Travel Guide Nagano

The city of Nagano was built during the Kamakura period when it was centered around the Zenkō-ji temple, which is still one of the most honored temples in Japan and is worth a stop in Nagano. Located in the lower basin of the Chikuma gawa river, Nagano is a flourishing city and the capital of the prefecture: it became world famous in January 1998 during the Winter Olympic Games. The success of the Games and their tremendous organization have made Nagano a city that looks to the future and exchanges in foreign languages. In concrete terms, this means that the international visual alphabet and English are used. Hotels and administrations speak English and even French. Nagano remains a welcoming city on a human scale, just a little more materialistic. Nagano is also, along with Matsumoto, an excellent starting point for exploring the Japanese Alps.