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2-Day Private Winter Tour from Takayama to Nagano through the Nakasendo Kiso Valley
  • 2-Day Private Winter Tour from Takayama to Nagano through the Nakasendo Kiso Valley

     

    Planning a trip to Takayama this winter? Worried there’s not enough to do in the area? There are actually a ton of fun winter activities in Central Nagano, but public transportation can be a problem in trying to get around this gorgeous section of the prefecture so we have the perfect customized 2-day tour to offer you.

    We’ll pick you up at Takayama Station or from your accommodation in Takayama City on the first day and take you to the Kaida Plateau to enjoy some fun in the snow. You can choose to play at one of the ski resorts, go horseback riding, snowshoeing, or snow mobile.

    After that, we’ll go to see the awe-inspiring Shirakawa Ice Pillars, which is a wall of icicles 50m high and stretches for 120m across. After an invigorating day of playing in the snow, spend the night in Kiso Fukushima.

     

    As an additional option to keep in mind, the Kiso area is host to an annual Ice Candle Festival held from the end of January through the beginning of February and a visit can be included in your tour if you so desire.

    Narai Post Town Ice Candle

     

    Day 2 begins with a hearty breakfast at your accommodations before we set off for Narai Post Town. Narai is an ancient town that served as a rest stop for people taking the Nakasendo Trail from Edo (Tokyo) to Kyoto. It has been extremely well-preserved by its residents and appears almost unchanged from 100 years ago. While in Narai, you’ll have the opportunity to make your own original set of chopsticks.

    Next, we’ll take you to a miso brewery in Matsumoto where you’ll get a tour of the brewery before eating a healthy and delicious lunch of miso soup, salad with miso dressing, and miso-flavored rice balls.

    We’ll end the day with tour of one of the three premier castles in Japan, Matsumoto Castle. Matsumoto Castle is sometimes called “Crow Castle” for its black exterior. From the outside, it appears to have five tiers, but make sure to look for the hidden sixth tier when you visit! The castle features beautiful wooden floors, but as shoes are not allowed, please remember to wear warm socks as the floors can be quite cold in winter.

    The tour concludes in Nagano City, but don’t miss out on the opportunity to visit the world-famous snow monkeys just 40-minutes north of the city!

    For more details about the tour, click here

    http://www.kisoji.com/english/traveling/traveling_05.html