A Travel Plan That Never Fails, Presented by an Active Railway Employee: A 2-Day Weekend Trip to Nagano—Visiting Zenko-ji, Obuse, and Nozawa Onsen via the Nagano Electric Railway
Highlights of this trip
1 hour and 20 minutes by Shinkansen. Pack 1,400 years of history, a genius painter from the Edo period, and 13 hot springs into a 2-day, 1-night trip.
Many people think of Nagano as a place to visit only during ski season. While the skiing is certainly top-notch, Nagano is a place you can enjoy all year round. The solemnity of Zenko-ji Temple is timeless, and while the chestnut sweets of Obuse are best in autumn, the Hokusai Museum is open year-round. The public baths in Nozawa Onsen are free (donations accepted) 365 days a year.
And the fact that these three spots are connected by a single local line, the Nagano Electric Railway, is the point I most want to recommend as an active railway employee.
Access: 1 hour and 20 minutes via the Hokuriku Shinkansen
Tokyo Station to Nagano Station
Approximately 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 50 minutes via the Hokuriku Shinkansen 'Kagayaki' or 'Hakutaka' trains.
Using Nagano Station as your base, you can travel to Obuse via the Nagano Electric Railway and to Nozawa Onsen via the Iiyama Line or an express bus. It is an ideal itinerary for a weekend trip that can be completed entirely without a car.
A word from an active railway employee
It takes 25 minutes to reach Obuse Station from Nagano Station by express train. The Nagano Electric Railway is a local private line that runs former Tokyu and Odakyu train cars. As a railway employee, I feel a sense of kinship seeing these cars that have 'retired' from the city running through the mountains of Nagano. There is also a station called Zenkoji-shita, which can be used to access Zenko-ji Temple.
Day 1: Zenko-ji and Obuse
1. Morning: Zenko-ji Temple—'Feeling' 1,400 years of history in the dark
About a 20-minute walk or a 10-minute bus ride from Nagano Station to Zenko-ji.
Zenko-ji is said to have been founded about 1,400 years ago. Since the Heian period, pilgrims from all over the country have visited this famous temple, which is known for saving people regardless of their sect. The saying 'Visit Zenko-ji at least once in your life' spread nationwide precisely because of this deep-seated inclusivity that welcomes people of all denominations.
Walk through the Nakamise-dori street, pass through the Sanmon Gate, and head to the main hall. You can worship from the outer sanctuary, but I highly recommend purchasing a ticket for the inner sanctuary (1,000 yen for adults) to experience the 'Okaidan Meguri'.
The Okaidan Meguriis a form of pilgrimage where you walk through a pitch-black corridor built beneath the main hall and touch the 'Key to Paradise' located in the middle to form a connection with the principal image. The corridor is literally in total darkness, and the few dozen meters you walk while relying on the handrail provide a unique sensation that you cannot experience at any other tourist destination.
Some people find it 'scary,' but when you stand in this darkness, you get a strange feeling that you are sharing the same experience as the people who have visited this place for the past 1,400 years.
Tips for visiting
The 'Oasaji' (morning service) time at Zenko-ji (from dawn until around 7:00 AM) is the quietest and most solemn. If you can wake up early, I recommend visiting in the early morning when there are fewer people. It gets crowded with worshippers during the day.
② Lunch: Eating your way through the temple town
The Nakamise and temple town streets around Zenko-ji are lined with shops selling Shinshu soba, oyaki (steamed buns filled with ingredients like nozawana, mushrooms, or adzuki beans), and shichimi togarashi (Zenko-ji's shichimi is famous nationwide).
For lunch, have some "zaru soba" at a soba restaurant in front of the temple. Shinshu is one of the top soba-producing regions in Japan, and there are dozens of soba restaurants in Nagano City alone.
③ Afternoon: Heading to Obuse via the Nagano Electric Railway
Take the Nagano Electric Railway from Nagano Station to Obuse. After a 25-minute ride on the express train from Nagano Station, you will arrive at Obuse Station, where fruit orchards and the mountain ranges of the Hokushin Five Mountains (Mt. Iizuna, Mt. Togakushi, Mt. Kurohime, Mt. Madarao, and Mt. Myoko) spread out before your eyes.
④ Afternoon: Obuse—A Town of Hokusai's Later Works and Chestnuts
Obuse is a "town of chestnuts and Hokusai." These two things alone will fill your afternoon.
Hokusai Museum
Katsushika Hokusai, an Edo-period ukiyo-e artist world-renowned for works like "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji," was invited by the wealthy Obuse farmer and merchant Takai Kozan to stay in Obuse many times after he turned 80. The Hokusai Museum displays many of the works he created during those stays, filled with vibrant colors and a sense of dynamism.
What I especially want you to see are the ceiling paintings on two festival floats designated as Nagano Prefectural Treasures. The Higashimachi and Uemachi floats feature "Dragon and Phoenix" and "Angry Waves of Male and Female Waves," respectively, and are truly worth seeing. The astonishment that an old man in his 80s could paint such things never leaves your mind while you are in the museum.
Admission Information: Adults 1,000 yen / 9:00–17:00 (Last admission 16:30)
Chestnut Alley and Chestnut Sweets
The Chestnut Alley near the Hokusai Museum is a historic stone-paved path lined with chestnut trees on both sides.
In autumn, many tourists visit when the chestnuts begin to fall.
For chestnut sweets in Obuse, the "Chikufudo" chestnut rice or the "Sakurai Kanseido" Mont Blanc are classics. Chikufudo offers chestnut confections made in-house with 100% domestic chestnuts, making them perfect for souvenirs.
⑤ Evening: Travel to and stay in Nozawa Onsen
Return from Obuse to Nagano Station via the Nagano Electric Railway (approx. 25 minutes), then take the Iiyama Line or an express bus to Nozawa Onsen. It takes about 12 minutes by Shinkansen from Nagano Station to Iiyama Station, and about 20–30 minutes by bus from Iiyama Station to Nozawa Onsen. You will arrive in Nozawa Onsen in about an hour in total.
Once you arrive, check into your inn and visit at least one public bath. The hot spring town at night is enveloped in steam and the scent of sulfur, creating an atmosphere completely different from the daytime.
https://www.e-yuzawa.gr.jp/sys/stay/
Day 2—Touring the public baths of Nozawa Onsen
① The "Sotoyu" (public bath) system of Nozawa Onsen
In Nozawa Onsen, there are over 30 hot spring sources within the village, and 13 communal bathhouses known as "sotoyu" (outer baths) are scattered throughout the hot spring town.
Sotoyu are public baths located throughout the village, maintained and cleaned by local neighborhood associations. Tourists are essentially being allowed to use these hot springs, which are local assets. Bathing is basically free (donations are welcome). Nozawa Onsen is the only hot spring resort in all of Japan where you can bathe in 13 different baths for almost free.
As a railway employee, I am deeply impressed by this "sotoyu" system. It is a place built on a foundation of trust, where locals maintain and manage their own hot springs and open them to tourists. It is important to enter not because it is "free," but with the feeling that you are "being allowed to use them."
2. Morning: Ogama and Sotoyu Hopping
First, head to "Ogama".
This is one of the 30 or so hot spring sources in Nozawa Onsen and is a national natural monument where boiling water near 100°C gushes out. Surrounded by billowing steam and the scent of sulfur, it has an atmosphere that screams "This is a hot spring resort!" It has long been used by local residents to boil vegetables and the like, and is known as the "kitchen of Nozawa Onsen." Entry is prohibited to anyone other than locals, so please observe it from outside the enclosure.
After that, go hopping between the sotoyu on foot. Since all 13 are within a 20-minute walk of each other, it is realistic to visit 2 or 3 of them.
Tips for Sotoyu Hopping
The sotoyu in Nozawa Onsen are generally "hot baths," so for those not used to the heat, "Kumanotearai-yu," "Ogama-no-yu," and "Juodo-no-yu" are recommended as they are on the milder side. Diluting the water with cold water is strictly prohibited—following the rules of the sotoyu is a sign of respect for the local community.
Oyu
Located at the southern entrance of the hot spring town, this is the largest wooden bathhouse building among the sotoyu. It is divided into a hot bath and a lukewarm bath, and the source water is piped in from Ogama. If you are going to do some sotoyu hopping, starting here is the standard.
2. Lunch: Nozawana and Shinshu Soba
Nozawa Onsen's specialty, "Nozawana," is famous as a pickled green vegetable boiled in the high-temperature water of Ogama, and can be bought at souvenir shops in the hot spring town. For lunch, have some Shinshu soba at a local soba restaurant. Some soba restaurants in Nozawa Onsen are famous for their 100% buckwheat noodles made with oyamabokuchi (a plant) as a binder.
3. Afternoon: Return Trip
Take a bus from Nozawa Onsen to Iiyama Station (about 20–30 minutes), then take the Hokuriku Shinkansen via Nagano Station to Tokyo. You can expect to arrive back in Tokyo in the evening.
Schedule Overview
3 Travel Tips
1. Visit Zenko-ji First Thing in the Morning
While Zenko-ji is bustling with worshippers during the day, it is quiet in the 7 o'clock hour. If possible, stay in Nagano the night before and visit during the early morning morning service for the best experience.
2. Assume the Sotoyu Will Be "Hot"
The sotoyu in Nozawa Onsen are set to a "hot" temperature even by national standards. If you are not good with heat, it is recommended to start with milder sotoyu like "Kumanotearai-yu" or "Ogama-no-yu." Diluting with water is absolutely a no-go.
3. Obuse Chestnuts are in Season in Autumn
Obuse chestnut sweets are at their most delicious during the autumn season from September to November. You can eat "candied chestnuts" and "chestnut rice" made with new chestnuts. If you can plan your trip for autumn, I highly recommend aiming for this period.
Review from an Active Railway Employee
The distinct characters of Zenko-ji, Obuse, and Nozawa Onsen fit perfectly into a 2-day, 1-night trip, offering a balance that is neither too disjointed nor too uniform.
You can feel the 'weight of history' at Zenko-ji, be amazed by the 'work of a genius in his later years' in Obuse, and soak in the 'hot springs protected by the local community' in Nozawa Onsen—because each theme is completely different, you will never get bored during your trip.
The 25-minute ride on the Nagano Electric Railway to Obuse, where the mountain range of the Five Peaks of Northern Shinano spreads out outside the window, is also an important scene in this journey.