Is two days in Karuizawa too much?

Hi folks,

We are finalizing our last leg of Japan travel this Dec/Jan.

The last week is divided into:
- 2 nights in Matsumoto
- 1 night in Yamanouchi
- 2 nights in Karuizawa
- 2 nights in Kusatsu
- 4 nights in Tokyo

Is two nights in Karuizawa in winter too much? If it is, where would you recommend we shift that extra day to?

Much appreciated.

We have stayed in Karuizawa a few times. Tsuruya Ryokan at the top of the shoppping street is one of my favorite ryokans, with a decent onsen, lovely staff, nice big rooms, and great food.

Ultimately the walk/hike from Usui Pass to town is probably the best thing to do. I still havent managed to get to Shiriato falls because I cant understand the bus system. The shopping street is nice, the shopping centre is huge and just like all huge shopping centres IMO.

If you were getting in late and leaving early, then 2 nights is fine. 2 full days would be fine in spring or summer, but you might find a lot of places closed in winter so it could drag a bit.

Bessho Onsen is nearby, it is a lovely town and worth an overnight stay.

Thanks Lazy Pious, that is the biggest challenge for us as we will be there in winter.

We were looking at Bessho the other day, but my wife is not so keen on dragging our luggages across small town that we only spend 1 night at.

So hopefully, Karuizawa in winter won't be too much of drag. Is the Kumobaike Pond in worth visiting? We think the waterfall would be a challenge to visit as well as we don't have a car and have to rely on the bus system like you did.

Hi. The pond is pretty but nothing special. personally I'd pop up to Bessho for the second night and take a taxi to the ryokan (it is uphill to the hotels).

But Karuizawa is a nice town, Usui Pass and the nearby temple (and dango place) are great. We taxi'd to Usui pass, saw the temple, the pass, had our dango then walked back along the trail, which is part of the Nakasendo way. Probably 3 - 4 hours all up. If you are not into the shopping centre, there isnt much else to do there.

Lazy Pious, did you get to explore Naka-Karuizawa, e.g: have yo had the chance to visit Stone Church, Haruhine Terrace and Hoshino Onsen?

We are not into shopping per se, so the Pond and Usui Pass are what we want to visit. We are struggling to find affordable accommodation at Bessho, and it seems the only ones available in our prices range are in Ueda?

Not sure how far that town is from Bessho.

Hi. We went to the stone church and the old hotel but I can remember the others. There is an art museum but I'm not cultured enough to like it and it had a big entry fee. The shopping street itself is nice (even for me who hates shopping) but I think that because Karuizawa is a summer town a lot of places can be closed in winter. There are some awesome restaurants there. If you stay 2 nights you'll be fine as long as you work out the buses for the falls, I think.

At Bessho we stayed at Uematsuya. The room was a bit tired (apparently other rooms are better) but the food and onsen are awesome. It was very reasonable back then (2015). Bessho is about 10 minutes from Ueda by a nice little train.

Thx Lazy Pious - that's very helpful.