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Visiting and staying in a traditional ‘onsen’ (hot spring) town is something of a must-do activity when coming to Japan. Making use of Japan’s abundance of natural thermal water, many hot spring town...

Located inside Yudanaka Station, Onsen Kaede-no-Yu is one of the nearest public hot springs to the Jigokudani Monkey Park. Open daily from 10:00 to 21:00, it is popular with local residents and v...

As traditional hot spring towns, both Yudanaka Onsen and Shibu Onsen have natural thermal foot-baths that can be used by anyone, free of charge. Known as 'ashi-yu' in Japanese, they are often located ...

Toomi-No-Yu is an onsen attached to Hotel Selan in Yomase. It has an open air bath from where you can see the entire area stretched out beneath you. If bathing with strangers is not your thing, there ...

The Sekai Heiwa Kannon (World Peace Buddha Statue) is 25 meters tall and is set upon a hill overlooking the town of Yudanaka. This bronze female statue is dedicated to world peace and is found on the ...

Lake Onuma (大沼池） in the Shiga-kogen Highlands is the largest lake in the area with a circumference of 5.5 kilometers. At an altitude of 1730 meter, the water of Onuma is incredibly blue. You won't fin...

Nagano is synonymous with apples and one of great pleasures for visitors to the region is sampling the delicious fruit while it's in season.Shiozaki Farm has been producing some the region's best ap...

Especially in winter, when people are in Shiga Kogen to ski, snowboard, or enjoy other snow activities, you can strain your muscles quite a bit. Chalet Shiga, located in the middle of the ski resorts ...

One of the great joys of visiting any 'onsen' (hot spring) town in Japan is the feeling that you are stepping back in time. With their mix of tradition and (often) fading architecture, many onsen tow...