nagano is more than just the snow monkeys! 🚅 | exploring nagano city

nagano is more than just the snow monkeys! 🚅 | exploring nagano city

[Music] Hello everyone, welcome to another vlog and today we are visiting Nago. We started our journey from our hut in Toyama where we have a hotel right at the train station. I really recommend this place as it was quite cheap and you’re everywhere in under an hour. When I looked for things to do in Nago, I always saw the snow monkeys and the shrine hidden in the forest, but I wanted to keep the shrine for the winter and visiting the monkeys seemed like such a hassle as I wouldn’t even be sure if they would be there or not. So, we hopped into the local train to another destination and wanted to explore different stuff in Nago. And wow, those trains are really old. They even had some fans on the top. It was so funny. And the first time we saw such an old train here. [Music] After a 20-minut train ride from Nagano, we arrived at one of the cutest cafes I’ve ever seen. It was called Cat Station, and I’ll show you what’s so special about it in a few moments. But first, we decided what we have for lunch. They offer burgers and pizza, and there is a salad buffet included, which I don’t see that often in Japan, but it made me happy because I love salad. [Music] Our food arrived and Kevin had a takoyaki pizza topped with bonita flakes. Look how funny they moved. I didn’t try it as I don’t like bonita flakes. I’m sorry. I got a simple burger which was quite good. Yeah, I know. Not very typical traditional Japanese food, but I wanted to come here for another reason than the food which was down the basement of this building. Do you recognize where those scenes are from? [Music] [Music] [Music] Wasn’t this place with all of the Gibly rooms amazing? Apparently, the architects have other projects as well. Do you think it was worth coming here while being in Nagago? Even though it’s not in the city center, I think it was really worth it and a nice experience, but I would love to hear what you think. We hopped on the train again and headed to the city center. Now, I have to say the underground station look very old, but the rest of the city has such a lovely charm, combining retro architecture with typical architecture that you see in Japan. We wanted to visit another temple, and of course, there is a shopping street in front of it. You can find the typical stores here and I’m going to show you more of them a little bit later. We were craving some drinks, so we headed to this branch of this matcha store here. And you see it a lot in Japan. And Kevin got some of the autumn specials. He wasn’t very impressed and my matcha latte was a bit watery as well. So, we headed to another matcha store. Here they had some fancier choices, but again, I was not happy. But I added some syrup and I got my dress dirty. But at least it tasted better. If I drink regular matcha, I don’t sweeten it. But if it’s latte, I need some syrup. It’s like when I drink coffee, I just need my sugar. Then finally we reached our destination, Senuji Temple. Many people come here as it is a very historic place in Nago. [Music] You can also get up there, but it cost an entrance fee, so we skipped that for now. Instead, we enjoyed this place and its beauty and headed to the little temple store. Well, it wasn’t that little. They sold so many cool souvenirs and lucky charms. And in contrast to the temple, the store was very modern. But yeah, now we saw all of the relevant stuff. And let’s enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of this place. [Music] [Music] Wasn’t [Music] this place really beautiful. There was so much to explore and I loved the pagod at the end. We headed back to the shopping street and looked out for some souvenirs. [Music] [Music] Have you seen anything that you would buy? I found some really cute things. What a beautiful place. I never saw any content about Nagano city center. So, let’s explore it together. Again, we found a nice combination of the usual architecture mixed with some unusual buildings. And the stores offer a lot of variety. I found stationery, handcrafted stuff, souvenirs, and cute decorations for your home. Yeah, you can find anything that you want here. And since we always stop for a snack break, we found this store here which sells a special chestnut filled bun. Good. So yeah, come and try that one when you’re here. We really loved it and really enjoyed it. We also found this cute little area that used to be storehouses, I think, and they turned it into restaurant and cafes. And it was very quiet when we arrived, but I think at night time, this must be such a cool place. I would love to come here again and see how the feeling is on a Friday night. And the closer you get to the train station, the more retro the stores look like. I really loved that. I felt like time traveling. And now and then you could find cute shrines and temples hidden in between the streets. We reached the train station and decided to explore some anime stores. And after that, we called it a day. And Kevin was quite tired. Me, too. But I also really enjoyed this beautiful city. And I’m happy that we came to Nagago. Can’t wait for next time.

🌸what to do on a day in nagano – the perfect guide🌸 #nagano #japanvlog #offthebeatenpath

✿ we spend a day in nagano but without visiting the snow monkey, because actually – the city center is so beautiful as well! and we found a really nice ghibli café close to nagano which is one of the coolest cafes I’ve ever been to!

✿ my name is mateeny, I’ve been to japan for multiple times and even studied a semester there. I share my experiences so that you can have a perfect vacation ✿

✿ timeline
01:20 – cat Station ghibli cafe https://maps.app.goo.gl/XCGTzX7V9mTKB3nU9
04:00 – zenkoji nakamise street https://maps.app.goo.gl/eJWjgnKCY5NxBYDK9
04:20 – kanmidokoro kamakura https://maps.app.goo.gl/CVFm3SMvAy4hcdWZ9
04:50 – maccha house https://maps.app.goo.gl/Zd68eRwttAujmb8C8
05:10 – zenkō-ji https://maps.app.goo.gl/iwb5yXu467N1cPpU6
07:15 – zenkoji nakamise street part 2
08:10 – nagano city center
09:10 – mahoroba no tsuki at taiheido https://maps.app.goo.gl/WCSbQJCGWQtxJFvt7
09:30 – patio daimon kuraniwa https://maps.app.goo.gl/CMwuv3JoKiNwWobS9
10:10 – saikoji temple https://maps.app.goo.gl/AXPhPYBGkZB9n5JB9

✿socials
https://linktr.ee/its.mateeny

✿ music by oneul and demongummies
https://www.youtube.com/@oneul274
@oneul274
@demongummies

Song: Lights
Composer: Sakura Girl
Website: https://soundcloud.com/sakuragirl_official

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