3 days in Nagano

Since living in Takayama, I am always looking for plateau for easy hiking. Chances came to me last month as my sister came to visit me and would like to explore new hiking routes with me. Fortunately, my friend can get the day off to drive us for the trip. It is around 3 hours drive from Takayama to Matsumoto via Naraijuku (奈良井宿）. Narajuku is famous for the old streets and soba (buckwheat) noodles. We enjoyed a nice lunch there and then continue to our first destination Hachibuse Yama(鉢伏山) in our journey. The weather is perfect that we are able to see the beautiful Lake Suwa clearly. The color of the plants, flowers, grass and the sky create a wonderful contrast which we could never forget it. After that, we checked in at our guesthouse and drove to a close-by Asama onsen (浅間温泉） before dinner. We are lucky to be able to join the morning event in the guesthouse to buying fresh pastries from the local bakery in Matsumoto :) 

The day after, we headed to Utsukushigahara (美ヶ原）plateau for hiking. Unfortunately, we do not have the luck of the weather, it was super cold, windy and foggy on top of the mountain. It was only 8 degree Celsius. We walked about 1.5 hour to the top and quickly drove back to our ryokan for dinner and hotspring. It is one of the best ryokan that I like the most with high quality meals and especially the free upgrade of newly-built spacious private onsen.

On the last day, we went to Azumino Wasabi farm and a cafe in the forest. Growing wasabi needs fresh and clean water which Nagano has the perfect environment of that. Would you like to try the fresh wasabi? The farm is scenic where you can also try wasabi ice cream and croquette. Don’t miss the cafe in the forest as it is a drive of 20 minutes from Wasabi farm. It is a cafe without cashier that you can decide the price of the drink and pay in the little box!!! 

Nagano is a place with lot of nature, delicious food and natural hot spring!!! Please visit it if you would like to escape from the big cities!!