Nagano by Car (2 Days, 2 Nights)

February 5 – 7, 2021

Nagano, host of the 1998 Winter Olympics, is best known for their world-class outdoor sports – particularly skiing and snowboarding. I guess being home to the highest mountain ranges in the country could have something to do with that. But, uh, I don’t ski or snowboard. Just Google “pictures of Ohio” and you’ll understand why (she flat). I am, however, very good at sitting in hot tubs. If you also enjoy sitting in hot tubs and avoiding snow, stay tuned because there are plenty of things to do in Nagano.

Day 1: Utsunomiya –> Nagano City

If you have ever read another post on this blog, it will come as no surprise that this trip started with train beers. That’s right, after Andrew finished work on a Friday we hopped on the Shinkansen armed with train beers. Asahi just released their Sakura-themed cans, so I grabbed one of those and pretended that Spring came early. I booked a business hotel near Nagano station so we could make a speed run to the rental car agency in the morning.

Day 2: Nagano City –> Zenkoji Temple –> Jigokudani Monkey Park –> Bracken Onsen Ryokan Warabino

Ten minutes walking from the hotel, conveniently passing by a Starbucks for necessary caffeine, we arrived at the rental car agency. I don’t know if I should admit this, but we are pretty loyal to Toyota Rent-a-Car. I’m sure you can find better deals if you shop around. I like Toyota Rent-a-Car both because it is convenient (there are usually 1-2 locations near any Shinkansen station) and because they let you rent an ETC card. An ETC card makes toll roads so much easier. Anyway, that’s my unpaid rental car plug. On to the sightseeing!

Our first stop was at Zenkoji Temple. Founded in the 7^th century, Zenkoji Temple was most recently rebuilt in 1707. Nagano City is a “temple town,” which basically refers to any city that grew around a central temple structure. There are also “castle towns,” like Utsunomiya, that grew around a central castle structure. Zenkoji is known for housing the first Buddhist statue ever brought into Japan!! But you can’t see it. Every six years, a reproduction of the statue is briefly displayed to the public. It should have happened this year (2021), however the event is postponed until 2022 due to the pandemic.

We arrived at the temple early, before the shops surrounding the temple opened, to avoid crowds. The exterior of the temple is serene, and there are lots of buildings to explore. My favorite part was the small memorial for undelivered mail. From the temple, we stopped at one of the nearby shops for one of Nagano’s famous dishes: oyaki. Oyaki are dense, pan-fried stuffed dumplings. The exterior is made of wheat flour (as opposed to rice flour) and can contain either sweet or savory fillings. We bought buns stuffed with pickled vegetables and rayu, Japanese chili oil. Two thumbs up, can recommend.

With full bellies, we drove about an hour from Nagano City to Jigokudani Monkey Park. Jigokudani Monkey Park has the unique honor of being the only place in the world where monkeys bathe in hot springs. I could watch monkeys sit in hot tubs all day. It was so cool! From the ice-covered parking lot, the trail to the monkey park is 2 kilometers. When we visited, the trail was mostly hard-packed, slippery snow. So, we (mostly me) took the walk pretty slow and steady. Once we made it to the actual park, I didn’t want to leave. This is definitely a highlight of my Japan experience.

After hiking back out of the monkey park, we stopped for a late lunch at the café near the parking area. Nagano prefecture produces about 40% of Japan’s miso, so we sampled some of the spicy miso chicken ramen. Probably the perfect food to warm us both back up after spending a few hours in the snow.

I booked an onsen ryokan in the mountains for the night. After lunch, we made the ~1hr drive to the hotel to check in before the dinner deadline. Located in the middle of nowhere, on some mountain, the ryokan had a really laid-back vibe. Because of Covid, the normally communal baths operated as private baths. When in-use, the guest places an “occupied” sign outside so others know to wait. To be honest, this system works way better for my prudish, American sensibilities. I enjoyed being able to share some leisurely bath time with Andrew.

Dinner at the hotel was pretty standard Japanese ryokan food. Lots of small portions that somehow balloon in your stomach and make you feel so full you could burst. Then, just when you’re about to roll yourself out of the dining room, rice and dessert are served. After a long day of sightseeing, we hit the futons early.

Day 3: Bracken Onsen Ryokan Warabino –> Matsumoto Castle –> Nagano City –> Utsunomiya

Andrew, for some reason, doesn’t love eating salted fish for breakfast. I love a savory breakfast, so the ryokan breakfasts we’ve eaten usually really appeal to me. Except natto. I’m all for fermented foods, but natto is just weird. But sure, I’ll have a full green salad, a slice of cold sweet Japanese omelet, and some salted fish. Love it.

After gorging on fish for breakfast, we packed up and hit the road. Nagano is home to one of Japan’s 12 original wooden castles, Matsumoto Castle. About an hour and half south of where we stayed, Matsumoto Castle is the center of Matsumoto City, if you can believe it. The castle is, of course, very impressive. However, the coolest part of visiting this castle is that you can actually enter the castle. Inside, you can climb the steep, ladder-like steps and check out artifacts like weapons, samurai armor, and photographs.

One thing the castle definitely does not have is central heating. Since we visited on a cold, windy day I definitely craved something warm and hearty for lunch. We also needed to start thinking about returning the rental car and heading back to Utsunomiya. As luck would have it, there is a high-rated miso ramen shop near the JR station/rental car office in Nagano City: Ramen Misoya. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll just leave you with this.