Nagano– category –

On my last evening in Matsumoto, I returned to the area around Matsumoto Station, took one last look at Matsumoto Parco before its closure, and lined up for dinner at Okinado, where I had a fresh salad and the restaurant’s well-known pork steak.

I stopped by Pommier Cidre and Bonbon in the Shinmai Building for a quick standing drink and enjoyed a delicious cider with restrained sweetness.

With time left before my train home, I stopped by Matsumoto City Museum of History, an open-air museum that preserves valuable modern-era buildings from Matsumoto and Shimosuwa, including a former courthouse, prison cells, and a silk mill.

For lunch, I stopped at Sobadokoro Gassho, a charming soba restaurant in a large traditional building, and tried toji soba for the first time—a local style of eating soba by swishing it in a hot pot like shabu-shabu.

I drove up to Norikura Kogen hoping to see Zengoro Falls frozen over. Even though I had been told there was no snow, the trail turned out to be deeply covered, making the short walk to the falls far more challenging than I expected.

ラボラトリオ 「ラボラトリオ」で休憩 その後は「ラボラトリオ」さんへ。昭和８年に建てられた薬局の建物を利用した雑貨店兼カフェです。 土日限定のプリンをいただきました。

I ended the first day of my trip at Matsumoto City Museum, which relocated to the city center in October 2023. From its airy lobby to the exhibits on Matsumoto’s history, the museum offered an easy-to-follow introduction to the city.

After arriving in Matsumoto just before lunch, I headed to Ganeisha, a place I had wanted to visit for a long time. I ordered their two-item plate with oyster coconut curry and lu rou fan, plus a small serving of chicken curry on the side.

After lunch, I finally visited the Former Kaichi School, which had been closed during my previous two trips because of seismic retrofitting. Reopened to visitors from November 2024, the 1876 building offered not only striking architecture but also a vivid look at the history of education in Matsumoto.

Before heading home, I warmed up at Sennin-buro, stopped by Tsuruya once more, and even tried the free footbath on the platform at Kamisuwa Station. Here’s what I picked up at the supermarket to bring a little Shinshu flavor back with me.

After visiting the museum, I stopped at Shioribi, a café near the station that still looks like an old electronics shop from the outside. Inside, it opens into a cozy café with upstairs seating, books for sale, and coffee served in a soba choko cup.

While exploring shops around Matsumoto, I stopped by the Matsumoto Folk Craft Furniture Chuo Folk Craft Showroom, browsed the furniture, and ended up impulse-buying a tote bag featuring a pattern designed by Samiro Yunoki.

After visiting two museums, I spent the latter half of my day exploring central Matsumoto and stopped at Ceramika Matsumoto, a cheerful shop on the ground floor of an unexpectedly striking municipal housing building.

After warming up over curry, I headed to the Matsumoto Folkcraft Museum, a quiet place in a residential neighborhood with a spacious garden and displays ranging from combs and chests to old shop signs.

As soon as I arrived at Matsumoto Station, I headed straight for Meau Shin-Daimae, a branch of the Meau in Shinanomachi, Tokyo, for a spicy, deeply satisfying curry meal.

After finally visiting the Matsumoto City Museum of Art, I spent time with Yayoi Kusama’s bold works and the museum’s distinctive exterior and displays.

After warming up in the bath, I headed to the nearby izakaya Daidarabocchi for dinner. With handwritten menus, local sake, and a lineup of Shinshu specialties, it turned into one of those meals that makes you want to come back before the night is even over.

On my first night in Nagano, I stayed at Natural Hot Spring Zenkou-no-Yu Dormy Inn Nagano and headed straight for the large public bath to warm up after the cold.

I ended my walk around Matsumoto at Matsumoto Performing Arts Centre, a Toyo Ito–designed building with a sweeping curved exterior, patterned walls, and striking interior spaces filled with light.

I stopped by the long-established coffee shop Coffee Bigaku Abe for a break and enjoyed its charming Showa-era atmosphere along with a good cup of coffee.

Along the Metoba River, I visited the Matsumoto City Museum of Clocks, where even the building itself makes a statement with a huge clock built into its facade. Inside, the displays are full of working timepieces, including an 18th-century French clock that made me think of Beauty and the Beast. I also enjoyed seeing the still-active storefront of Midori Yakuhin on nearby Nakamachi Street, a rare example of kanban kenchiku, or signboard architecture.

On the way toward Matsumoto Castle, I came across Shinmai Media Garden, the Matsumoto headquarters of the Shinano Mainichi Shimbun. Its lower floors felt open and flexible, with shops, places to eat, a public piano, and people using the space however they liked.

At Matsumoto Mayow near the station, I tried the all-you-can-eat curry menu and sampled a remarkably varied lineup spanning Thai, Sri Lankan, Indian, and Japanese styles.

I stayed at Hotel Tamanoyu in Asama Onsen, a historic hot spring area just outside Matsumoto, and enjoyed a kaiseki dinner, a private open-air bath, and a satisfying breakfast the next morning.