Explore Obuse

Once an important Edo Period (1603-1868) trading town, Obuse is a small historic town accessible using the Nagano Dentetsu (Nagaden) train line. Now known for its chestnut confectionaries, sake and miso breweries, Obuse is most famous as home to the Hokusai Museum. Dedicated to the life and work of Japan’s most renowned artists, Katsushika Hokusai, the small museum regularly rotates its large collection in an effort the breadth and significance of his lifetimes work. Having spent some of his final years in Obuse under the patronage of a wealthy local merchant called Takai Kozan, Hokusai’s last great masterpiece adorns the ceiling of Ganshoin Temple, while the Takai Kozan Museum retains Hokusai’s work studio.

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