WHAT TO DO IN OBUSE?
Obuse is not in most guide books, however it’s a beautiful village nestled in the middle of the Japanese Alps which deserves to be visited! If you are planning a trip in the Nagano prefecture, we highly recommend that you put Obuse on your must-see list. It is probably one of the prettiest town in Japan. Oh yeah, we mean it :-)
Source Flikr. Credit: shibainu
Obuse is beautiful in all seasons, just wander around the town to to admire its art and its flowers. The village extends from the north of Nagano prefecture to the edge of the Chikuma river. It is thanks to this river that Obuse became the economic and cultural center of the province of Shinshû at the time of Edo.
It all began at the end of the Edo period (1603-1868), when Kozan Takai, a Confucian painter traveled to Edo (former Tokyo) and met the already famous artist Hokusaï Katsushika. A few years later, Hokusaï visited Kozan’s house in Obuse. It’s the beginning of an artistic friendship.
Kozan comes from a wealthy family of sake merchants. He loves art but above all becomes a teacher for artists, especially for Hokusaï. He made him build a workshop on site to allow him to devote himself fully to painting. One of main thing to do in Obuse is to learn more about Hosusaï’s arts.
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So here is our top 10 things to do in Obuse:
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1. Walk in the footstep of Hokusai
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Visit the Hokusai Museum where many of the painter’s work is displayed. It is a beautiful museum worth a visit.
Kozan Takai Museum is also very interesting. You can see his major work exhibited in the museum. It was also the artist’s lounge, where Hokusai’s studio is located. This is probably the #1 attraction in Obuse.
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2. Visit the magnificient Ganshô-In Buddhist temple
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This is where you can admire Hokusai’s great work painted on the ceiling, the Dai Hôô Zu, a flaming phoenix left during his last visit to Obuse. The arrival at temple is mesmerizing with the all the trees, mountains and various colors of the nature. This temple, founded over 600 years ago, has been rebuilt three times (the current buildings are "only" 180 years old).
Source Flikr. Credit: sk
3. Wander through the old town
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Take a nice and relaxing stroll in the old town at the center of the city. Enjoy the nicely decorated city, traditional houses, cute shops, and enjoy some delicious Japanese Food. We highly recommend a place called: æ¡œäº•ç”˜ç²¾å ‚ æ³‰çŸ³äº (Senseki). It was suggested by a local friend. The food is outstanding, the place really beautiful with the view on a private garden and the staff really friendly.
Here is their site: https://www.kanseido.co.jp/sp/shop/senseki/
Source Flikr. Credit: sk
4. Admire the beautiful flowers in the city
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Obuse is the city of flowers, the alleys are beautifully decorated with flowers, maintained by the locals themselves. For fun, visit Obuse's Floral Garden with its 15,000 m² garden and greenhouse and four-season flowers. As well as the Open garden project, 128 gardens open to everyone, including private individuals who show you around. While walking through the city you may see some signs in front of the garden entrance which says “OBUSE OPEN GARDEN HOME”. This means you can visit this particular garden. Obuse is a beautiful city where many people grow their own fruits, vegetables and have many flowers in Spring and Summer. So visiting one of those open garden is a unique and charming experience. Please be respectful of the garden as you are at someone’s place.
Source Flikr. Credit: sayo ts
5. Enjoy chestnut's desserts of all kind
Obuse has also been the city of chestnut trees since the time of Muromachi (1338-1573). A wealthy trader then brought back a chestnut from Tamba (near Kyoto). Perfectly suited to the Obuse climate, this tree became the icon of the city. Take the opportunity to stroll through the alleys with large chestnut trees, especially the kuri no komichi with wooden cobblestones.
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Several restaurants and pastries offer their chestnut specialties. Taste the chestnut rice at Chikufûdô, or the Obuse youkan at Sakurai kanseidô. This Japanese pastry, usually made from red bean puree, is made here with chestnut puree. Last culinary step: Mont Blanc Suzaku from Obusedô, a real delight! Every fall the queues overflow into the street for the privilege of tasting this wonder. Super yummy :-)
6. Go back in time at Jokoji Temple
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This temple was one of our favorite in Japan. It’s a 600 years old temple. The road to the temple has a mysterious feeling to it, made of stone randomly lined up on the grounds which form stairs somewhat. The stairs invite you to enter the forest, accompanied by a superb alley of cedars. After climbing the stairs you will be rewarded with a beautiful and ancient temple nestled in the forest. A must-see. Here, the setting and landscape are beautiful. We really like this atmosphere in Japan where you literally enter another world after a few steps, while the moment before we were still in a residential area.
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We continued the walk by getting a little higher up the hill, through the cemetery. The beautiful morning light created a superb play of shades and lights through the trees: magical! Just for this temple, we were glad we came to Obuse. And Jokoji was only one of the good surprises in Obuse.
7. Enjoy some Sake at one of Obuse’s Sake Breweries
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You can go to Masuichi Sake Brewery which was Kouzan Takai’s home or go to Kokuhei. Many Japanese travel to Obuse to buy some famous Sake. Join a Sake testing to learn more about this traditional japanese drink and book a tour to visit the Brewery. You can check out their instagram here:
Source Flikr. Credit: sk
8. Visit Saishoji Temple
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Obuse is a city with many temple. Saishoji is worth a visit for its many paintings and nice surroundings.
9. Stroll through Kurinokomichi aka the Chestnut Alley
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Kurinokomich is a scenic alley paved with chestnut wood. It’s something we’ve never seen before. It makes the street look so beautiful. The alley is also surrounded by traditional Japanese architectures and chestnut trees. It is a great alley for your instagram shot !
10. Visit Kyakuden
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Kyakuden is a beautiful and traditional hotel in Japan as well as a Library. The hotel is part of Obusedo – an amazing restored network of very old buildings run by the Ichimura family, including a sake brewery, several restaurants, chestnut confectioners, a library as well as the hotel. The hotel only has a dozen of rooms displayed around the traditional building. Inside it feels like a stylish retreat. It is worth a visit while walking around the old town of Obuse. If you stay at Obuse overnight, we highly recommend to stay at this hotel, book here.
Source Flikr. Credit: sayo ts
Source Flikr. Credit: C.K. Tse
Other things to do around Obuse:
Make sure to plan a trip to see the Snow Monkey, Togakushi Forest and Shrines, Zenko-ji Temple in Nagano and Matsumoto Castle. We wrote another post here about other things to do around Nagano and Hakuba.
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About us
Hey there !
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We are Hammer and Guillaume, a fun couple who loves traveling and always being on new adventures !
We would like to share with you some of our top 10 things to do in the places we've visited or lived in for a while.
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Like everyone else who is going to new places, we always wonder what are the best things to do. For that purpose, we've compiled a list of 10 best things to do in some of our favorite places on earth.
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You liked our recommendations, or you want to add a suggestions or other top things to do in Obuse, feel free to leave a comment below: