Nagano – Food Sake Tokyo

Travel + Leisure Asia

Excited to have been tapped by Travel + Leisure Asia to pen a piece on eating in Japan. Great working with my editor, Veronica Inveen, to share with readers insider tips, having worked at both the Park Hyatt Tokyo and Takashimaya, and as the author of Food Sake Tokyo on dining out in Nippon. I hope you can…

Nagano Kissaten

For me nothing beats a #kissaten #Japanesebreakfast when I am traveling in Japan. For the simplicity of the meal, but also for the ambience of these old school #coffee shops. About a ten-minute walk from #Nagano Station is Saramu. The owner said she took it from the Arabic greeting salaam after watching Lawrence of Arabia….

Nagano Shichimi

One of the cities that I love spending time in is Nagano. It is easy to access from Tokyo. So much to love here. Zenkoji temple. The Buddhist temple dates back to 642. https://www.zenkoji.jp/en/ I also love the many shops on the Omotesando street leading up to Zenkoji. In particular, one of Japan’s most famous…

Yawataya Isogoro

Matsumoto Mingei Hotel Kagetsu

Matsumoto has a rich history of mingei, traditional Japanese crafts.　The Matsumoto Hotel Kagetsu celebrates the mingei philosophy. The hotel opened in Meiji 20 (130 years ago). The older part of the hotel has rooms with some Matsumoto folk craft furniture. This part of Nagano is known for its hot springs waters and the hotel has…

Fried Chicken in Matsumoto

Fried chicken at Shizuka near Matsumoto Castle. Sanzokuyaki 山賊焼 fried chicken is a local specialty in Matsumoto, Nagano. I love fried chicken and this one was crispy and juicy. Shizuka is an izakaya traditional Japanese pub. In the evening nihonshu flows and there is a long list of saké-friendly small bites like basashi horse sashimi,…

Matsumoto Kissa Senzu Wagashi

Kissa Senzu serves modern and traditional wagashi sweets inside of the historic Kaiundo confectionary shop, opened in 1884 in Matsumoto. Monaka, a crispy wafer is served with a flight of three types of red beans (smooth, chunky, and whole). A fun way to compare the textures. Dorayaki of two small pancakes stuffed with sweet anko…

Metoba Soba in Matsumoto

Metoba is a soba shop on the Metoba river that flows through Matsumoto in Nagano. Nagano is famous for its harvest of buckwheat grains for soba. I asked if there were any local dishes we could try and was recommended the soba pancake called soba usuyaki (literally thin and grilled). A bit thinner than Western-style…

Matsumoto cohiludo Oyaki

We are visiting Matsumoto in Nagano for winter holidays. One of our first stops was at the charming cohiludo café. It is on the main street leading to Matsumoto Castle from the station. Oyaki are stuffed dumplings, a local dish from Nagano prefecture. My favorite is the Nozawana, a mustard green leaf – also a…

Nagano Gotta Eat – Oyaki

While traveling in Japan it is essential to try the local cuisine. Nagano is famous for soba, Nozawana (a pickled leafy green), basashi (horse sashimi), some insect dishes like inago (grasshoppers) and hachinoko (bee larva), and my favorite oyaki. Oyaki are stuffed dumplings. The dough can be made from flour or buckwheat. It is stuffed with a…

Nagato Cheese – Nagano

There are a handful of Japanese cheese producers that I am a big fan of and one of them is Nagato from Nagano. It’s on the top of the mountains, the air is clean and crisp and there are cows. For this Minnesota girl, it was like visiting a friend’s home growing up, but with…

Marutaka Miso – Suwa, Nagano

In Suwa, Nagano we came across this lovely Marutaka Miso shop. The shop celebrates its 100th anniversary for making miso since 1916. The area is famous for Shinshu miso, made from soybeans and rice. There is also a kome kōji miso, made with extra kōji (aspergillus oryzae) that is aged for a longer time resulting…

Nunohan Ryokan – Suwa, Nagano

When deciding where to stay while traveling in Japan there are many considerations for type of stay. When we can, we try to stay at local ryokan inns with onsen hot springs. Nunohan was put on my radar by a friend who lives in Suwa, Nagano. We loved it. The ryokan is kid-friendly, had lovely cuisine,…

Suwa, Nagano Sake Breweries

A short trip from Tokyo is Suwa in Nagano. The city of about 50,000 people sits on the shore of lake Suwa and has mountains nearby. We love coming here as it is one train from Tokyo, as the air is refreshing, and Nagano is known for good sake and food, particularly soba. We are…

Tomiya Soba in Suwa, Nagano

While in Suwa in Nagano we happened upon this local soba-ya near Suwa station. The noren (curtain outside the shop) that said teuchi (handmade) soba caught our eye. Nagano is famous for growing soba buckwheat so we try and eat as much soba as we can while in Nagano. During our visit in spring there is…

Nagano Ohmachi No no Hana Soba　長野大町　手打ちそば　野の花

No no Hana in Ohmachi is a quiet soba shop where the master makes the noodles from scratch. It is far from the station so a taxi would be needed if you don’t have a car. Here is the kamo seiro, soba with a duck and leek dipping sauce. The menu (Japanese only) was quite extensive and…

Okina Soba in Azumino, Nagano 安曇野翁　そば

Nagano is famous for soba, among many other things. But where to go, especially in the countryside? We asked around to friends about their recommendations, and a restaurateur told us about this lovely soba restaurant in Azumino called Okina. Azumino is a pastoral part of Nagano that has the impressive Kita Alps, Northern Japanese Alps, guarding…

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route

I have always been fascinated with the snow canyons of the Kita Alps (North Alps) between Nagano and Toyama prefectures, also near Gifu. We were in Ohmachi, Nagano to help a friend plant a vineyard for wine so jumped at the chance to visit the famous Alpine Route. The snow canyons only open to the public…