If you want to vacation in Japan during the winter season then you really should consider going to Nagano. It’s known for heavy snowfall which has made it popular for those who are into snowboarding and skiing. However, not everyone might have the time for these activities. In case you’re one of those people, then you definitely should take notes from my 2-day winter itinerary.
My Nagano 2-Day Winter Itinerary: Must-See Places to Include on Your List
Day 1
So a chunk of the first day was taken up by the travel from Kanazawa to Nagano Station. I took the Hokuriku Shinkansen (which as its name implies is a bullet train) and it still took two hours. That said, I did make sure that I got onto the Green Car which made the whole ride less fussy and a lot more relaxed.
The Green Car is basically the premium or first class seating of a lot of the shinkansen lines. Typically these trains have fancier seats, more leg space, and generally better service. You could still opt for non-premium options but for peace of mind you really want to reserve a seat here in advance.
Even for taller individuals, the leg space here is just too good to pass up. The seats here are also quite comfortable with settings that you can use to change their orientation for an even better rest.
Activity/Destination: Hokuriku Shinkansen Green Car
Admission Fee: JPY12000 (approximate)
Notable activities/attractions: N/A
Business Hours: 6:00AM-12:00MN
Best Time to Visit: N/A
Hotel Metropolitan Nagano
Before I knew it, I’d already arrived at Nagano Station and was ready to check in at Hotel Metropolitan Nagano. I chose the hotel because it’s quite close to the station and considering the activities I had lined up, this was one of the best places I could stay in when it came to convenience.
The lobby was busy when I got inside but the check-in was relatively fast. I did wait for a couple of minutes but when it was my turn at the counter I managed to breeze through the process. Your mileage may vary though but generally the consensus of people who’ve booked a room at the hotel is that the check in process was a breeze.
The rooms here were very welcoming and had this kind of retro feel to them that’s hard to put into words. While describing the ambience here might be hard, the bed is thankfully quite the opposite. Not only was it soft but it was comfortable and warm as well.
Activity/Destination: Hotel Metropolitan Nagano
Admission Fee: Starts from JPY16000 (Standard Single)
Notable activities/attractions: Near JR Nagano Station
Business Hours: Open 24/7
Best Time to Visit: Fall/Winter
Nagano-ken Choju-Shokudo Restaurant
So one thing that I really like about Hotel Metropolitan Nagano is that it’s just really close to a lot of nice restaurants. Since it was already past 12:00 noon when I arrived and finished checking in, I was understandably quite hungry. I managed to come across Nagano-ken Choju-Shokudo and decided I was going to eat there for lunch.
I initially thought that train station food was going to be so-so but this actually surprised me. I got the Jingisukan meal for JPY1680 and was blown away by the taste. For those unfamiliar with Jingisukan, it’s a grilled lamb meal that is really popular in Hokkaido. This particular meal was really filling and tasty. The mutton wasn’t gamey and the vegetables added a nice contrast with their texture that, for me, really elevated the dish.
My companion at that time decided to order the Miso-simmered mackerel seat meal and they said it was really delicious. At only JPY1180, you can already expect a complete meal with rice, side dishes, soup, and some condiments. The rest of the items here were really affordable and quite hearty. You can also expect the food to be served piping hot (like with my Jingisukan order).
Activity/Destination: Nagano-ken Choju-Shokudo
Admission Fee/Food Cost: JPY1680 for Jingisukan (excl. of tax); JPY1180 for Miso-simmered Mackerel set meal (excl. of tax)
Notable activities/attractions/food: Jingisukan, Keema Curry, Wagyu Beef Hitsumabushi, Seasonal Set Meals
Business Hours: 11:00AM-10:00PM
Best Time to Visit: Anytime
The original itinerary was to visit Zenkōji temple, but since it was late and the temple closes at 4pm, I decided to reschedule the Zenkōji temple visit on the 3rd day.
Today I ended up just hanging around the Nagano station, buying groceries and fruits and took a rest early at night.
Nagano is known for its agriculture and you’ll find plenty of agricultural produce at its markets. Since I didn’t have much to do, I tried checking out the grocery store in Nagano Station and came across these. Onions cost around JPY96 per bulb for the large ones and there were also king trumpet and enoki mushrooms if you’re planning on making your own shabu-shabu or nabe hotpot soon.
I did end up getting some fruits just to balance out the meaty meals that I’ve been eating throughout this trip. Just a word of advice, while grocery prices might not be as cheap as farm/market prices, they are relatively more affordable than if you bought from establishments/shops found in tourist areas.
Day 2:
Full day snow monkey park visit
It’s finally the second day of my stay here in Nagano and the agenda now is to go pay Snow Monkey Park a visit. Before I do that though, I needed to get some sustenance first and thankfully, Hotel Metropolitan Nagano had just the breakfast buffet ready for me.
I went to Restaurant IRIS for the breakfast buffet and saw that it offered plenty of protein in the form of sausages and Japanese-style bacon. The buffet also had fried fish, scrambled eggs, and even grilled chicken with miso on the breakfast menu.
The pastry selection was rather limited though it was possible that I might have been a little too early. That said, the bread and pancakes were nice and I loved that there was also whipped cream and maple syrup here.
If you’re not too keen on international fare or just want something more Japanese, there’s also a section that offers seasonal Ima-Nishiki sake along with soba noodles (there’s some soba dipping sauce as well). Other than these, the restaurant also has a section with tempura (at the time I had breakfast it was mushroom though it might change depending on the availability of ingredients) if you’re into that.
Not only does the restaurant have a dispenser for both hot and cold coffee, there’s also a couple more for softdrinks and juices. Overall, the breakfast experience here was okay. In my review, I said it wasn’t anything to write home about and I think that still holds true today. That said, the buffet is still good. It has great variety and good (though could still be better) food.
Activity/Destination: Restaurant IRIS (Hotel Metropolitan Nagano)
Admission Fee/Cost of Food: Free (Complimentary Breakfast)
Notable activities/attractions: Breakfast Buffet
Business Hours: 6:30AM-10:00PM (Breakfast); 6:30AM-10:00PM (regular business hours)
Best Time to Visit: Breakfast
Jigokudani Yaen Koen (Snow Monkey Park)
So now that I’ve finished breakfast, it’s time to purchase the Snow Monkey Pass at Nagano Station. This pass already covers the round trip fare (Nagano-Snow Monkey Park-Nagano) as well as entry to the park itself (Jigokudani Yaen Koen). Once you’ve purchased the pass, it’s not just a matter of waiting for the bus at station 24.
Since I ate breakfast early, I was just in time for the first bus at 9:53AM. Here’s a post with the bus schedules. You can reasonably expect trips to the park every hour up from 9:53AM up until 12:44PM.
This was the bus that we rode to the park. It was fairly large and there were quite a number of us visitors. The seats were comfortable though I do think it could get a little cramped especially during tourist season (like this time). Thankfully, travel time is only an hour so you have that going for you.
Additionally, you might not even feel that it’s cramped because you’re probably going to spend a bulk of the time on the bus taking pictures of the scenery anyway. I know that’s what I did. Fortunately I was on a window seat so I didn’t have to worry about someone blocking my view. If you can, go for a window seat as well.
At this point, we were getting close to Snow Monkey Park as evidenced by the snow covered landscape. Hopefully you dressed in your warmest and most comfortable winter clothes because from this point on, it’s going to get a whole lot colder.
At this point we were quite close to the park. The concentration of houses off in the distance of this picture is the town of Shibu which is known for its hot springs. Also, if you’re wondering, you can enter these coordinates on Google Maps Street View (36.7292863, 138.4343024) and you’ll find the exact location of where I took this shot.
Activity/Destination: Bus Ride to Jigokudani Yaen Koen
Admission Fee: N/A
Notable activities/attractions: Scenic Bus Ride, Landscape of Shibu and Yudanaka
Business Hours: N/A
Best Time to Visit: N/A
We finally reached the bus stop for Snow Monkey Park. There’s a sign here showing how long it would take to reach the park on foot. Unfortunately there aren’t any rides here that you could take to get there faster.
I initially didn’t know what this building was supposed to be when I passed by it (and even on my initial review of Jigokudani Yaen Koen). Now though, I’ve learned that it’s actually an inn called Hotarutei Villas that opened just recently in 2023 and surprisingly has a 5-star rating in TripAdvisor.
On your walk to Jigokudani Yaen Koen, you’ll come across these roadside stalls that sell crampons (so you get a firmer grip on the snow with your shoes) and yakiimo (roasted sweet potatoes).
One thing I will say about the hike here is that it’s not for people who don’t enjoy hiking. This is especially true in winter when it’s not only cold but it could sometimes get slippery in parts of the trail. That said, it is kind of fulfilling and a great way to bond with other people.
Once you catch your breath and adapt to the thin and cold air, you’ll find yourself getting enamored with the views here. I remember particularly liking this path and thinking to myself how good it would look during the spring or summer season.
I’ve said it a couple of times in my initial review of Snow Monkey Park and I’ll say it again now: the views leading up to (and in the) park will leave you speechless. When I saw this I felt the fatigue and tiredness from the hike evaporate and I actually felt refreshed and invigorated. This area was more or less a kilometer away from the park entrance (and a short distance from the spot where I took the previous picture).
Aside from scenic views, you’re also going to come across these displays featuring information about the animals found in the park. Here is an English display showing the highlights of a snow monkey’s day.
At about this point, you can expect to smell rotting eggs. Don’t worry as this is normal when you’re near hot springs. There’s a bacteria that breaks down the sulfur compounds in the water of these hot springs which in turn results in the production of a gas called hydrogen sulfide that causes the distinct smell. Also, you’ll see in the picture that there’s a substantial number of people off in the distance. Those are people going in and out of the entrance of the park.
Here’s a closer look at the foot traffic. You’ll also notice that there’s a sign here detailing the fees for entering the park. If you got the Snow Monkey Park pass then you don’t need to worry about this as the admission fee is already covered there.
Off to the left of the entrance, you’ll find this memorial commemorating a landslide that occurred sometime in the 1930s-1940s. The landslide was said to be so massive that it ended up altering the terrain here.
Here’s a closer look at the sign I pointed out earlier. If you manage to get here via a rental car then you will obviously have to pay the JPY800 admission fee to get inside. That said, car rentals can be quite expensive so I can’t really recommend them (of course if money isn’t a concern then feel free to book one).
In case you have to bring your valuables then you might want to store them in these lockers before you go inside the park. There are areas where you might end up being near the open air hot spring pools where the snow monkeys bathe and you definitely wouldn’t want your valuables to be exposed to the water there.
This is the view that’ll greet you as you enter the park. You’re just going to want to follow the path from this point on and you should eventually get to the area with the densest concentration of snow monkeys.
Speaking of snow monkeys, here’s one on the bridge leading to their designated onsen. Yes, you read that right, the snow monkeys here at Jigokudani Yaen Koen have their own onsen. From what I can remember, these onsen were built by spa resort owners to discourage the monkeys from entering their establishments.
The snow monkeys or Japanese macaques in their element. I honestly thought that they would be mindful of the people milling about and watching them but the macaques were surprisingly chill and just did their thing.
I was actually kind of envious of the macaques’ onsen that I wanted to try dipping in one myself. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring a change of clothes and quite honestly, I don’t think I might have survived the cold here. If you do want to try the onsen here then you could go to Korakukan.
Here’s a couple of macaques likely foraging in the snowy banks of the Yokuyo River below.
After checking out the snow monkeys, I headed back to the entrance of the onsen area and checked out the souvenirs on display here. The items here range from notebooks, stuffed toys, mugs, tin magnets, shoehorns, and even stationery.
As I was going down the trail, I came across this mascot for the park. Apparently, there’s also a Youtube channel that I think the park manages but I couldn’t seem to find it when I searched on the site.
This is the path leading back down to the bus stop. If you’re hungry from all that walking then you could check out the building opposite the car that people are passing by in the picture. It’s actually a restaurant called Enza Cafe and it apparently has really good reviews.
Activity/Destination: Snow Monkey Park/Jigokudani Yaen Koen
Admission Fee: JPY800 (if not part of the Snow Monkey Park Pass)
Notable activities/attractions: Japanese Macaque Onsen, Hike to Snow Monkey Park, Korakukan, Scenic Views
Business Hours: 8:30AM-5:00PM (April-October); 9:00AM-4:00PM (November-March)
Best Time to Visit: Winter
Crystal Terrace Restaurant
Now personally, I decided to skip Enza Cafe and just went back to the bus stop and looked for Crystal Terrace. This is an Italian cafe and restaurant that’s attached to the Shiga Kogen Roman Museum.
My taste buds were kind of getting weary of Japanese food so I decided to get a palate cleanser in the form of this Basil Pasta with Oyster. This was relatively affordable at just JPY1100.
Another reason why I chose Crystal Terrace is that it had glass windows that allowed me to see the bus stop from inside. Thanks to this I didn’t have to worry about missing my bus plus
Activity/Destination: Crystal Terrace
Admission Fee/Cost of Food: JPY1100 (Basil Pasta with Oyster)
Notable activities/attractions/food: Shiga Kogen Roman Museum
Business Hours: 9:30AM-4:30PM
Best Time to Visit: Afternoon/After visiting Jigokudani Yaen Koen
And with that, my time at Snow Monkey Park ended. I boarded the bus back to Nagano station and took another set of pictures to commemorate the end of my first full day here.
I’m not going to lie, I was kind of tired at this point. While the hiking distance wasn’t really that long, the winter cold just saps at your energy for some reason. Thankfully, I already had something lined up once I got back to the hotel.
Fan Fahr Chinese Restaurant
Yes, once I got back to my hotel, I decided to finish off the day with dinner at Fan Fahr Chinese Restaurant. Much like Restaurant IRIS, this is located just inside the same building as Hotel Metropolitan and the Nagano Station.
The interiors here are simple and the ambience was very welcoming. In fact, it’s so welcoming that you literally don’t need to have a reservation to dine in. Take note though that it’s only open during lunch and dinner service.
No, these are not noodles. Believe it or not, this is a Stir Fried Beef with Green Pepper meal and it tasted amazing. The beef was tender and the peppers added a little sweetness, texture, and kick to the dish. This order cost me around JPY2700.
The soup dumplings were also quite nice. At JPY840 for an order of three, this was one of the more affordable orders I had that night. Taste-wise, the meat was really savory and the dumpling had some chew to it. The star of the show for this order though was the soup which had a rather rich flavor.
This was one of my favorite vegetable dishes in quite a while. The vegetables tasted fresh and more importantly, they complemented the rest of our orders. I think this order cost me around JPY1800 which is actually quite reasonable.
I would say the most “opulent” of the dishes I ordered was this shark’s fin soup. I shelled out JPY3200 for this and I think that was well worth it. What set this shark’s fin soup apart was the inclusion of crab meat. This made the soup a lot more tastier as well as giving it a richer texture and mouthfeel.
Activity/Destination: Fan Fahr Chinese Restaurant
Admission Fee/Cost of Food: JPY840 – JPY3200
Notable activities/attractions/food: Sharks Fin Soup with Crab Meat, Stir Fried Beef with Pepper, Dumplings
Business Hours: 11:30AM-2:30PM (Lunch Service); 5:30PM-9:30PM (Dinner Service)
Best Time to Visit: Dinner
Day 3:
Zenkoji Temple
Before departing for Yokohama I decided to visit Zenkoji Temple. If you remember earlier, I said that this activity was supposed to be in the afternoon of my first day here. Unfortunately, it was close to 4:00PM when I finished with the check in and my late lunch so I had to reschedule now. Ideally, you’d want to go here on your first day so make sure that you schedule your arrival here at Nagano before lunch time. That way, you’ll have the whole afternoon to marvel at this temple.
Getting here is actually relatively easy from Nagano Station. The most straightforward way is to walk from the station to the Daimoncho intersection or you could just take a bus. The former should take about 30 minutes while the latter could be faster at just 15 minutes.
The Niomon Gate is perhaps one of the most iconic attractions here at Zenkoji Temple. It features two statues of the Nio guardians Ungyo and Agyo and behind them are statues of Sampo Kojin and Sanmen Daikokuten (pictured above). The gate itself looks magnificent as it dominates the Nagano skyline.
After going past the Niomon Gate, you’re then going to find yourself on Nakamise Street. Here you’ll find a wide variety of shops offering different kinds of food and services. When I got here, I came across Sumikko Gurashi castella cakes that looked as cute as they were delicious.
Along the way to the Zenkoji Temple Main Hall you’ll come across a number of Jizo Statues. This one is of the Nurebotoke or the Wet Jizo. This was a statue made as a protection from fire which a lot of the buildings here had suffered through.
Here’s Zenkoji Temple’s Sanmon Gate. Considered as the temple’s main gate, it has been around since the mid-1700s and entry here is actually gated behind a JPY600 admission fee. There is a JPY1200 admission ticket though that gives you access to the Sanmon Gate and the Main Hall.
Beside the Main Temple you’ll find this Shoro or Bell Tower. The peal of this bell is said to have the one of the most beautiful sounds in Japan. If you want to hear this for yourself, wait around every top of the hour starting from 10:00AM up until 4:00PM as those are the times when it’s rung.
This is a chozuya you’ll find just before the Sanmon Gate. It looks absolutely beautiful as it’s hit by the sun’s morning light. Typically people wash their hands and rinse their mouths here to symbolically purify themselves. I personally like these kinds of pavilions as they’re quite detailed/aesthetically pleasing and still functional.
Activity/Destination: Zenkoji Temple
Admission Fee/Cost of Food: Free; JPY600 (admission fee for Sanmon Gate); JPY1200 (admission pass for Sanmon Gate and Main Hall)
Notable activities/attractions/food: Sanmon Gate, Main Hall, Roku Jizo Statues, Nakamise Street, Niomon Gate
Business Hours: Temple Grounds are always open; Main Hondo is open 1 hour before sunrise up until 4:00PM, 4:15PM, or 4:30PM depending on the time of year.
Best Time to Visit: Anytime
While I did technically spend 3 days in Nagano, my itinerary can still be realistically completed in 2 days. As I said earlier, you can always sneak in the Zenkoji Temple visit if you manage to get to Nagano and check in at your hotel before 12:00 Noon.
Anyway, with my Nagano visit done, I then traveled next to Yokohama (which should be the next stop I’m going to be making an itinerary on).
