Karuizawa

Chubu, Japan · Town / small city, Mountain

A mountain retreat for summer visitors since the Meiji era, with Shiraito Falls, the century-old shops of Kyu-Karuizawa Ginza street, and one of Japan's largest outlet malls right by the station.

The essentials

Getting there

Train — Direct Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo, about 60-80 minutes with no transfers, ¥5,600 non-reserved; covered by the National JR Pass and the JR East Pass.

Frequently asked questions about Karuizawa

What to do in Karuizawa: 29 activities

• Flying squirrel night walk 2 h booking

  Guided outing at dusk to watch the momonga, the Japanese flying squirrel, leave its nest; booking is required and it works even with small children.

• Harunire Terrace and the Hoshino area 2 h

  Nine wooden buildings linked by walkways through an elm forest, with design shops and restaurants; entry is free and it is the modern heart of the town.

• Hiroshi Senju Museum 1.5 h

  Building by Ryue Nishizawa (SANAA) with a floor that undulates with the terrain and curved glass walls, with forest courtyards inside; it holds Senju's painted waterfalls.

• Karuizawa by bicycle 3 h

  The town is flat and laid out for cycling: lanes through larch woods link the old town, Kumoba pond and the Hoshino area, with rental next to the station.

• Kendrick Kellogg's Stone Church 1 h

  Half-buried organic-architecture chapel built from alternating arches of stone and glass, dedicated to the Christian thinker Uchimura Kanzo; it closes when there is a wedding.

• Kyu-Karuizawa Ginza street 1.5 h

  The town's original shopping street, with century-old shops selling pickles, bread, and crafts that have survived since Karuizawa was a retreat for missionaries and diplomats.

• Mampei Hotel and its Alps bar 1.5 h

  An 1894 hotel where John Lennon and Yoko Ono spent every summer with their son; the bar still serves the milk tea he ordered and is open to non-guests.

• Shiraito Falls 1 h

  A 70-meter-wide waterfall formed by dozens of thin streams of groundwater, like a curtain of white silk threads.

• Tombo-no-Yu hot spring bath 1.5 h

  Day-use hot spring bath deep in the forest, drawing on the same source as the luxury resort next door but open to anyone.

• Alexander Croft Shaw's church and house 1 h

  Wooden chapel of the Canadian missionary who began summering here in 1886 and effectively invented Karuizawa as a mountain retreat; his villa is preserved next door as a museum.

• Curling in Karuizawa 2 h booking

  Karuizawa hosted the curling at the 1998 Games and remains Japan's capital for the sport; its rink offers beginner sessions for visitors.

• Karuizawa jams, bread and cured meats 1.5 h

  Japanese jam was born here with the Western missionaries; several historic jam houses remain, along with a bakery from 1933 and a tradition of smoked hams and sausages.

• Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza 2 h

  One of Japan's largest open-air outlet malls, right next to the station, with Japanese and international brands.

• Megane-bashi bridge and the old railway trail 3 h

  An 1893 brick viaduct and a trail that uses the tunnels of the old rack railway that climbed the pass; it lies on the Gunma side, half an hour by car.

• Nakasendo post towns: Oiwake and Karuizawa-juku 2.5 h

  Before it was a summer resort, Karuizawa was a post town on the Nakasendo; Oiwake preserves the historic junction where the road forked, with a small museum.

• Onioshidashi lava park 2 h

  A field of black lava from the 1783 eruption, which destroyed the villages on the other side of the mountain, now crossed by paths among the rocks and with a memorial temple.

• Sezon Museum of Modern Art 2 h

  Japanese and international modern art in a sculpture park beside the river, one of the strongest private museums outside the major cities.

• Ski resort at the foot of the shinkansen 5 h

  A logistical oddity hard to beat: the slopes are right beside the shinkansen station, and thanks to snow cannons they open from early November.

• Climbing Maekakeyama on Mount Asama 7 h

  Asama is an active volcano and its crater has been closed for more than 50 years: the permitted climb goes up the adjoining Maekake peak. The alert level changes frequently, so check the official volcanic advisory before going.

• Karuizawa New Art Museum 1 h

  Postwar Japanese art in a glass building in the middle of the old town, with free galleries on the ground floor.

• Karuizawa Taliesin 2 h

  Park beside Lake Shiozawa where historic villas from the town have been relocated, with rowing boats and a museum of the French illustrator Peynet.

• Karuizawa Wild Bird Sanctuary 1.5 h

  The first bird sanctuary created in Japan, in 1974: forest walkways with more than 80 species and free entry.

• Kumoba Pond 1 h

  A small lake ringed by maples, known as the 'mirror pond' for its reflections, especially striking in autumn.

• Local craft beer 1.5 h

  The district is the birthplace of one of Japan's best-known craft breweries, and it is drunk on the town's terraces.

• Luxury ryokan in the Hoshino valley 14 h booking

  Pavilions spread over the water in a private valley, with their own hot springs and rest programs; it is among the most expensive lodgings in Japan.

• The summer residents' supermarket 1 h

  It sounds odd as a sight, but it is a local ritual: the gourmet supermarket where villa-owning families do their shopping, with own-brand products sold nowhere else.

• The tennis courts of the imperial romance 1.5 h

  In 1957 the then crown prince Akihito met Michiko here over a game of tennis, in what became the most talked-about courtship in postwar Japan; the courts are still open to the public.

• Usui Pass viewpoint 1.5 h

  Balcony over the whole Kanto plain on the old boundary between provinces, next to a shrine that is literally split between two prefectures.

• Winter illuminations 1.5 h only from November to February

  From November to February the Harunire elms and the forest chapels are lit up, with carol concerts; it is the closest thing to a festival the town has.

What only happens on specific dates

• Winter illuminations from November to February

Chains well with

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