Yamanouchi is one of the leading producers of fruit in Nagano Prefecture. The clear streams from the Shiga Kogen Highlands and the difference in temperature between the day and night produce sweet and delicious fruit. Depending on the season, you can pick a variety of fruits such as cherries, blueberries, grapes, and apples at farms in the town. You can experience fruit-picking in Yamanouchi at authentic farmhouses, so you can enjoy the freshest market-ready fruits.
In Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture, a town known for its Sukagawa soba (buckwheat noodles), visitors can experience soba noodle-making at soba restaurants and guest houses in the town. The experience begins with grinding locally-grown buckwheat on a millstone. Using the leaves of a type of burdock called oyamabokuchi to thicken the noodles, soba is made in an authentic, old-fashioned way.
Ryuo Mountain Resort in Yamanouchi is a resort complex offering glamping, herb gardens, and cafés. Visitors may take the world’s largest 166-seat ropeway to “SORA terrace” at the top of the mountain, where they can enjoy a panoramic view that stretches 1,770 meters above sea level. When conditions are favorable, the entire area can be enveloped in a sea of clouds, offering a fantastic and magical view of the world. The morning sun rising above the sea of clouds is a truly unforgettable sight.
The “snow monkey” is known overseas as a emblematic feature of Japan. More specifically, the term refers to “Japanese monkeys soaking in hot springs.” The Jigokudani Onsenkyo, a hot-spring village located in a valley near the Shiga Kogen Highlands in northern Nagano Prefecture, is famous for its snow monkeys. The “Jigoku Dani Yaen-koen” in the hot spring resort is a park where wild Japanese monkeys can be observed. In the winter, they can be seen soaking in the hot springs, earning the park the nickname “Snow Monkey Park” both in Japan and abroad.
A galette is a crepe-like dish of French origin made with buckwheat flour. As the flavorful buckwheat flour produced in Hakuba is perfectly suited to galette, the Hakuba Galette was born, a regional specialty topped with local ingredients. This new dish is gaining popularity in hotels and bed and breakfasts around Hakuba.
Shinshu salmon is a new variety of salmon that crosses easily farmed, high quality rainbow trout with disease resistant brown trout, inheriting the strengths of both. It has beautiful silver scales and flesh with a delicate, melt-in-the-mouth texture and is getting attention as a fish that goes well with Japanese-Western crossover cuisine. Don’t miss your opportunity to try it while visiting Nagano.
Mountain carting originated in Germany is a mountain activity in which the rider drives through the mountains without an engine, using the steering wheel and brakes from the top of the mountain. The low weight, wide wheels, and easy-to-operate handlebars make it fun for beginners. The exhilaration of riding with the spectacular view of the Northern Alps at your back while looking down on the city is irresistible. Check it out to enjoy Hakuba in a different way!
With water trickling down from the Hotaka Mountains and a cool climate with high night-day temperature variation, the Hakuma area is well-suited to buckwheat production, and is a major producer within the “buckwheat country” of Nagano. Many lodgings and soba restaurants in the Hakuba area offer experiences making soba noodles produced from this buckwheat. Experiences are approachable even for those with no experience, and participants can try their freshly made soba on the spot. Popular with families and students.
Due to its high altitude and dramatic night-day temperature shifts, there is always a high likelihood of cloud formation around the village of Hakuba, and there are several spots for viewing this sea of clouds in the mountains, such as in the Nodai area and the Donguri Panorama Observation Deck in the Kurashita area. At Kitaone Kogen Morgenrot, there is a tour that takes visitors up the mountainside at dawn by cable car. With some luck, you may be able to catch an incredible sight: a sea of clouds colored soft shades of red by the fiery rising sun.
“Three-Tiered Autumn” refers to the beautiful sight Hakuba Iwatake is famous for: snow-capped peaks, mountainside autumn colors, and green foothills all on view at once. With sweeping views of the Hakuba Mountains, the terrace at Hakuba Mountain Harbor is one of a handful of places in Japan where the incredible three-tiered autumn spectacle can be seen. The best time to visit is from mid- to late-October. Come and enjoy the beautiful contrast of these three interwoven color schemes.
