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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A 70-meter-wide waterfall formed by dozens of thin streams of groundwater, like a curtain of white silk threads.
Day-use hot spring bath deep in the forest, drawing on the same source as the luxury resort next door but open to anyone.
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.
Karuizawa hosted the curling at the 1998 Games and remains Japan's capital for the sport; its rink offers beginner sessions for visitors.
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.
One of Japan's largest open-air outlet malls, right next to the station, with Japanese and international brands.
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.
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.
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.
Japanese and international modern art in a sculpture park beside the river, one of the strongest private museums outside the major cities.
A logistical oddity hard to beat: the slopes are right beside the shinkansen station, and thanks to snow cannons they open from early November.
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.
Postwar Japanese art in a glass building in the middle of the old town, with free galleries on the ground floor.
Park beside Lake Shiozawa where historic villas from the town have been relocated, with rowing boats and a museum of the French illustrator Peynet.
The first bird sanctuary created in Japan, in 1974: forest walkways with more than 80 species and free entry.
A small lake ringed by maples, known as the 'mirror pond' for its reflections, especially striking in autumn.
The district is the birthplace of one of Japan's best-known craft breweries, and it is drunk on the town's terraces.
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.
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.
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.
Balcony over the whole Kanto plain on the old boundary between provinces, next to a shrine that is literally split between two prefectures.
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.
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