7 spots โ sorted by traveller rating
Matsumoto Castle โ one of Japan's 12 original unrestored keeps and a National Treasure โ is nicknamed 'Crow Castle' for its striking black exterior. The evening illumination reflects perfectly in the surrounding moat, creating a mirror image that is among Japan's most photographed castle scenes. Cherry blossom season adds pink petals to this already magical reflection.
One of Japan's most important Buddhist temples โ Zenkoji in Nagano City has drawn pilgrims for over 1,400 years and today still welcomes over six million visitors annually. The temple's principal object of worship, a hidden golden Buddha image, is revealed to the public only once every seven years during the Gokaicho festival (next: 2033), an event of enormous national significance. The long stone-paved approach lined with temples and lodges is one of Japan's most atmospheric pilgrim roads.
Japan's most dramatically beautiful original castle โ Matsumoto's six-tiered black keep (nicknamed 'Crow Castle' for its dark lacquered walls) has stood since 1593 and is one of only 12 original keeps to survive Japan's centuries of war and modernisation. The castle reflects perfectly in the surrounding moat, with the Northern Alps rising behind it. It is a National Treasure and consistently ranks among Japan's top three castles.
The best-preserved post town on the historic Nakasendo highway โ Narai-juku's one-kilometre main street of dark-timbered Edo-period merchant houses has remained almost entirely intact since the 17th century, earning it the nickname 'Narai of a Thousand Houses.' Once the most prosperous rest stop on the route between Edo and Kyoto, the town's lacquerware shops, sake breweries, and traditional inns still operate in their original buildings. Walking its quiet street at dusk feels like stepping directly into a Hiroshige woodblock print.
A complex of five ancient Shinto shrines set deep in a cedar forest on the slopes of Mount Togakushi โ the 2km approach to the upper Okusha shrine passes through an extraordinary avenue of towering 400-year-old Japanese cedars, one of the most awe-inspiring forest walks in Japan. Togakushi is also the legendary birthplace of ninjutsu, and a ninja village and museum recreate the secretive arts of the mountain warriors. The area produces some of Nagano's finest soba noodles.
A charming small town that captivated the great woodblock artist Katsushika Hokusai, who spent his final years here and left behind spectacular painted festival floats and ceilings. The Hokusai-kan museum houses an impressive collection of his late works alongside the Takai Kozan Memorial Museum. Obuse is equally famous for its chestnut sweets โ mont-blanc, chestnut ice cream, and kuri-okowa rice are sold throughout the beautifully maintained old merchant streets.
One of the oldest and most important Shinto shrines in Japan โ Suwa-taisha's origins predate written records, and its four sub-shrines spread around the shores of Lake Suwa. The shrine's Onbashira festival (every six years), in which massive fir logs are ridden down steep mountainsides by men seated on them, is one of Japan's most thrilling and ancient rituals. The serenity of the lakeside Harumiya and Akimiya shrines at dawn, with the Alps reflected in the still water, is deeply moving.
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