Saiko-ji Temple

First skiing trip back to Japan since 2020.

We stayed for the first week of skiing in AIZU at the same place as last time. In 2020, the snow as scarce, but we got some good runs, taking a number of lifts further into the valley. This time around, the snow was plentiful and perfect for us.

The second week on the slopes was in Shiga Kogen area in the Nagano prefecture. Joined together this is the largest ski area in Japan. It consists of 18 ski resorts with 48 lifts (but you can buy tickets for individual resorts if you know you want to ski just there). Some resorts can be skied between them. It needs a bit of planning to check where you want to stay as some resorts are rather small. There is a free shuttle bus, but we prefer to spend time on the snow, not waiting for transport. We stayed at the Yakebitaiyama area.

Nagano

We spend the break between to 2 weeks of skiing in Tokyo and mostly in the NAGANO area, where the 1998 Olympics were held.

The most famous attraction in Nagano is the Zenkoji Temple. It is one of the most important and popular temples in Japan. It was founded in the 7th century and stores the first Buddhist statue ever to be brought into Japan.

There are a number of special buildings; memorial pillars, bell tower, war memorial pagoda, below the Sutra Repository (Kyouzō). They also offer special activities like sutra coping.

From Nagano town center, the Zenkoji Street, filled with shops, cafes, art galleries, historic houses, statues etc. leads to the temple.

If you came from the Zenkoji street and passed straight through the temple there at hill is the Zenkoji burial ground; Unjouden Noukotsudou (cremains repository). It is a nice walk up the hill through local neighborhoods. There are a couple of temples on the way, but we are heading for the cemetery and cremains storage halls. This peaceful location allows a beautiful view over Nagano.

Anothr nice temple on the road from the town center is the Saiko-ji Temple.

There are of course a lot to see in Nagana just wandering along its streets…

Matsushiro

Just a short 12km drive by local bus is the old samurai town of MATSUSHIRO. The town used to have its own castle – a reminder of the days when it was a notable domain of the Sanada Family. Today, only the ruins remain. Matsushiro retains the samurai houses, temples and gardens of its castle town days, has some interesting museums, and even a tunnel complex from World War II.

The Matsushiro Castle which is dating back to the 1460s, was demolished and later destroyed by fire in 1872, leaving only the stone walls which can be seen today. Some buildings, the moat, wooden bridge and the main gates were restored in 2004 to the atmosphere of times past.

From more recent times, towards the end of the WWII, is a network of underground tunnels known as Zozan Underground Imperial Headquarters (Matsushiro Daihonei). The complex of subterranean tunnels were dug by Korean forced-laborers in a bid to provide a sanctuary for the Emperor and the Imperial Japanese government at the end of World War II. The war ended with Japan’s capitulation well before the tunnel was anywhere near ready. About 500 meter long stretch of tunnel can be entered to visit. There is a memorial and a small museum adjacent to the main entrance detailing the brutality of the treatment during the construction workers on the site.