1-Day Samurai Food & Life Tour: Oyaki, Samurai Residences, and Katana Practice

Experience a day in the life of a samurai, as this tour explores Nagano’s unique samurai past in historic town of Matsushiro, including visits to some of Japan’s best-preserved samurai residences and hands-on experiences cooking local specialty “oyaki” and katana practice at an Edo Period military school. All led by a locally-based guide, this engaging tour is available throughout the year and offers real insight through firsthand experience of Nagano’s samurai heritage

Highlights

• Immerse yourself in the samurai life and create your own simple samurai lunch of various “oyaki”
  
• Discover Nagano’s hidden samurai enclave of Matsushiro – former stronghold of the legendary Sanada clan – and home to some of Japan’s best-preserved Edo Period buildings including the former Sanada and Higuchi Residences
  
• Participate in samurai ‘katana’ (sword) practice and other period activities at the Bunbu Gakko Military Arts School of Matsushiro

• All led by a locally-based, English-speaking guide, with additional guidance from local samurai historians and “oyaki” experts.

Want to join this tour from Tokyo? It’s easy to do! Scroll to the bottom for our FAQs including train services that you can use to join the tour!

Description

The tour begins from Hakuba or Nagano, where your guide will greet you before leading you to the day’s method of transportation and onward to the first stop: making your own simple lunch at Irohado Oyaki Farm.

A local Nagano food with thousands of years of history, “oyaki” is a twice baked dumpling with various different fillings and was certainly a staple food of all Nagano samurai of old, and remains a wildly popular food in Nagano Prefecture today. Local experts will impart their wisdom and guide you in making, boiling, and baking your own “oyaki” with the traditional fillings of local Nozawa vegetable and anko bean paste. Once baked to perfection, we will enjoy this simple lunch from the roof of their facility in the crisp air with Nagano mountain scenery. From vegetables and fruits to sweet beans and nuts, various other “oyaki” options are available at the counter and their delectable and unique tastes will leave you wanting more.

After your satisfying lunch, you will continue your journey onward to central Matsushiro to delve deeper into the rich samurai history of the area. As the former stronghold of the legendary Sanada clan, Matsushiro was established an important strategic base during the ‘Sengoku Jidai’ / Warring States Period and thriving domain of the samurai class during the latter Edo Period. Largely undiscovered by international visitors, Matsushiro is home to some of the best-preserved samurai residences and other Edo Period buildings in Japan.

Arriving in Matsushiro at 12:45, you will walk the short distance to the Sanada Family Residence. Built by Sanada Yukinori in 1864, this beautiful and elaborate building consists of fifty-three rooms and extensive surrounding gardens. The estate originally served as residence to Sanada’s mother-in-law before he resided there upon his retirement.

Your guide will accompany you around the residence, introducing the history of the Sanada clan before moving onto the nearby Higuchi Family Residence. One of Matsushiro’s best-preserved samurai residences, the former Higuchi Family Residence offers yet more insight into the life and daily routine of the samurai class.

From there it’s onto the Bunbu Gakko Literary & Military Arts School, where sons of high-ranking samurai families studied during the Edo Period. Arriving around 14:00, your guide will introduce you to the history of the school before you can get hands-on, with ‘katana’ (sword) practice led by local instructor who will lead you through a series of maneuvers including attack and defense. Suitable for both children and adults, you’ll then have the chance to put on imitation samurai armor – a fun and engaging way to learn all about Nagano’s samurai past. You’ll then board the day’s transportation once more accompanied back to Nagano Station by your guide to say your goodbyes after a fulfilling day.

MEETUP POINTS

This tour operates to and from Nagano Station throughout the year with the option of joining from Hakuba only in winter, from December to March (see below for details):

1  /  NAGANO STATION @ 10:30 — MAIN MEETUP POINT — All Year Round

The meetup point is inside the station, in front of the Information Board directly across from the Shinkansen ticket gates. Be sure to look for the guide wearing a SNOW MONKEY RESORTS tour tag and ensure you are there prior to the meetup time as the tour will need to depart by 10:30.

Please note, when operating in winter the Hakuba pick-ups are before the pick-ups in Nagano and drop-off will be later:

1  / HAKUBA TOKYU HOTEL, WADANO @ 08:35 — Winter Only

Please wait at the entrance of the hotel lobby. This is a group tour with multiple pickup points to follow. Please ensure you are at the hotel entrance prior to the meeting time and look for the guide wearing a SNOW MONKEY RESORTS tour tag. The tour cannot wait and will need to depart on-time.

2  /  HAKUBA HAPPO BUS TERMINAL @ 08:50 — Winter Only

Please wait inside the bus terminal and stay warm. Several tours operate from the bus terminal be sure to look for the guide wearing a SNOW MONKEY RESORTS tour tag and confirm that you’re joining the correct tour. Please ensure you are at the terminal before the meeting time. The tour cannot wait and will need to depart on-time.

*For guests who joined the tour in Hakuba, the bus will then shuttle you back to the Hakuba Happo Bus Terminal where your day is scheduled to conclude around 18:30. Due to weather and road conditions in winter, we cannot guarantee the end time of tours. For guests who want to book onward travel including train tickets during winter, please refer to ‘Other Information’ below for our recommendations.

Included

• Guided “oyaki” making experience with two different “oyaki” of nozawa-na and anko fillings included.

• Paid entry to the former Sanada Residence, former Higuchi Residence and Bunbu Gakko Literary & Military Arts School inc. samurai experience in Matsushiro

• Transport costs to all listed destinations / activities and English-speaking guide

Excluded

• Transport fees inc. Shinkansen / ‘Bullet Train’ to / from Nagano Station

• Any additional “oyaki”

• Additional food, snacks & drinks

Other Information

• This tour includes a lunch simple lunch of “oyaki” which uses dough, nozawana vegetables, and anko bean paste as filling. Please take this into account when booking the tour, as allergies may prevent you from participating in a large part of the tour or eating lunch.
  
• This tour is not wheelchair accessible and may not be suitable for mobility-impaired travelers. Should you have any concerns about your ability to join the tour, please contact us to discuss prior to booking.

• This tour uses different forms of transport. Tours can be conducted by microbus, larger coach or train depending on the season and size of the group.

• The samurai experience is appropriate for both adults and children aged 6 and up. For the safety of guests, you will not handle real swords but instead be allocated bamboo imitations.
  
• *Winter only* Guests in Hakuba can join this tour using our shuttle service from / to Hakuba Tokyu Hotel in Wadano and Hakuba Happo Bus Terminal. This service is only available from 2023/12/17 until 2024/03/31 and may not be available every day between those dates. We apologise that bookings from / to Hakuba cannot be accepted outside of these dates. When using this shuttle service please note that your guide will join and depart the tour at Nagano Station.
  
• *Winter only* This tour is scheduled to conclude at Nagano Station by 17:30 (and by 18:45 for guests joining from Hakuba in winter). However, due to weather and road conditions in winter we cannot guarantee the end time. For guests booking shinkansen tickets to travel to Tokyo after the tour in winter, we ask that you do not book any service earlier than the 17:56 Kagayaki (reservation only) or our recommendation of the 18:23 Hakutaka. For guests booking onward tickets to other destinations we also recommend doing so for times of 18:00 or later.