10 Fabulous Day Trips from Nagano

Just 80 minutes from Tokyo by the fast Shinkansen, Nagano City is a great place to base yourself for a few days. It puts you in reach of some of Japan’s most beautiful nature, some very pretty smaller towns, amazing artworks, cool castles and even a troop of cheeky monkeys who like a dip in hot water. Here’s how to visit them all for the day from Nagano.

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Shibu Onsen and The Snow Monkeys

Visiting the Snow Monkeys in the hot springs is probably the most popular day trip from Nagano, but don’t miss out on wandering around Shibu Onsen, the cute onsen town that lies at the entrance to the monkey park. It’s full of old wooden buildings and cute alleyways – and, of course, onsen baths.

There are nine public baths within the town, and while eight of these are only open to those staying in hotels in the town, Shibu Oyu, also known as bath number 9, is open to day guests.

This isn’t a flashy resort; some people say it’s seen better days, but, if you’re looking for an authentic Japanese experience with relatively few tourists and a gorgeous faded charm, don’t rush off after seeing the monkeys and spend an hour soaking your own aches and pains in the hot spring waters. Each of the nine baths in Shibu Onsen is said to help different ailments – but No. 9 is said to be particularly good for rheumatism and neuralgia.

It costs 800 yen to soak, and the bath is open seven days a week. Opening hours vary by day, but it’s always open from 1 pm to 5 pm. Check out their website for exact details on the day you want to visit.

How to Get There

You can take a bus to the entrance of the Snow Monkey Park from Nagano Station in 40 minutes. It costs 3000 yen each way. Find the timetable here. From there, it’s a 25-45 minute walk to the Snow Monkeys (depending on weather and fitness) and/or a 10-15 minute walk to Shibu Onsen.

You can also catch the train to Yudanaka from Nagano. There are a couple of options for trains (find full details in our guide to visiting the Snow Monkeys), but the fastest, the Limited Express service on the Nagano Dentetsu Line will get you there in 45 minutes and costs 2060 yen in a reserved seat.

From Yudanaka Station, you can walk through Yudanaka, another onsen town, to reach Shibu Onsen in about 30 minutes, or take the local buses, which will get you there in around six minutes.

Matsumoto

You can reach the castle town of Matsumoto from Nagano by train in around an hour, and with two different train lines serving the route, trains are frequent.

Once there, the town’s main tourist-friendly sites are all within a short walk from each other, making it the perfect short day trip.

There’s also something to please everyone – from the famous castle, to shopping streets full of unique souvenirs and artisan crafts and an art museum that any fan of Japan’s Yayoi Kusama won’t want to miss.

When I visited, I managed to do all the main sights, plus a few extras, in about four hours – but I’m not a big shopper, and I also didn’t go into the castle. If you want to do both of those things, allow another couple of hours.

For more details on how to plan your day, see our guide to one day in Matsumoto.

How to Get There

It takes about 50 minutes to get here on the Shinano Line from Nagano Station. It costs 2370 yen, each way. Or about 80 minutes on the slower, but slightly cheaper, Shinonoi Line. This route costs 1170 yen, each way.

When you arrive at Matsumoto Station, take the Castle Exit to leave, and you’ll be just a short walk away from the castle or art gallery.

Prefer to Take a Tour?

If you’d prefer an organised day trip, this half-day Matsumoto Walking tour meets at Matsumoto Station, and takes you to Matsumoto Castle, Nawate (Frog) Street and Nakamachi Street.

Narai Juku

This old post town is a huge hit on social media for its pretty old wooden houses and shops along a curved street. While it’s (arguably) best visited as part of walking the whole Nakasendo Trail, if you don’t have time to do that, you can reach Narai Juku as a day trip from Nagano in as little as 2 and a half hours.

Once there, you can visit small shrines, old wooden buildings, shops and restaurants that line the main street. Photographers will love it.

It’s important to note, though, that Narai Juku can be seasonal – most places have limited hours in winter if they open at all. Check everything before you visit, especially if you’re coming between December and March, when the town can be very sleepy – and also slippery as my friend Joanne found out when she visited.

She wrote about her experience in our guide to visiting Narai Juku for the day

How to Get There

There are a few different routes to Narai Juku from Nagano, but the timing of the train (or bus) connections can make a big difference to how long the journey is going to take so check things carefully.

As I write this, the quickest and easiest option is to take the Shinano Line leaving at 9.01am, then change to a Chuo Line train at Shiojiri, which (after a bit of a wait) will get you into Narai Juku at 11.23.

Repeat the journey in the opposite direction, leaving at 3.52 pm, and you’ll be back in Nagano for 6 pm. Obviously, check this before you leave as timetables can change.

If those timings don’t quite work for you, then use Google Maps or the Navitime app to plot your route. This is not a journey you can just turn up and hope to make work.

In fact, that’s one of the main points in my post on Mistakes Not to Make in Narai Juku. If you are planning on visiting, you’ll want to check this out.

Prefer to Take a Tour

You can take a tour that visits both Matsumoto and Narai Juku from Nagano. This is very difficult to do by train – trust me, I tried!

If that sounds like something you’d like to do, you can see more details of the Matsumoto and Narai Juku tour here.

The Murodo Snow Walls

While it might sound ike a winter activity, the giant 20-metre High Snow Walls that are created at Murodo, outside of Nagano, are actually only accessible for viewing between mid-April and July.

The Snow Walls are about half way into the 90 km route called the Tateyama Alpine route.
If you do all of this you will by a mix of trains, buses, cable cars and ropeways in a well-organised path (see the route here for a full explanation as it’s complex). It takes 8-9 hours to cover the course and costs 16,600 yen to cover the route end-to-end.

While the Snow Walls are only accessible for a few months of the year, you can visit the Tateyama Alpine Route during summer as well and the scenery is beautiful.

How to Get There

You can follow the route either way. Either catch the Express Bus from Nagano Station, then follow the Alpine Route transport to Murodo, from here you can continue on the route all the way to Toyama and get the Shinkansen, or, reverse and return back the way you came.

Or, if you’d prefer to end your day in Nagano, make your way to Toyama Station and transfer to Dentetsu Toyama Station, where you board your first transport for the day.

The Tateyama Alpine Route website is the best resource for seeing how it all works. It takes a while to understand it all, so spend some time seeing how it all works, determining which parts have set timings, and which allow more freedom and finding out about other elements of the day like buying tickets.

If You’d Prefer to Take a Tour

If mastering all the transport changes required in the Takayama Alpine Route requires a level of planning that you might not want to invest in for a one-day visit, you can also take a tour departing from Nagano.

This tour to the Snow Walls leaves Nagano Station a little before 8 am and returns at 6 pm. Note, it doesn’t cover the whole Tateyama Alpine route. Instead, you’ll join the route at Ogisawa, go up to the Snow Walls and then come back down the same way.

Obuse

Obuse is a pretty town famed for its chestnut-based snacks, but it’s also where the famous Japanese artist Hokusai, painter of the Great Wave off Kanagawa and other famous works, spent the last years of his life, and there is a museum dedicated to his art here. This is open from 9 am to 5 pm, seven days a week. It is closed on December 31st and has shorter hours on January 1st.

Hokusai also painted an impressive piece of work on the ceiling of the Ganshoin temple just outside town. This is open from 9 am to 4 pm.

How to Get There

You catch the Nagano Dentetsu Line from either Nagano Station or Gondo Station. It takes about half an hour to get to Obuse Station.

Once in Obuse, you can walk into town and the Hokusai Museum in about 12 minutes. Or to visit the temple first, see if you can catch the Obuse Town Bus from the station. This runs at weekends, public holidays and some other days between April to November, but services are usually only once an hour. It costs 600 yen for a whole-day pass on the bus – I didn’t realise that and thought it was one way and so didn’t go to the temple. It’s one of my big regrets from my trip to Nagano.

Otherwise, the temple is about a 30-minute walk from the station. You might also find a taxi at the station – if so, it’s only a six-minute drive to the temple.

Related Read: Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Visited Nagano

Prefer to Take a Tour?

If you’d prefer to book a tour of Obuse, there is one here that covers the Hokusai Museum and some other interesting sights in the town.

Kamikochi

This is one of Japan’s most scenic areas. It’s very seasonal as the tunnel that allows access is not open in winter, but, if you’re visiting Nagano between mid-april and mid-November, you can get to Kamikochi.

Admittedly, its not the closest jumping off point, Matsumoto and Takayama are both nearer, but it’s an option if you want to see this beautiful part of Japan and aren’t going toward Takayama.

How to Get There

There is a direct bus from Nagano Station that takes about three hours to get to and from Kamikochi.

The first one leaves Nagano around 8 am and gets you in around 11 am, you can then get a bus back at 3pm which will see you back in Nagano at 6 pm. This will cost from 8800 yen round trip. You can find the timetable and book tickets here.

However… I would also check out the below.

Prefer to Take a Tour?

Normally, I’m prefer getting myself to a city and then taking a tour once I’ve arrived rather than being taken there as part of the tour – but, this is one situation where I actually think the tour with transport is worth paying a little bit extra for.

You can take an organised day trip from Nagano that visits Matsumoto Castle and Nawate Shopping Street, then drives you to Kamikochi where you can spend a few hours. Two birds, one stone, no navigating bus timetables! The whole day lasts from around 8am to 8pm.

See more details on the Nagano, Matsumoto and Kamikochi Day Trip here. The tour is also run by Snow Monkey Resorts who are the font of all knowledge in this area.

Also note, the tour above also offers the option to get on in Nagano, visit Matsumoto and Kamikochi – and then get dropped off in Takayama. If you’re looking for a way to get between Nagano and Takayama this could be it – and you’ll get to see two more places as well.

Togakushi Shrine

The beautiful Togakushi shrine complex is located outside Nagano city centre, and makes an easy day trip. The walk to the final upper shrine is through a stunning passage of mature cedar trees.

While you can do the main shrine in half a day, getting there and exploring all the shrines, the nearby village and the nearby lake will take up almost a whole day.

If you’re here in the winter, check what things in and around the shrine are open or accessible, as snow can close things.

How to Get Here

You can catch a bus here from Nagano Station, which takes about an hour to get you to the shrine’s entrance.

Catch the bus from Stop 7. This is not in the cluster of bus stops directly outside the station. Instead, take the Zenko-ji exit out of the station, then use the pedestrian crossings to cross the main road toward the big Don Quijote.

The stop is outside the Alpico Ticket Office. It’s clearly marked with a big 7.

The fastest bus is the reservation-only Togakushi Line. The journey costs ¥2500. Make reservations via the Highway Bus website.

To get to the main entrance, alight at Togakushi Okusha Shrine.

Prefer to Take a Tour

No problem. You can book a half-day tour of Togakushi Shrine here.

Or, this whole day Togakushi tour offers the chance to make some soba noodles, visit a Ninja trick art museum, and then head to the shrine

Toyama

One hour away from Nagano by Shinkansen, Toyama offers a fun one-day visit – especially for foodies.

Spend the morning exploring the pretty Hie Shrine and the Glass Museum, grab a filling lunch of Toyama’s traditional black ramen (this was unlike any ramen I had ever tried before), then take the tram to explore the pretty main street of Iwase and taste some award-winning sake.

Our guide to spending one day in Toyama gives more details for all of the above.

How to Get There

Catch the Shinkansen from Nagano Station to Toyama Station. It will take just over an hour to get there. It costs 6710 yen each way.

Kurobe Gorge Railway

This cute red trolley train runs along bright red bridges towering high above the blue waters of the Kurobe Gorge. It runs between April and November and is incredibly popular during the autumn leaves season, when the views are stunning. They also have a limited service during the winter to see the snow.

Sadly, when I was supposed to do this day trip, the train wasn’t running all the way along its route due to damage caused by the 2024 Noto earthquake. Even now it only runs to Nekomata – and the railway expects this to be the case until at least September 2026.

You still get to ride the train 45 minutes in each direction, though. To see how this might affect the sites along the way, check out our guide to the Kurobe Gorge Railway closure.

I will update this when things change, and the train starts to follow its full route again. You can also check for updates, plus find timetables on the Kurobe Gorge Railway website.

How to Get There

Take the Shinkansen to Kurobe-Unazukionsen Station from Nagano Station, then take a short walk to catch the Toyama Chiho Railway Main Line from Shin-Kurobe Station to Unazukionsen Station. This will take about 30 minutes.

From here, it’s a short walk to the Kurobe Gorge Trolley Train Station. The journey to catch the train will cost 7010 yen each way – the Shinkansen part of this journey is covered if you are using the Hokuriku Arch Pass.

The Kurobe Gorge costs 2820 yen round-trip.

So there you have it, 10 fabulous days trips from Nagano. I admit that I only really realised what an amazing place it would be to base yourself when writing this. I had two days in Nagano and took the short day trips to Matsumoto and Obuse when I was there, but you could easily spend a week based in Nagano and not get bored. And it’s very close to Tokyo to boot.

I think it’s up there with Nagoya as one of Japan’s most underrated destinations.

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