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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 ...

Servicing Ryuoo Ski Park in winter - the largest ski resort in Kita-Shiga Kogen - the Skyland Express Ropeway operates for most of the year including from May until November. The upper station is loc...

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 ...

This trekking course shows off the vast beauty of the Shigakogen Highlands with the main selling point being stunning Onuma-ike Lake. The trail takes you through picturesque forests and past lakes lik...

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...

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...

Now known as the ‘Minami Nagano Sports Park’, the Olympic Stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the XVIII Olympic Winter Games. While the stadium and Olympic Cauldreron remain, the sta...

The decorative planting workshop is one where moss is used to create a living decoration in a glass bowl. This form of art derives from the age-old art of bonsai, an artform where a tree (usually a t...