What better way to celebrate Tourism Day (September 27) than to share exciting and new ways to enjoy your future travels to Japan. With the world slowly opening back up, and the recent games in Tokyo, it’s the right time to start planning that bucket list trip to make your itinerary unique and stand out from all the rest.
Known as Japan’s summer resort town and the sister city to Whistler, Canada, Karuizawa welcomes all visitors who would like to escape from the hustle and bustle of cities to a place with unique, westernised culture threaded through its history.
Karuizawa (軽井沢) is an upmarket mountain resort at the foot of the active volcano Mount Asama in Nagano Prefecture. Located at an altitude of roughly 1000 meters, the town provides a pleasant escape from the summer heat. It was promoted as a mountain resort by Western residents of Japan in the late 1800s, and today many wealthy urbanites own a second home there. Thanks to the Hokuriku Shinkansen it takes little more than an hour to reach Karuizawa from central Tokyo.
Various outdoor activities, such as tennis, hiking, cycling, golfing in summer and skiing and ice skating in winter can be enjoyed in Karuizawa, and there are ample shopping opportunities. Karuizawa is located along Japan’s Romantic Road, and it offers nice autumn colors typically around mid October to early November each year.
Top attractions include the Usui Pass Deck, an observation deck with views onto the mountains; Onioshidashi Park, a landscape with volcanic rocks on Mount Asama; Naka-Karuizawa, a secondary town centre with a few sites of interest to visitors; Shiraito Waterfall, a very wide waterfall in the middle of the forest; and Kyu-Karuizawa, a central town with nice shops and restaurants.
As one of the biggest hotel brands, Tokyu Hotels showcases their popular hotel collection on the famed Golden Route, including a five-star hotel in Tokyo awarded by Forbes Travel Guide and an upcoming hotel in Kyoto due to open in the summer of 2022.
Located in Nagano Prefecture, and close to Karuizawa, Kurabito Stay has opened the world’s first hotel where people can experience sake brewing whilst staying in an original hotel, renovated from an old sake brewery that has over 300 years of history.
So what are you waiting for? Add this fascinating place to your bucket list and expand your travel horizons!
