Archives: Travel Post

A local hall using private houses built by Irimoya in early Meiji architecture. It introduces archeological materials such as earthenware, and folk materials such as roro weaving (saki weaving), which weaves by ripping old kimono. Boro weaving can also be experienced (reservation required). In addition, the dinosaur footprint fossil found in the village is a natural monument in Nagano Prefecture. Take 30 minutes.

The Hakuba Norikura Hot Spring Ski Area, known as Hakunori. Located in the northernmost part of the area from Nagano Expressway Azumino IC past major ski slopes such as Shirama Happo-one and Tsugaike Kogen, it boasts a total of 16 courses, but is full of charm like a hole where you can enjoy relaxing skiing with a local atmosphere. A well-balanced piste configuration is attractive. There is also a common ticket with white horse Cortina. You can take a bath at the nearby Wakaguri Onsen.

The Shio-no-michi historical archives, standing where the guards of the Matsumoto Domain stood until 1869. Restore the guard house. There is an old private house adjacent to it, and it also airs an introductory video of Kotani Village. A historical museum that restored the ruins of a guardhouse built at a key point on the Senkoku Kaido (Salt Road), which once carried supplies from the Sea of Japan to Matsumoto. There are exhibits and salt clubs showing how people live at the time of residence.

A shrine that stands along the Senkoku Highway and is shrouded in tranquility. It is an old shrine, which is said to have been the founding of the year of Tenhō 5 (828), and is known for its annual festival, "Sasarasuri", in mid-September every year. It is a unique festival that dances with a gorgeous face on a flashy skin.

Big scale ski area representing the Hakuba area. In contrast to the hard image of Happo-one, the Tsugaike Kogen, such as the hill slopes where the bells ring, is characterized by a soft and gentle atmosphere. The slopes are lengthwise and long, with the upper part facing up and intermediate, but the lower half is a gently loose slope. In terms of the total area, about 70% is a beginner heaven that can be said to be an elementary slope. There are plenty of eateries and lodging facilities at the foot of the mountain.

The facility stands at the entrance of Tsugaike Natural Garden, which also serves as an entrance. With a theater and library, you can learn about the topography and flora of the Northern Alps, including alpine plants in the natural garden. In addition, active equipment such as bouldering walls and slacklines is also provided. There is the Tsugaike Nature Garden Guide Club, and a guide (for a fee) who knows the foot of Mount Hakuba tells you about the charm of the Tsugaike Nature Garden.

The former Senkoku Kaido, whose total length is about 30 ri (120km) from the Itoigawa River in Niigata Prefecture to Shinshu Matsumoto, is called the "Shio no Michi". In the past, living supplies such as salt and sea products from the Sea of Japan side, and hemp and wood ground from the Shinshu side were carried by the backs of cattle and gaitai [bokka]. It is the story of this highway that the episode of Uesugi Kenshin giving salt to his nemesis, Shingen Takeda, remains.

In the parent field along the Senkoku Kaido, there is a hundred (now 88) statues of Kannon wrapped in trees. During the Edo period, it is said to be the work of Ina Takafu's stonemasons, and it is said to have been carved so that the three hundred places of Saikuni, Sakato, and Chichibu's thirty-four places can be used as a combined hundred to make the tour of the Kanyon Reisho.

A high-rise moor extending at an altitude of 1900m, extending into the Central Mountain National Park. The garden is a treasure trove of alpine plants that begins with a mizubashō, and the Japanese buttercup, cotton sedge, and nickouki sedge are in full bloom, giving them a variety of facial expressions, up to autumn's green leaves. There is a promenade and you can enjoy about 3 hours and 30 minutes of hiking. In addition, the view from the gondola lift and the ropeway used for entry is also attractive. A large panorama of the Northern Alps spreads.

Popular as a station with hot water in Miyama, a source with an open-air bath. Bathing fee: 660 yen. Meals are cooked with a furnace, plenty of side dishes with local wild vegetables, and a bowl set meal with a selection of miso soup. For a souvenir, a handmade kinako pudding of 230 yen is recommended.