Karuizawa Voyage Tips and guide

Karuizawa (軽井沢) is a town in Nagano prefecture, famous as an upscale summer resort.

Karuizawa, at about 1000m above sea-level, is a famous mountain resort in eastern Nagano Prefecture. Elegant summer houses are scattered through the nearby forests, while the central part of the town is elegantly laid out with restaurants, cafes and boutiques.

In the late 1800s, Canadian missionary Alexander Croft Shaw said that Karuizawa was a wonderful summer resort. Since then, foreigners have been flocking to Karuizawa. It was remarkable for its unspoilt nature, and climate that was several degrees cooler than Tokyo in the summer (and still is!). As such, there are a number of Christian churches, which is very unusual for a small Japanese town. You can also see a variety of western-style buildings dotted around.

The climate in Karuizawa is known for being remarkably cool, and generally is about 5°C cooler than Tokyo in the summer. It also often gets quite misty.

The local tourist association has two official multilingual guide sites, one here, and one here. It's unclear why there's two of them. The more, the merrier? There's also an official pamphlet.

• Dog tourism: Amusingly, Karuizawa promotes itself as a "dog tourism" location and has an official website full of dog-friendly locations and activities. The website is only in Japanese, but if you're passionate enough about spending time with your dog, surely you can figure it out (alternatively, you can just look at the gallery of cute dog pictures).
• 36.359138.63621 Karuizawa Tourism Hall (軽井沢観光会館 Karuizawa Kanko Kaikan), ☏ +81 267-42-5538. 9:00–17:00 (18:00 in the summer). Large wooden tourism information building. There are also locations in Naka-karuizawa Station and Karuizawa Station. Free.  (updated Dec 2025)

Map of Karuizawa

• 36.347681138.5919281 Naka-Karuizawa Station (中軽井沢駅 Central Karuizawa Station). JR East Shinano Line (しなの鉄道線).  (updated Dec 2025)
• 36.34255138.6350612 Karuizawa Station (軽井沢駅). JR East Shinano Line (しなの鉄道線).  (updated Dec 2025)
• Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo (70 minutes, ¥5250); Nagano (30 min, ¥3070)
• Shinano railway from Nagano (90 minutes, ¥1590); Togura Station (in Chikuma; 70 min, ¥1170)
• Bus from Tokyo's Ikebukuro Station (2-3 hours, ¥2500).

There's 5 main taxi services in Karuizawa:

• Asama Sightseeing Taxi (浅間観光タクシー Asama Kankō Takushii) Phone: +81 267-45-5264.
• Karuizawa Sightseeing Taxi (軽井沢観光タクシー Karuizawa Kankō Takushii) Phone: +81 267-45-5408.
• Dai Ichi Transport (第一交通 Dai Ichi Kōtsū) Phone: +81 267-42-2221.
• Masuya Transport (ますや交通 Masuya Kōtsū) Phone: +81 267-45-5223.
• Matsuba Taxi (松葉タクシー Matsuba Takushii) Phone: +81 267-42-2181.

• 36.36204138.638981 Karuizawa Shaw Memorial Church (軽井沢ショー記念礼拝堂) (Take the road north from the station, and turn right into Old Karuizawa Main Street (旧軽井沢メインストリート). The church is about 600m up on the left.). The first church in Karuizawa, founded by the missionary A.C. Shaw. Shaw is also considered the founder of Karuizawa's resort area, which was initially used as a retreat for church workers and western expats in Japan.  
• 36.32255138.596712 Kazakoshi Park Arena. Site of the 1998 Winter Olympics curling competition  
• 36.4051138.52063 Mount Asama. Active volcano featured in 100 Famous Japanese Mountains (日本百名山 Nihon Hyaku-meizan), the book composed in 1964 by mountaineer and author Kyūya Fukada  
• 36.410172138.5926774 Shiraito Falls (白糸の滝) (From Karuizawa station, take the 草軽交通 (Kusakaru Kotsu) bus to 白糸の滝 (Shiraito-no-Taki) for 25 minutes, ¥710. It's a five-minute walk from the bus stop.). Beautiful waterfall named for the "white threads" that create a waterfall-like appearance. It's most popular during the fall when many people come to see the autumn leaves. In winter, you can see the waterfall frozen, forming fragile icicles.  

• 36.35851138.635441 Old Karuizawa Main Street (旧軽井沢メインストリート) (Walk north from the station and turn right after 2km.). Stroll up and down the lively old main street which is packed with interesting shops. It is sometimes referred to as Old Karuizawa Ginza, because of the branches of stores from Tokyo's Ginza that open here in the summer. Keep your eyes open and you might see a fur coat in a shop window for a lazy ¥5,000,000 or so.  

• 36.366367138.584162 Karuizawa Sengataki Onsen (軽井沢仙ヶ滝温泉), Sengataki Onsen, Karuizawa, Kitasaku-Gun, Nagano, 389-0111 〒389-0198 長野県北佐久郡軽井沢町千ヶ滝温泉 (From Karuizawa Station, take the Shinano Railway Shinano Tetsudo Line one stop to Naka-Karuizawa. From there, it's about a 30 minute walk.), ☏ +81 267-46-1111. Weekdays: 14:00 - 21:30; Saturdays, holidays, other "special days": 10:30 - 22:00. The last entry is 45 minutes before the closing time.. Free-flowing onsen facility surrounded by the peaceful nature of Naka-Karuizawa. There's a Japanese garden, and on a clear night, you can see the stars from the outside bath. Weekdays: ¥1200, Saturdays, holidays: ¥1300, "Special days": ¥1550.  (updated Jun 2020)
  
• 36.362848138.589123 Hoshino Onsen Tombo no yu (星野温泉 トンボの湯), 2148 Nagakura (Take the Seibu Kanko bus from Karuizawa Station to Hoshino Onsen. Alternatively, take the Shinano Railway Shinano Tetsudo Line to Naka-Karuizawa. It's a 17-minute walk.), ☏ +81 267-44-3580, [email protected]. 10:00-22:00 (last entry at 21:15). (Hours applicable from 5/7 for the time being.). Adults: ¥1350, children (age 3 - elementary school): ¥800. For golden week, August and the year-end and new year holiday, adults: ¥1550, children: ¥1050.  (updated Jun 2020)

• 36.342874138.5571881 Oiwake Soba House (追分そば茶家 Oiwake Sobadjaya), 1126-2 Oiwake, ☏ +81 267-45-1415. 11:15–15:00. Soba shop with many options like Mazesoba and Tempura.  (updated Dec 2021)
• 36.3391138.54332 Sasakura (ささくら), 655-3 Oiwake, ☏ +81 267-465-577. 11AM–3PM. Soba shop with traditional Japanese fare. ¥1000–2000.  (updated Dec 2025)

• 36.36435138.590231 Hoshinoya Karuizawa, Hoshino 2148, ☏ +81-50-3786-1144. Expensive but luxurious resort featuring guest rooms by the lake, world class dining and spa. Starts from ¥30000 per night.  (updated Feb 2022)

• Saku
• Miyota
• Komoro
• Tomi
• Ueda
• Annaka
• Takasaki
• Tsumagoi
• Naganohara

Nagano ← Ueda ← Sakudaira ←	N  S	→ Annaka-Haruna → Takasaki → Tokyo
Nagano ← Ueda-Sugadaira ← Saku ←	N  S	→ Matsuida-Myogi(annaka) → Tomioka → Fujioka