Japan in December

Hi everyone! I'm Sophia. You've heard of me before since I post here sometimes (I also plan to visit Hokkaido next summer).

I'm coming here for help. My brother and his friend want to visit Japan in December (if possible...).

My brother is interested in seeing the snow monkeys in Yamanouchi. Is there snow in mid-to late December?

He is also interested in Nagano city and Matsumoto. These cities are okay to visit in December?

Any recommendations close to Nagano city or in Nagano Perfecture?

For transportation, he plans to buy a rail pass. He knows the snow monkeys park is not accessible by a JR rail pass.

He likes everything, from nature to cities.

Thank you!

You don't need snow to visit the snow monkeys, although there would probably be snow by then.
A rail pass would not be a good option if just visiting Nagano/Matsumoto.
No particular issue with visiting in December - cooler weather and less daylight hours.

Kiso Valley.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6075.html

We visited the snow monkeys and Nagano in February 2020. There was no snow in Nagano itself and there was limited snow near the monkeys. There was a lot of snow in Shiga Kogen, so if spending time in snow is a priority, I would recommend going up to Shiga Kogen.

I believe Karuizawa has some winter activities like ice skating and you could check out Bessho onsen.

If you're just going to Nagano and no further. you would want the JR East Nagano-Niigata pass since the round trip from Tokyo to Nagano on the shinkansen I believe covers the cost of the pass.

Good luck!

Thank you everyone!

Is there anyone here who went to Nagano city and/or Matsumoto? How is it like? My brother wants to visit Matsumoto for its castle.

@rkold, I think I remember you saying before that you enjoyed Matsumoto?

Also, I read about the JR East Nagano-Niigata pass, and it seems it is possible to have a discount on a round trip to Takayama from Matsumoto. I wonder if visiting Takayama is feasible if my brother uses Nagano city as a base?

Hi!

No, you can't easily visit Takayama from Nagano. It's ~3-4 hours each way from Nagano to Takayama, but the majority of that is via bus from Matsumoto to Takayama and the bus only runs so frequently. You can easily go between Nagano and Matsumoto though. It's a very scenic bus route through the mountains. I've never done the entire route at once, but I've done the entire route during various trips.


I personally love Nagano and I liked Matsumoto a lot too. Nagano has a really famous buddhist temple, Zenkoji. I've also done a lot of smaller tourist sights near Nagano city. I keep putting it off, but I do want to visit Togakushi. One of my friends with PR did a group trip there over Golden Week. I've stayed several times overnight in Nagano. I really like the Metropolitan. For a big fancy hotel attached to the train station, it was incredibly reasonably priced. I've also stayed a few times at Dormy because it has rooftop public baths. The room was nicer in the Metropolitan though and cheaper.

In Matsumoto, we went to the art museum, the castle, and just enjoyed walking around town and sampling water from the various springs about town.

I love oyaki. They're a traditional snack you can get at Nagano Station and they are vegan as is. My daughter really liked the kabocha flavored.

Depending on how much time your brother has, there is plenty to do in Nagano and Matsumoto that you don't need to go to Takayama.

Hi @rkold!

Thank you for your advice!!! I will tell my brother.

If Takayama is not feasible from Nagano, better stay around Nagano city, Yamanouchi and do a day trip to Matsumoto.

That snack sounds delicious! I'm not vegan, but I love vegan food. I ate a lot of vegan when I stayed in Kyoto. My brother is not vegan as well, but he also enjoys vegan meals.

rkold, do you recommend any restauranta in Nagano and Matsumoto? Thank you! You're so kind and I love hearing about your trips to Japan.

I am really fond of Matsumoto, it is one of my most favorite towns in Japan, been there many times and still find something great to enjoy: It's small and cozy, but still has a lot of attractions.

The castle is a must see, but also the museums are really nice, e.g.
https://www.google.com/search?client=opera&q=�¼–{Žs”ü�pŠÙ&sourceid=opera&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

I suggest also if you have the time to visit the nearby onsens, like:
https://goo.gl/maps/ZHNUCuDwHBBM6HTeA
(which is just a short bus trip from station)

or for a real true genuine old style sento expierience:
https://goo.gl/maps/nNaafMQVsUjay9vQ8

regarding food, this is a really special place:
https://goo.gl/maps/qwELqKJjo42gtYE97
(you need to go up some stairs to find it and how you will get food will be for sure an expierience ... i dont want to spoil the surprise).

also note that matsumoto is famous for his horse-sashimi and also wine, which is usually rare in japan.

Thank you @Glimpigumpi

How did you get around in Matsumoto? By foot? Bus?

My brother saw pictures of Matsumoto Castle covered in snow. Do you think there'll be snow in late December?

@rkold what restaurants do you recommend in Nagano?

Another question, how is it like in Yamanouchi? Is it okay to explore? Perhaps on foot?

Matsumoto is perfectly fine on feet.
You can walk to the caste and pass while walking the very nice river with its small food stores along.

Only when you go to the onsen and the one museum i recommend taking a bus, but basically, it is also walkable.

And yeah, Matsumoto had snow in December (that's why you should go to the onsen up on the hills) but due to global warming, it became less and less over the last decades....

Hi!

Sorry, I am currently on a work/vacation trip with my daughter.

I went to Matsumoto in the Summer so there was no snow. I don't know about December. We went to the castle and art museum via walking, and I was walking with a 7 year old, so super easy walking.

I stayed at a ryokan right near the snow monkeys, so I wasn't walking around much. But I did walk from the bus stop to the ryokan. (We'd spent the earlier part of the day in Shiga kogen at one of the children's snow play areas. Lots of fun, but I had terrible gloves, so I was pretty cold at that point.) I've heard it can be fun to walk around.

I honestly don't remember where we ate in Nagano, I want to say it was an upscale Italian place, but we ate there in 2019 and who knows if it is still around. I also remember getting animal themed upscale donuts near Zenkoji. I've heard Zenkoji has some great dinning options but sometimes my daughter got cranky from the heat, so we ate where we ate. Until February 2020, all of my trips with her were during the Summer when school break takes place. Our most recent trip to Nagano (February 2020) we arrived late, ate breakfast at a Mister Donuts, spent some time shopping in town, ate some oyaki, went to Shiga Kogen and ate in our ryokan for dinner and breakfast the next morning and then went back to Tokyo. We might have gotten the oyaki or more oyaki for the trip to Tokyo. All my most recent trips I've gone with my daughter who was between 5-9 on the various trips.

Ive been to Nagano many times. I wanted to see some stuff outside the city and took a bus there, but walked back. I like flat easy walking. I took Japanese history in college, so wanted to see the Kawanakajima battlefield. I went in early November, so passed a lot of apple farms with ripe apples. I think my child could do it now, I don't think she would have enjoyed it at 7 or 8.

There are a lot of interesting looking onsen near Matsumoto.

Good luck!

Nagano and Matsumoto is a nice area. The Kiso Valley has historic districts like Narai-juku that are nice if you want something similar to Takayama in the area.

Unfortunately, snow in late December cannot be guaranteed in Matsumoto, Nagano, or the Monkey Onsen. There is a definite possibility, but the truth is that some years there has been snow and some years there has not been snow. Matsumoto has a lower chance than Nagano.

Nagano can be used for 2-3 days as a base.

Yamanouchi can be easily reached via bus and takes about half a day from memory. I also like Zenkoji - which would be great for a full day with Yamanouchi.

I really liked Togakushi - but if there is a good amount of snow I'd not go as I've got memories of tripping over icy tracks.

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-1572

Obuse is also a nice half day which should be easily accessible this time of year

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-1572

Unlike some others on this forum - I'm not the biggest fan of Matsumoto but boy is the castle pretty. I remember visiting the castle (no show) in December with my nephew and he loved it. Do note that it's got some of the most difficult stairs to climb. It's definitely worth the half a day to get there from Nagano.

The Kiso Valley might have snow - it might not. When I went in mid december 2013 - it was the first day of snow for the season.

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-1399

Nozawa Onsen would also be nice town to visit for onsens - plus it's got reasonable quality water as well....

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-1399

@rkold, ahah you and your daughter became big fans of Oyaki! Now I truly want to taste one! If my brother goes to Japan in December, I will ask him to bring me some. I think they won't get spoiled due to cold weather. Btw, did you walk in Nagano town? Or did you take the bus?

@Glimpigumpi, thank you! My brother likes to walk around, instead of using public transports all the time. He will be happy to know that Matsumoto has some walkable sections.

@Rabbityama the old towns in Kiso Valley sure look traditional and they have a lot of history, but I don't think my brother will go that far from Nagano. He just asked about Takayama because he saw a discount for the roundtrip with the JR East Nagano Niigata Pass. But thank you for the suggestion!

@mfedley yes my brother wants Nagano as a base. He dislikes to change hotels, though he probably wants to try a ryokan for one night (just for the experience). Obuse sounds nice and is in the same direction to Yamanouchi. I will tell him. Thank you! Also, did you use the Togakushi Kogen Free Kippu? Sounds like a good deal.

Have a great time, but dont disregard Karuizawa which is also handy. it is quite a trendy town by Japanese standards, and there are some fantastic places to stay there. We usually stay at Tsuruya Ryokan, but last time we stayed at Le Grand Kyu and I'd definitely go back.

i agree with mfedley that you should also add Obuse, which is highly underrated to your bucket-list. it is on the way between the other towns and has one of the best museums of japan. also visit, in case you love chestnuts. then this will be your place (you can even buy 8 course-chestnuts-meals)

in opposite to the others, i think of matsumoto to be a better base than nagano, but well, mostly depends on what you have in mind to go. (e.g. matsumoto better in case you want to see takayama or kiso)

ah, one last thing: if you stay in nagano or matsumoto check out bessho onsen for some nice onsen and temples. (you could also go to naganao over bessho, but then you need a car with very good winter tires, cause the road between is very narrow and steep)

I'm probably going to get some smiles on the forum with what I'm going to say. I just had a quick look at Matsumoto City on Google maps and there appears to be much more small museums which I was not aware of when I visited over a decade ago.

As such, I'd probably enjoy it more more. I also don't remember much about the free pass so apologies on not being able to comment on that.

You mentioned that you might want to stay on a Ryokan. What is your budget and how far are you willing to travel? Also is food or onsen important at the Ryokan? Both of these I see as highlights of good Ryokan, but I've stayed in so many that I'm kind of over them - apart from the food

@Lazy Pious I don't think my brother wants to visit Karuizawa on this trip. His priority is Nagano, Matsumoto Castle and the Monkey Park. But I will talk to him about it. BTW, I visited the website of Le Grand Kyu and I was amazed!

@Glimpigumpi I talked with my brother about Obuse and he liked the idea of stopping there on his way to Yudanaka station. He also loves chestnuts, so he is quite thrilled. Thank you!

@mfedley I spoke with my brother about the Ryokan (he is the one going on a trip to Japan in Dec, not me) and he is still undecided. I think food and onsen are both important for him (for me it would've been the food, since I don't care about onsen - I dislike the idea of sharing a bath with people I don't know, that's why I never went to one when I was in Japan 3 years ago).

Hi!

I am back from my trip to CA.

Yes, my daughter and I were fond of oyaki. I don't know how well they will transport. The shop we bought from is actually based out of Obuse. We didn't go there, though it looked interesting, because our February trip was of limited duration and my daughter really wanted some snow time. We specifically visited Yakebitaiyama Family Snow Park in Shiga Kogen and it had A LOT of snow. It was an easy trip from Nagano via bus. If spending time in snow is important, I would recommend it, just bring good gloves. It's not skiing, it's snow play so you don't need any particular athletic abilities. They have snow trikes and sleds and tubes, and other things to go down a hillside.

In Nagano City, we stayed near the station and walked to Zenkoji. (Pre-child, I took a bus to Matsushiro Castle Ruins, walked around the Matsushiro area and then walked to Kawanakajima Park and then walked back to Nagano Station. )

Good luck to your brother!

@rkold thank you for your feedback! My brother put Obuse on his itinerary now. He looks forward to eating oyaki and chestnut meals.

The Kawanakajima Park sounds pretty interesting and has lots of history. I will tell him about it. Thank you!