From Nagano St to Togakushi Shrine/Zenkoji?

dear madams and sirs,

is it nescessary to book a taxi in advance for a trip from nagano station to togakushi shrine and then from there to zenkoji temple and back to nagano station?
our time is limited. we arrive at nagano around 13:21 and must return from nagano back to shinjuku at 17:05.
is this trip possible? what about busses?

thanks
massl87

It isnft feasible to visit both places in the time you have. There are buses to Togakushi, but their timing doesnft look very good for you. See Getting There and Around on the following page and click on the link for reserving buses online. Ifve always gotten there by bus, but I left Nagano Station in the morning and returned in the midafternoon. I think you need more time for Togakushi, and visiting Zenkoji in addition would be out of the question. If cost is no object, you could potentially visit the shrines by hiring a taxi for four hours. Arranging that in advance would definitely be a good idea.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6005.html

Nagano has a pretty good tourist information center. If you really have your heart set on Togakushi, maybe they could advise you on how to arrange a taxi or escorted tour. Click on the Inquiry link at the bottom of their home page to get a contact form. Or possibly phone them.
https://www.nagano-cvb.or.jp/modules/page/tourist_office?hl=en

Or someone else here might know more about taxis.

But I think the bottom line is you should settle for Zenkoji. You say you are going gbackh to Shinjuku. Were you planning this as a day trip from Tokyo? To be honest, I donft think Zenkoji alone is worth the time and expense, even though it is a nice temple.

I think this timeline is very tight assuming those times at Nagano station are your arrival and departure times.

It takes probably about an hour to walk from where the taxi can drop you off to the inner shrine of Togakushi. Just going to the shrine that is close to the street in my eyes doesnft make that much sense. Itfs just another big shrine. The interesting part is walking to the inner shrine.

The bus takes about an hour, so a cab would take a little less time. So I think that theoretically, you could get to the parking lot for the Okusha (I guess your taxi would wait for you there), do that walk and back, and get back to Nagano Station by 17:00, but you would be rushed, and the cab would cost a lot. I canft imagine why anyone would want to do this. I agree that there is little point in going to Togakushi unless you do the walk to the Okusha. I also very much enjoyed the walk to Kagami Ike (Mirror Pond) and a memorable galette lunch there, but then wefre talking about the better part of an entire day.

must return from nagano back to shinjuku at 17:05.
Why is that time a "must" given the trains run later than that.
Also, if I was visiting the area around Togakushi, there is more than just the set of shrines (there is more than one) and for me, the point of a visit is usually the walk - between the middle and upper shrine, or even just to the upper shine through the forest. Given the time to get to/from the area, plus spending time there (at least an hour, or two if including the Ninja museum), that would consume all your time. Best would be to hire a taxi for the duration. IMO, you do not have enough time to also include Zenkoji.