zenko-ji Temple, I should also visit Togakushi Shrine.
A long time ago, I went to Togakushi for a school field trip, but my memory of where I went and how I got around is vague.
I remember making and eating soba noodles and something like hiking, but did I visit Togakushi Shrine?
It was decades ago when I was a child, so I don't remember.
Day 1: Travel and visiting the five shrines
14:10 Depart Nagano Station - 15:05 Togakushi Chusha (Direct Bus)
After visiting Zenko-ji Temple in the morning of the first day, I headed to Togakushi in the afternoon.
I crossed what looked like a pedestrian deck over the Nagano Station rotary and went to bus stop 7, in front of the Alpico Kotsu tourist information center. 2500 yen.
Direct Bus
A bus called the Tourist Limited Express runs from Nagano Station to the Togakushi area, except during the winter season.
Highway Bus | Alpico Kotsu Co., Ltd. for buses and trains in Nagano
Reservations can be made online. If there is space, you can purchase tickets on the day of travel or when boarding the bus. You can choose in advance whether to use an online ticket or print one out.
Highwaybus.com: Easy reservations for highway buses nationwide
15:20 ① Togakushi Chusha
After the bus drives through the mountains, it arrives at Chusha, where the large torii gate is located.
Once I arrived at Chusha, I started the tour of the five shrines.
The five-shrine tour means visiting the five shrines at the foot of the sacred Mt. Togakushi: Okusha, Chusha, Hokosha, Kuzuryusha, and Hinomikosha. There is no official order for visiting them, and you can visit them on foot, by bus, or by car.
Togakushi Shrine Goshuin (shrine seal) reception hours: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Since I got off at Togakushi Chusha, I looked at the three cedar trees and then first passed through the torii gate to pray.
After climbing a slightly long staircase, the main hall came into view, and I received a Goshuin book and the Chusha Goshuin at the shrine office.
There was a rainbow over the Sazare Waterfall in the back.
From there, I walked down the Shindo (shrine path) to the inn near Hokosha.
15:30 ② Hinomiko-sha Shrine
Since the Shinto path is not a road for cars, it gradually transitions from the village into a mountain trail.
There is a bell placed there, perhaps to deter bears, as there are warnings about bear sightings.
There is no shrine office here, and since Goshuin (shrine seals) and the like are received at Hokosha or Chusha, I only visited to pray.
16:00 ③ Hokosha Shrine
Reception hours: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
②I also requested the Goshuin for Hinomiko-sha Shrine.
The stairs in front of the Hokosha torii gate are steep, so the climb up seems difficult. There is a path like a detour beside the stairs, so I went down that way.
Accommodation: Togakushi Shrine Shukubo Irori no Sobadokoro Tsukiyamakan
Check-in is from 15:00 to 17:30, but I checked in safely before 17:00.
18:00 Dinner
Dinner is all-you-can-eat soba. It seems the soba is made at the shop. There were cold and hot seasonal grated yam soba options, so I ordered the cold one. It was delicious with a firm texture, likely because it was freshly boiled and chilled. It is a shame I couldn't get a refill even though it was all-you-can-eat because the portion was so large.
The bath is available from 15:00 to 22:00
*It is not a hot spring. The women's side is a small, family-style bath with two washing stations, so there is a sign in front of the noren curtain indicating when it is in use so that crowding can be avoided.Payment on-site in cash
There are no toilets or sinks in the rooms; there are shared gender-separated toilets and sinks on the second floor where I stayed. The room I stayed in was conveniently close to the toilet and sink area.
Amenities are well-stocked. There is shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes, cups, towels, and yukata robes for use in the building.
Day 2: Togakushi Shrine Okusha
7:00 Morning Worship
A space for morning prayers is set up within the temple lodging, and you can participate if you confirm during check-in the previous day.
Includes the Great Purification Prayer (Oharae Kotoba), purification with a ritual wand (kirinusa), purification with golden bells, and visiting the altar for worship.
You receive a talisman as proof of participation in the morning worship.
Participation fee is 3000 yen
7:30 Breakfast
After the morning worship, head straight to the dining room for a meal. The fish dish was upgraded to a dried ayu (sweetfish) overnight.
9:00 Check-out and take a taxi to Okusha
My original plan was to check out a little earlier and follow the shrine path again from Hokosha to Chusha, which I visited yesterday, and then walk all the way to Okusha. However, with my Zenko-ji souvenirs and heavy luggage, I thought it might be difficult to climb the path from yesterday. I looked into whether there were any local buses to Okusha, but while there are direct buses from Nagano Station, unfortunately, there don't seem to be any local buses that pick up and drop off within the Togakushi area to go to the remote areas.
I asked the inn for the taxi company's number and arranged a taxi the day before.
In front of the inn to Okusha entrance
2100 yen including arrangement fee (price at the time of travel)
Nagano Kanko Jidosha Co., Ltd. Togakushi Office
https://togakushi-21.jp/spot/186/
Phone 026 254 2121
*Business ends around 17:00 in the evening, so please contact them by then
By the time the taxi arrived, the parking lot in front of Okusha was nearly full.
It is certainly easier to come by car, so I am quite envious.
In front of Okusha🚻Leave luggage in coin lockers
Lockers are placed on both sides of the restroom, so I left my heavy luggage there.
Key-operated, coin-prepayment type
Small x 8 spots, 300 yen
Medium x 4 spots, 400 yen
9:30 Zuishinmon Gate
Various green leaves had grown on the thatched roof of the Zuishinmon Gate, perhaps having sprouted this year.
The wide cedar-lined approach to Okusha, the murmuring of the water, and the chirping of birds are pleasant.
I feel like the cedar trees get thicker and larger the further you go.
10:00 ④ Kuzuryu Shrine
The stairs continue gradually from the front, so it has become a light hike.
The air gets cooler as you go deeper, perhaps because the altitude increases, but sweating is unavoidable due to the uphill exercise.
I am wearing trail running shoes and hiking clothes, which is good because they are quick-drying, but seeing young people in dresses and heeled sandals makes me feel my age these days.
10:10 ⑤ Okusha (Inner Shrine)
Reception hours: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM (hours change in winter)
Closed from 1/7 to late April during winter
I received the goshuin (shrine seal) for both the Kuzuryu Shrine and the Okusha at the Okusha shrine office. With this, I have visited all five shrines and received a commemorative bookmark.
There is also a prayer fortune based on your age and gender, so I tried that too.
A chart for calculating your age is posted at the shrine office, so there is no mistake.
It seems you are supposed to keep the fortune you receive with you.
It was 'Heikichi' (Average Luck). I wonder where Heikichi ranks.
Reading the content, I think it means there is no fluctuation between good and bad luck, and things are peaceful without any trouble. Peace is best.
Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden
Before the Zuishinmon Gate, there is a fork in the road leading to the Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden.
Since it deviates from the path to the Okusha, which is constantly bustling with people, I was suddenly in silence, with the songs of various birds echoing through the forest.
The wooden path where Asian skunk cabbages grow in clusters didn't have many other flowers, perhaps because the best time to see them had long passed. I didn't see any people either.
It seems you can go further to Kagami-ike Pond, but since time was tight, I limited myself to strolling through the botanical garden.
If you want to stroll quietly and have time, this path is also recommended.
Lunch: Naosuke in front of Okusha
Open: 10:30 - until soba runs out
Since it was cool, I ordered hot duck soba. I was torn between that and sobagaki (buckwheat dumplings) for a snack, but I ended up ordering soba dango (buckwheat dumplings) as an extra since they are easy to eat.
When I see sobagaki at a soba restaurant, I get an irresistible urge to eat it.
If they have buckwheat flour, it's also good to buy some to eat at home.
Unfortunately, while they sold soba, I didn't see any buckwheat flour, so I didn't buy any as a souvenir.
When I eat sobagaki at home, I prefer it with sugar and soy sauce.
Okusha no Chaya (Teahouse)
Soba soft-serve ice cream
Perhaps because there is a farm nearby, the soft-serve ice cream is delicious. The temperature isn't that high yet, but I can feel the season where you start craving soft-serve after walking around.
13:34 Okusha - Nagano Station Direct Bus
Just like on the way there, I used the direct bus from the entrance of Okusha to Nagano Station.
The bus is empty.
I could have taken an earlier bus, but since I was there, I relaxed while waiting and took the bus on time back to Nagano Station.
(Postscript)
I stayed at a temple lodging near Hokosha this time, but I realized it is difficult to walk around mountain paths while carrying luggage and souvenirs.
It might be better to give up on staying in Togakushi, stay in Nagano on the first day to drop off luggage, and take the direct bus from Nagano Station to Togakushi Okusha. It might be better to tour from Okusha down to Hokosha starting in the morning, and take the direct bus from the Hokosha bus stop back to Nagano Station.
It might have also been good to visit Zenko-ji Temple from the morning of the second day and then move on to Bessho Onsen.