Karuizawa

Shiraito falls

Karuizawa (軽井沢) is a town in Nagano prefecture.

Understand

Karuizawa, at about 1000m above sea-level, is a famous hill resort in eastern Nagano Prefecture. Elegant summer houses are scattered through the nearby forests, while the central part of the town is elegantly laid out with restaurants, cafes and boutiques.

Get in

• Shinkansen (bullet train) from: Tokyo (70 minutes, ¥5250); Nagano (30 minutes, ¥3070)
• Shinano railway from Nagano (90 minutes, ¥1590); Togura Station (in Chikuma; 70 minutes, ¥1170)
• Bus from: Tokyo's Ikebukuro Station (2-3 hours ,and ¥ 2500).

Get around

See

• 🌍 Karuizawa Shaw Memorial Church (軽井沢ショー記念礼拝堂) (Take the road north from the station, and turn right into Old Karuizawa Main Street (旧軽井沢メインストリート). The church is about 600m up on the left.). This is the first church in Karuizawa, founded by the missionary A.C. Shaw. Shaw is also considered the founder of the settlement at Karuizawa, which was initially used as a retreat for church workers. 
• 🌍 Kazakoshi Park Arena. Site of the 1998 Winter Olympics curling competition 
• 🌍 Mount Asama. Active volcano featured in 100 Famous Japanese Mountains (日本百名山 Nihon Hyaku-meizan), the book composed in 1964 by mountaineer and author Kyūya Fukada 
• 🌍 Shiraito falls (白糸の滝).  

Do

Old Karuizawa Ginza

• 🌍 Old Karuizawa Main Street (旧軽井沢メインストリート) (Walk north from the station and turn right after 2km.). Stroll up and down the lively old main street which is packed with interesting shops. It is sometimes referred to as Old Karuizawa Ginza, because of the branches of stores from Tokyo's Ginza that open here in the summer. Keep your eyes open and you might see a fur coat in a shop window for a lazy ¥5,000,000 or so. 

Buy

Eat

Drink

Sleep

• 🌍 Hoshinoya Karuizawa, Hoshino, ☎ [phone]. Expensive but luxurious resort featuring guest rooms by the lake, world class dining and spa. Starts from ¥30000 per night. (updated May 2017)

Connect

Go next

Routes through Karuizawa

Nagano ← Ueda ← Sakudaira ←	N  S	→ Annaka-Haruna → Takasaki → Tokyo
Nagano ← Ueda-Sugadaira ← Saku ←	N  S	→ Matsuida-Myogi(annaka) → Tomioka → Fujioka