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Togakushi Shrine Okusha

Togakushi Shrine Okusha

Togakushi Shrine Okusha
4.5

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles633 reviews
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John F
London, UK32 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2019 • Solo
It was so good to get out of Tokyo into the mountains near Nagano. I got the bus for an hour to the top shrine walk and then did all the shrines and the beautiful lake walk. It was magical. Lovely autumn colours, great walking, stunning views. It's a must do. Best thing I did in Japan!
Written January 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

James F
Tokyo129 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2016 • Couples
In winter, the local bus doesn't stop here, so you have to walk about 2km along the road from the middle shrine to get to the start of the walking trail here.

I would describe the trail to the upper shrine as having three parts. The snow made the walk a tad harder.

1. From the road to Zuishinmon gate. The gate makes for a nice photograph. It took us about 10-15 minutes in the snow.

2. From the gate, the trail is lined by over 300 tall cryptomeria trees. This is a famous scene and deserves its fame. It was particularly beautiful on sunny winter's day with all the snow. This part doesn't go far. In the snow, it took about 10-15 minutes to get to where the cryptomeria tree-lined part of the trail ends. I would give this view 5-stars.

3. The path up to the actual shrine. This is where is gets a bit steep and slippery in parts during winter. The shrine is closed in winter and is closed by a nondescript metal door so you can't see inside. They have left a small hole, however, so you can still fill their coffers with donations.

My advice, don't bother with part 3. The view from the shrine is nothing special. The shrine itself is bland and nothing special. Togakushi Shrine Chusha (the middle one where you'd get off the bus during winter) is by far the better one.

If you are short on time, you can just walk part 1 of the trail to the gate from where you can see the avenue of cryptomeria trees and get a good photo. If you have some time, maybe you'd like to take a stroll to where the cryptomeria trees finish.

When you are done, I recommend you have lunch at the Uzuraya Soba restaurant near the bus-stop in front of the middle shrine as you can have what I believe to be the best soba in Japan. (I don't mean the soba place at the entrance of this (Togakushi Shrin Okusha - Upper Shrine)).
Written February 12, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Candywhite9595
Singapore, Singapore137 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2017 • Friends
Forest bathing or tree hugging - plus the temptation of eating the best soba in the whole of Japan - We journeyed into the mountains of Nagano to pay homage to Togakushi shrine and its 300 plus giant cryptomeria trees that lined the 2km way to the upper shrine. It was an unforgettable experience last autumn when a group of us rented a car from Matsumoto and drove to explore this shrine.

Will do it in a heartbeat again if we were anywhere near Nagano as taking public transport is easy too. A recommended trail is to take the bus to the middle shrine, tuck in a bowl of soba (we didn't try the famous one as there was a waiting time of 2 hours. Walking down the road from the famous restaurant, there is a fabulous one beside a carpark on the left side of the road. It's manned by an elderly couple and the tempura was the best we have taken!)

Back to the trail - cross the road from the Tourist information to the middle Chusha shrine. There is a marked trail on the left. From there it's a gradual easy uphill walk (pavement) to upper shrine, passing by a forest reserve and a couple of ponds before reaching the Okusha shrine bus stop. From there we walked in the shadows of the towering trees and the air up here is cold and crisp!

Tip: although it's tempting to take the bus to the upper shrine and walk down (which we did after parking our car at the Tourist Information center) would strongly recommend to walk up and take the bus back to Nagano station after your visit if you are depending on public transport. We saw a long line of people queuing at the middle shrine, waiting for the bus at 3.00pm. Not only will one stand in the cold especially in late autumn and winter,, the places may be limited in the bus on a weekend.
There is also a soba restaurant at the entrance to the upper shrine.
Written June 20, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

trees1177
Singapore, Singapore33 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2015 • Couples
I read up on the Togakushi area before booking a ryokan [ half- board] near the Chusha [central] shrine for 4 days, and it was a really wonderful vacation in the mountains.We bought a 5- day bus pass[ for use in theTogakushi area only] for Y2600 in Nagano at the Alpico Office just opposite the Nagano station, in front of Bus -stop no 7. It was well-worth it as we took the bus [no 70 or,no71 that ply the area] numerous times from the lower shrine, Hokusha to the upper shrine at Okusha.
On arrival at the Chusha bus -stop , it was night fall and difficult for us to find our lodging but fortunately a very helpful young man from the famous soba restaurant at the corner of the road led us all the way to the path leading to our destination! For this, we are indeed grateful.
It was raining on the day we visited Okusha. The walk towards the shrine was so peaceful and not at all difficult if done slowly. Although it was a small shrine , we could feel the positive energy surrounding the whole area.After spending some time there, we took a bus to the lower shrine, Hokusha, which was just as scenic and hiked our way along the misty forest path to the main shrine at Chusha, Around the Chusha shrine are some very majestic [ 800 years-old ] pine trees. On one of the mornings,at around 7am, we were lucky to witness a holy Shinto performance at the shrine for the Deities. In all, we hiked around 3 lakes, the huge pasture land near the campsite at the base of Mt Togakushi, the botanical nature reserve and the peaceful village around Chusha. For nature lovers this is a place not to be missed.
Written November 12, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Adam G
London, UK240 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2018 • Solo
It takes around 50 minutes by bus from Nagano Station - look for the number 70 bus at stop number 7, just across the road. There’s a small ticket office where you can also pick up a map of the shrines.

The hike from the lower shrine to the top is a good hour and a half to two hours, or you can bus all the way to the entrance to the upper shrine. If hiking it’s worth going to longer route around the lakes marked on the hiking maps, there’s some lovely forested trails and photo viewpoints.

Be warned - the final stretch to the upper shrine is some fairly arduous stone steps, so keep a bit of energy in reserve and take your time.
Written May 20, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Seila T
Amsterdam, The Netherlands46 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2013 • Couples
We visited Okusha shrine on November 2013, just the day after the first snow fall of the season. The snow truly make the hike and the area beautiful, but also make some parts of the path very slippery. The last part of the path had many stone steps covered with ice so we needed to walk slow and be really careful. It was worthy for us, as we actually reached the shrine without falling (but it was a close call a couple of times and we actually saw one man falling and another woman who had hurt her foot on the way up).
The first part of the hike was easy enough even with the snow, but you will be happy to bring waterproof shoes. So if you don't feel confident enough to go all the way up to the shrine, you can still walk along the cedar tree lined path with no problem. We found that part of the path totally worthy the time.
It seemed to me that the path without snow should be easy to walk for everyone, but it's still a dirt path with some step parts, so don't come here with high heels (as we actually saw one poor girl in a date doing).
There are one bus per hour from the train station and it takes about one hour to the stop at Okusha. You can buy the tickets at the Alpico office in front of the bus stop, across the train station. This bus also stops at Zenkoji temple, and it feasible to visit Zenkoji early in the morning and then spend the day at Togakushi. If you are planning to do that, ask at the Alpico office about the combined ticket, I think it costed 2.500 yen and included a round trip to Togakushi, unlimited rides in Togakushi area and a single trip to or from Zenkoji to Nagano station.
Written June 8, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mysuitcase5
israel65 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2019 • Couples
We took the bus from Nagano station in one hour you are in beautiful nature surroundings .The pathway to the shrine is a bit steep the last part of it , but the beautiful lines of trees is worth it. On your way back you can take different paths that take you trough the swamps the nature is amazing and you can listen to many different kind of birds. Loved it.
Written June 2, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

bakatori
Singapore, Singapore552 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2014 • Solo
The first time I visited Togakushii jinja was many years ago during a weekday in autumn.
My only regret for that trip was I forgot to bring an extra SD card for my camera. It was a beautiful trip, but memory fades as time passes.
So I decided to make new memories and thus my 2nd trip Autumn 2014.
I stationed myself at Nagano, set off early in the morning.
Just across the JR train station, you can get information on the fare and bus to board at the bus centre.
I bought a return trip ticket 2600¥. Bus number 70 or 71.
Togakushii Jinja is made up of 3 sections, the Hokosha, Chusha and Okusha. I alighted at Hokosha and start my trek to Okusha.
I always believe it is not about the destination but the journey to your destination that makes the trip beautiful.
Most people would choose to alight as either Chusha or Okusha.
Thus the route from Hokosha to Chusha, almost devoid of human except for myself, tranquility reigned supreme.
Trees in their autumn robes, lined the quiet path. It was beautiful and very relaxing. I could literally feel my soul being cleansed.
All these took a drastic turn once I hit Chusha.
Cars and buses dumped loads of tourists at this junction. Shops selling goods, souvenirs and Togakushii soba filled the streets.
Then it dawned on me that I had chosen a weekend to visit this place. Too late for regrets, I pushed on to Okusha. I was granted peace and tranquility momentarily along the route from Chusha to Okusha as many tourists preferred bus.
From Chusha to Okusha, beautiful mountains lined the distance. Only the bottom half of the mountain were colored as autumn peaked early in this area.
However once I reached the main road, traffic and humans assaulted my senses.
The walk to Okusha from there was pretty straight forward but on a incline note.
Once I passed the famous red Zuishin mon, gigantic ancient cryptomeria trees lined the path. Small little pebbles were placed on the exposed roots of some of these ancient giants, as offerings I supposed.
It was not an easy path up the steps that seemed never ending. If you persevered, what's waiting for you up there is a normal looking shrine and a beautiful view from the top.

Did I make any beautiful memories on this trip?
Hmmmmmm, I will just conclude by saying this, I will most definitely come again as this place is just too beautiful to give it a pass. However I will make sure this time round it is on a weekday, fingers crossed, far away from the maddening crowd.
Written November 20, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TristaC46
Minneapolis, MN27 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2019 • Couples
We went on April 29, which was the start of Golden Week. I think that is the reason it was super busy and there was a long, slow queue to get up to the shrine buildings. There is still snow for the last portion of the hike and we saw many people struggling to get down without proper shoes or gear. Recommend hiking shoes and a walking stick if that helps you.

Another note for foreign travelers: this is a small mountain town. Very little English speaking and don’t count on any ATMs. We thought we could get cash for lunch and the trip back and the only ATM we found didn’t accept our foreign credit card.
Written April 29, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sarahuhuhu
Japan93 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2018 • Solo
I wish I had had an entire day to spend here, looking for all the different shrines.
Went in late March hoping for some early sakura blossoms and instead had a snow-covered hike! It was absolutely stunning. The trees are gigantic, the air is clear, the forest is silent and beautiful. Definitely an active hike that will require some effort, but you won't regret a moment--hoping to go back this summer!
Written March 28, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Togakushi Shrine Okusha, Nagano

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