Another popular wintertime day trip from Kamesei Ryokan is to the Togakushi area above central Nagano City. The famous cedar trees lining the path to Okusha, the Inner Shrine, are even more majestic with snow. The path to the trees is traveled well enough to walk without special equipment, but take one step off the path and snow shoes are a must. Togakushi's soba restaurants serve noodles made from locally grown buckwheat, and Chusha (the Middle Shrine) and Hokosha are popular pilgrimage destinations. (Okusha itself is buries under snow so save a trip there for the green season.)
We can drop guests off at Togura Station for the 25 minute train to Nagano Station to catch the bus for hour ride to Togakushi, as per this schedule:
The giant cedar trees of Togakushi’s Okusha (Inner Shrine) in the mountains above central Nagano City are popular as a sort of Power Vortex. The cedars are especially impressive during the winter and the area is our favorite place for snowshoeing.
戸隠奥社の杉並木。雪と素敵なコントラスト。The towering cedars lining the path to Togakushi’s Inner Shrine
Winter in Nagano is synonymous with skiing and snowboarding and rightly so. But steadily snowshoeing is gaining in popularity. We’ve gone snowshoeing throughout the prefecture but keep returning to our favorite: Togakushi. It has areas that are only accessible when covered in snow and would be impossible with just regular shoes.
亀清の女将: スノーシューの笑顔 Kamesei’s proprietress in her happy place snowshoeing at Togakushi
When we went in early February there was about 5 feet of snow. We parked at the Okusha entrance, put on the snowshoes, passed the Torii gate and headed towards the Zuijinmon Gate which marks the beginning of the cedars.
入り口の鳥居。随神門まではよく通られて普通な靴で行けるがその道から一歩離ればスノーシューが必要。The entrance Torii. The path to Zuijinmon is well-enough traveled so that regular shoes could suffice but take one step off the path and you’ll need snowshoes.ミズナラ大王 “King of the Forest” Oak
天命稲荷神社を通って Pass by the Tenmei Inari Shrine and its rows of vermilion Torii gates長〜い影 Long shadows鏡池の上から見る戸隠山 Togakushi Mtn. as seen from on top of Mirror Pond
冬で鏡池に雪が積もるから上に歩ける。戸隠連峰が迫力ある背景になります。ピクニックには最適な場所。 In winter Kagami Ike (“Mirror Pond”) is covered by a layer of snow so thick that you can walk out on to the middle of the pond, meaning you can literally walk on water. With the towering Togakushi Range as a dramatic backdrop the pond makes a perfect place for a picnic.
Togakushi is one of the most popular day trips from Kamesei Ryokan and our onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada.
It's famous for it's mystical spirituality (the ancient cedar trees lining the path to the Inner Shrine are breathtakingly-majestic!), soba noodles (Togakushi is one of Nagano's main buckwheat growing areas) and ... ninjas! There's both the Chibikko Ninja Village (more for kids) by Chusha, the Middle Shrine, and the Ninpo Center by the entrance to Okusha, the Inner Shrine.
Access to Togakushi from Kamesei by car is via Nagano City's Zenkoji Temple (approx. 90 minutes). If you're in a hurry or going during peak season, we suggest taking the Joshin'etsu Expressway to Shinanomachi IC and approach from the back side. It's a longer route and expressway tolls apply, but it is 30 minutes faster.
For going by train, use the simple schedule above. Basically it is 25 minutes by train from Togura to Nagano Station, and then the Alpico bus which takes approx. 60 minutes.
