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Nagano

Mountain adventures at Japan's Alps

About Nagano
Photo: Ben Beechey / JT

Top Attractions in Nagano

Around Nagano

Karuizawa

Karuizawa

Tokyo is a great city to enjoy, with its unfinishable array of sights, shops and restaurants, but sometimes it's nice to get ...

Nagano
Matsumoto

Matsumoto

Many people think of Matsumoto in Nagano prefecture as an overnight spot before heading to the Japan Alps or Utsukushigahara ...

Nagano
Kamikochi

Kamikochi

Kamikochi is a popular resort and often associated with some of the best natural beauty that the central Japanese Alps—and in...

Nagano
Hakuba

Hakuba

Hakuba is considered one of Japan's premier alpine resort getaways, located in the Japanese Alps in Nagano and gaining recogn...

Nagano

Top Articles

Upcoming Nagano Events

Shinshu Azumino Half Marathon

Shinshu Azumino Half Marathon

Kim

The Shinshu Azumino Half Marathon is now in its 10th year, and it's an event that showcases the area's beautiful surroundings...

Nagano
Shinshu Matsumoto Soba Festival

Shinshu Matsumoto Soba Festival

Kim

The Shinshu Matsumoto Soba Festival is an annual event which has been running for almost 20 years now, and it brings soba res...

Nagano

Where to eat in Nagano

Healthy Penguin Cafe

Healthy Penguin Cafe

Kim

Matsumoto is Nagano Prefecture's second-largest city. If you're visiting as a vegetarian or vegan (or if you just love delici...

Nagano

Places to stay in Nagano

ROKA Luxury Apartments

ROKA Luxury Apartments

Japan Travel

As you make your way from Nagano Station to the steep inclines leading you to the small ski resort town of Hakuba, the landsc...

Nagano
Hotel Housei in Yudanaka

Hotel Housei in Yudanaka

Peter Sidell

In Yudanaka in Japan's Nagano prefecture, Hotel Housei is a welcoming traditional onsen hotel. It's the perfect place to be b...

Nagano

Latest Nagano Reports

ROKA Luxury Apartments

ROKA Luxury Apartments

Japan Travel

As you make your way from Nagano Station to the steep inclines leading you to the small ski resort town of Hakuba, the landsc...

Nagano
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About Nagano

Nagano
Okinawa Nagasaki Fukuoka Saga Kumamoto Kagoshima Miyazaki Oita Ehime Kochi Tokushima Kagawa Yamaguchi Hiroshima Okayama Tottori Shimane Hyogo Kyoto Osaka Wakayama Nara Shiga Mie Fukui Ishikawa Toyama Gifu Aichi Nagano Shizuoka Niigata Yamanashi Kanagawa Tokyo Saitama Gunma Tochigi Chiba Ibaraki Fukushima Miyagi Yamagata Iwate Akita Aomori Hokkaido
Region Chubu
Island Honshu
Capital Nagano
Population 2,152,449
Area 13,561.56 sq. km

The mountainous prefecture of Nagano Prefecture (長野県, Nagano-ken) is the perfect summer resort to avoid the heat, with the town of Karuizawa being one of the most popular summer getaway spots in Japan.

Take advantage of the relatively cool weather to explore the famous Matsumoto Castle, one of Japan’s oldest shrines in Suwa Taisha, and Zenko-ji, a major pilgrimage site. Nagano’s many tall mountains serve as challenging but beautiful hiking trails, especially those of Kamikochi.

That being said, Nagano is also a great destination in the winter, and it was the host of the 1998 Winter Olympics. The prefecture’s mountains are some of the largest ski resorts in Japan, most notably Shika Kogen and Mount Hakuba. After being out in the cold, seek warmth in one of Nagano’s many famous hot springs. 

Around Nagano

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