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Established in 1964, the Jigokudani Monkey Park (Jigokudani Yaen Koen, 地獄谷野猿公苑) was created as a refuge for a local troop of monkeys who now frequent the park on a daily basis. With approximately 1...

The Snow Monkey Resorts Info & Gift Shop is located at the entrance of the trail leading to the Jigokudani Monkey Park. Offering a range of services including winter rentals and English languag...

Less than 30 minutes walk from Nagano Station, Zenkoji is one of Japan’s oldest and most important Buddhist temples. Built in dedication to the first known Buddhist statue to be brought to Japan, the...

Hidden in the scenic mountains of Central Japan, Takayama offers a timeless journey through Japan’s past with its beautifully preserved Edo Period streets. This historic town, once a thriving hub of ...

Shirakawa-go, the largest of the three famed gassho-zukuri farmhouse villages and designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995, is nestled in the high mountains of Toyama and Gifu Prefectures. ...

Narai-juku is a historic post town - known as 'juku' or 'shukubamachi' - that once serviced a 70km trade route through the Kiso Valley, part of the greater 500km 'Nakasendo Road' that connected Kyoto...

Sitting quietly in the mountains bordering Nagano City and within the larger Myoko-Togakushi Renzan National Park, Togakushi is home to some of Japan’s most important Shinto shrines set among a...

During Japan's Edo Period (1603 to 1868) the Nakasendo was one of five major routes linking Kyoto to the new capital of Tokyo, then called ‘Edo’. Stretching over 500 kilometres between the two cities...

The Ise Grand Shrine is the most important Shinto complex in Japan. Dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu-Omikami, the complex is made-up of multiple shrines—a total of 125—and other structures cent...