Ads
related to: What to do in Nagano Prefecture?8.0/10 (30883 reviews)
getyourguide.com has been visited by 1M+ users in the past month
Convenient and flexible cancellation up to 24 hours before your tour — no questions asked. From romantic dinner cruises to picturesque attractions, these are best enjoyed together.
- Tickets
Your Ticket Retailer!
VIP, skip-the-line & mobile tickets
- GetYourGuide
Skip-the-line tickets help you
take advantage of each moment ...
- Top Boat Tours & Cruises
You can't beat a boat view.
Get the best price, guaranteed.
- Nagano Prefecture
Discover the best things to do.
Book the perfect experience today.
- Tickets
Over 345,000 Things to Do on Viator. Book 5-Star Tours and Activities!
Find the best tours, tickets, trips & more. Compare prices and book online on Tripadvisor. Full refund available up to 24 hours before your tour date. Quick & easy purchase process.
Search results
People also ask
Is Nagano a good place to visit?
What to do in Nagano?
Where to eat in Nagano?
Why should you visit Nagano Prefectural Shinano Art Museum?
- Jigokudani Wild Monkey Park. In the Jigokudani Valley above the hot spring town of Yamanouchi, you’ll find steaming geothermal vents and a troupe of onsen-loving Japanese macaques.
- Matsumoto Castle. One of Japan’s few remaining original castles, Matsumoto Castle is a National Treasure and the proud symbol of Matsumoto City. Its exquisite black-and-white exterior contrasts beautifully against the Northern Japanese Alps, and its interior includes a large museum of wartime artifacts, with many intact rifles and weapons from the Warring States Period.
- Zenkoji Temple. Zenkoji Temple is a national treasure with over 1,400 years of history. The first Buddhist icon to be brought from India to Japan is enshrined here, making the temple an important pilgrimage spot for Buddhists in Japan.
- Kamikochi. At the base of the Northern Japanese Alps is Kamikochi, an idyllic basin with crystal clear water and verdant forests. The views of the Hotaka mountain range from Kamikochi’s central Kappa Bridge are awe-inspiring and earn it a special place in the hearts of nature enthusiasts around Japan, and even around the world.
Discover the top things to do in Nagano, a mountainous region in Chubu, known for the rural beauty of Kamikochi, resort-like Karuizawa, or the magic of Matsumoto Castle. A former Winter Oympics host, Nagano is popular for skiing and snowboarding – as well as snow monkeys!
- Visit Zenkoji
- Explore Nishi-No-Mon
- Try The Onsen
- Try The Local Delicacies
- Visit The Nagano Prefectural Shinano Art Museum
- Go Skiing
- Experience Binzuru
- Visit Togakushi Shrine
- Check Out The Snow Monkeys
- Try Horse Meat Sashimi
Zenkoji is a temple that was built in the 7th century and this is also one of the most famous pilgrimage sites in Japan for the Buddhist community. There is a hibutsu here which is known as a hidden Buddha and this is show to the public every six years and the next showing will be in 2022, and then every six years after that. As such you need to ti...
Nishi-no-Mon is the name for a sake brewery which is located in Nagano and also has a gift shop, museum and restaurant attached. You can tour the brewery and museum where you can see a range of old photographs that tell the story of the brewery and you can also check out some ancient as well as modern brewing equipment on site. At the end of the to...
Nagano is known for its onsen which are traditional Japanese hot springs where you can bathe both inside and outside which is a great way to relax at the end of a hot day. One of the most famous onsen in Nagano is the Kagai onsen Ichiyoukan which has baths filled with brown water which are separated according to gender. Another is the Omuro Onsen M...
Nagano is not one of the major food capitals of Japan but that doesn’t mean that you can’t still sample the local delicacies here. Some of the favorites in this part of the country include oyaki which are Japanese dumplings that are steamed and come in both sweet and savory varieties. Some of the various fillings used include pumpkin, eggplant and ...
Nagano Prefectural Shinano Art Museum is known as one of the most important museums in this part of Japan and art lovers flock here from all over the country. There are a number of galleries here which are known for their pretty landscape paintings and you will find a range of European art on show as well as pieces from around Japan. There are also...
The Nagano region is known for its ski resorts so if you are in Nagano City then you can easily go outside the city center and head to some of the most famous resorts in Japan. These include Yabuhara Heights as well as Shiga Kogen Heights and Nozawa Onsen. All these resorts have a range of slopes that you can try in the winter months and they also ...
Binzuru is the main summer event in Nagano and takes place on the first Saturday of August every year. There are some 200 musical and dance groups that attend the festival every year and you there is also a procession here that honors the Indian Buddhist saint which was known as Pindola Bharadvaja. To the end, people walk through the streets of Nag...
Togakushi Shrine is known for being one of the most beautiful shrines in Nagano and is there are actually several small shrines here as well as some hiking trails that take you out to the surrounding areas. There are also signature features here such as the Kagami Pond which is known for its calming waters and you can also visit the famous noodle s...
One of the main reasons why people come to Nagano is to check out the famous ‘snow monkeys’ that live here. The monkeys live in a place called Jigokudani in the valley which is part of the Yokoyu River and you can get there from Shiga Heights and the Shibu-Yudanaka Onsens. There are more than two hundred monkeys here that are called snow monkeys as...
If you are feeling brave when you are in Nagano then you may want to try one of its more unusual specialties which is horse meat. The twist on this dish however is that the meat is known as basashi and is actually raw to make a kind of sashimi, but made out of thin slices of horse meat. You will find this served up all over the city and local rave ...
- Karuizawa. Our first stop is a small town called Karuizawa. Although small, Karuizawa is hardly unknown to Japanese people. And especially to people from Tokyo, Karuizawa is known as an idyllic mountain town and an escape from the summer heat.
- Matsumoto. From Karuizawa, we drove approximately 2 hours to Matsumoto. Honestly, the only reason why we made a stop here is because it is the closest point to Kamikochi, which is next on our itinerary.
- Kamikochi. Kamikochi is part of the Chubu Sangaku National Park, also known as the Northern Japanese Alps. It has also been referred to as the “Japanese Yosemite Valley”, due to the similarity of the terrains found in Kamikochi.
- Omachi – Lake Kisaki & Kurobe Dam. I designated this day as our rest day after the insane 10 hours hike / walk we did in Kamikochi, but we still ended up walking around plenty!
- Meet a moon goddess at Matsumoto Castle. One of only three premier castles out of the dozens around Japan, Matsumoto Castle offers a beautiful exterior cascading over five levels.
- Canoeing in mountain backdrops. Enjoy the mountains and lush scenery canoeing on famous spots such as Lake Aoki, which offers reflections of the Hakuba mountains, and Lake Kizaki, famous for its hot springs!
- SUP in Anime settings as the Northern Alps watch on. The three lakes of Nishina ensure SUP delights like no other! Paddle in waters mirroring the norther alps on lake Aoki and make time for Kizaki lake; so beautiful that it was once the filming location for a popular anime!
- Rafting: The best of Nagano’s waterways. Rafting down the Tenryu river on a hot summer day ensures blissful relief and feisty rapids! Discover the treasures of Omachi, and heat up in hot springs when the cold begins to bite!
Nagano Prefecture. Things to Do in Nagano, Japan - Nagano Attractions. Explore popular experiences. See what other travelers like to do, based on ratings and number of bookings. See All. Day Trips (17) Sake Tasting (5) Sacred & Religious Sites (79) Half-day Tours (5) Nature and Wildlife Tours (10) Points of Interest & Landmarks (33)
Things to Do in Nagano Prefecture. Explore popular experiences. See what other travelers like to do, based on ratings and number of bookings. See All. Private Sightseeing Tours (45) Day Trips (12) Scenic Walking Areas (34) Nature and Wildlife Tours (36) City Tours (18) Farms (101) Sake Tasting (11) Bus Tours (45) Visitor Centers (171)
