Recommended Spots in the Omachi Area to Enjoy with Your Kids
In the Omachi area of Nagano Prefecture, which lies at the foot of the Northern Alps, there are many places where parents and children can enjoy learning and playing in the rich natural environment. From a casual 2-hour walking tour through the forest to an art museum in a large park and a heated swimming pool with a slide, there is something for everyone. Why not visit a spot that will excite both children and adults?
1Millennium Woods Nature School
A forest world where both adults and children can lose themselves in
A nature school in the mountains at an altitude of approximately 870 meters where you can enjoy forest walks and camping. The area is about 300 hectares, or about 60 times the size of the Tokyo Dome, and nature welcomes you in every season. The school offers guided tours for small groups of one or two families each day, where visitors can walk through the forest to pick mushrooms and wild vegetables, pick up acorns to find out which animals have eaten them, touch trees and smell the aroma of their branches and leaves, and sometimes see antelopes and monkeys. Sometimes you may even see antelope or monkeys. There are many things to learn in the mountains each season, and this is a great opportunity for parents and children to get in touch with nature.
Play to your heart's content in a forest full of tree houses!
There are about 40 treehouses of various sizes in the forest, many of them handmade by children visiting for camping and other activities. Before or after your guided tour, be sure to go inside your favorite treehouse.
Other experiences include playing on the athletic log crossing and swings made of wood and rope, boiling water and drinking tea in the camp space, and other mind-blowing experiences in the midst of magnificent nature. During the winter season, visitors can also enjoy a tour walking on snow wearing kanjiki (snowshoes).
- Millennium Woods Nature School
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Taira 2115, Omachi-shi, Nagano MAP
Approx. 15 min. by car from JR Shinano-Omachi Station
Inquiries: 8:00 - 21:00 (guided tours begin at the time of application)
No holidays
Guided tours 3,000 yen, junior high school students and younger 1,500 yen
090-9660-2350
Free of charge
Reservations for guided tours must be made at least one week in advance in summer and one day in advance in winter by phone or on the website. Free shuttle service to and from Omachi Hot Spring Resort is available.
2Omachi Mountain Museum
A museum where visitors can meet animals living in the Alps and in the high mountains.
Japan's first mountain-themed museum, located halfway up Mt. On a clear day, visitors can enjoy a panoramic view of the Northern Alps from the observation lounge on the third floor. The main theme of the permanent exhibition is "Nature and People in the Northern Alps," and the "Mountains and Creatures" zone is the center of attention. The exhibit features stuffed animals that survived the last ice age and live in a variety of environments, from Omachi's satoyama to the high mountains. Visitors can easily tell the difference between a deer and an antelope by looking at the skeletal structure and hooves. Visitors can also learn about grouse, the prefectural bird of Nagano, and how they regrow their feathers three times a year.
Be charmed by the adorable ptarmigans at the annex
Another popular spot for families with children is the “Children’s Play Area,” which features taxidermy specimens of Japanese serows, Japanese macaques, and Japanese raccoon dogs. Here, children can actually touch the specimens and feel the softness of their fur.
The “Affiliated Garden,” an outdoor property adjacent to the museum, is also a must-visit spot.In addition to Japanese rock ptarmigans and serows, the garden cultivates alpine plants and houses other wild flora and fauna native to the Northern Alps.
Finally, we recommend stopping by the museum’s café and shop, “Morugenroto,” to take a break with some Japanese rock ptarmigan cookies and coffee. The shop also carries a variety of merchandise, including Japanese rock ptarmigan plush toys.
- Omachi Mountain Museum
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- 8056-1 Omachi, Omachi-shi, Nagano MAP
- 7 min. drive from JR Shinano Omachi Station
- April–November: 9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (Last admission at 4:00 p.m.)
December–March: 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. (Last admission at 3:30 p.m.) - Mondays (if Monday is a national holiday, the museum is open on Monday and closed the following day), the day after a national holiday, and the year-end and New Year holidays.
- Admission: 450 yen, high school students: 350 yen, elementary/junior high school students: 200 yen
- 0261-22-0211
- Free of charge
- Admission to the attached park is free. Closure dates are the same as the museum’s opening days.
3Azumino Chihiro Art Museum
A museum in nature that you should visit as your first museum
The museum is located in "Azumino Chihiro Park" overlooking the Northern Alps. The museum exhibits original paintings by Chihiro Iwasaki, an artist known for her watercolor paintings with children as the theme, as well as picture book works from around the world. The museum's concept is "an art museum where you don't have to look at the paintings," and the abundantly wooded space is filled with chairs here and there, allowing parents and children to spend time together looking at the trees in the garden or reading picture books in the museum. The museum is a single-story, barrier-free building with a "picture book café" and a "children's room" where children can take off their shoes and play, with the hope that children will enjoy the museum as their "first museum" in their lives.
The "Train Classroom" in the Totto-chan Square is also worth a visit.
Of the six exhibition rooms, we recommend the "Children's Exhibition Room. The classroom of "Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window" by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi (director of the Chihiro Art Museum), whose cover was illustrated by Chihiro Iwasaki, is reproduced here, and visitors can enjoy coloring and drawing on worksheets.
The Azumino Chihiro Park in Matsukawa Village, which surrounds the museum, is also a highlight. Opened in 2016, Totto-chan Plaza features a real train, one car of which is used as a "train classroom" and the other as a library where visitors can read picture books. Visitors are free to enter and see the trains during museum hours.
- Azumino Chihiro Art Museum
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- 3358-24 Nishihara, Matsukawa-mura, Kitaazumi-gun, Nagano MAP
- 5 min. drive from JR Shinano Matsukawa Station
- 10:00-16:00
- Wednesdays *Closed during winter (12/1-2/28) and temporarily for exhibition changes.
- Admission 900 yen, free for high school students and younger
- 0261-62-0772
- Free of charge
- Picture Book Cafe is closed.
4Shinshu, Omachi Kisakiko Hot Spring Yupuru Kisakiko
Heated swimming pool and hot spring Jacuzzi for all seasons
This leisure property, located near Lake Kisaki, consists of a pool building and a hot spring. The pool building is equipped with a 25-meter swimming pool and a water pool for children. From April to early November, a 70-meter-long water slide is open. From April to early November, a 70-meter-long waterslide is open for visitors to enjoy the thrill of playing in the water. When you get tired of swimming, take a break at the Jacuzzi Pool. Since this is an indoor Property, parents and children can refresh themselves regardless of the weather.
Training Room, Public hot spring, and Dining Area are also in the building.
On the second floor of the pool building is a training room equipped with aerobics and running machines, which pool users are free to use. The "Ultra Trainer" on the wall is a competition to see how many flashing lights on a large panel can be touched in a given time. Parents and children are welcome to try their hand at it.
Also recommended is the Public hot spring, which draws hot water from Kuzu Hot Spring, a famous hot spring in the mountains west of Omachi City. In addition to the indoor hot spring, there is also an Outdoor hot spring to relieve your daily fatigue. At the Restaurant on the first floor of the hot spring building, you can enjoy "Kurobe Dam Curry" shaped like a dam, Wakasagi Tempura, and other dishes.
- Shinshu, Lake Kisaki hot spring, Yupuru Kisaki Lake
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- 10639-1 Taira, Omachi-shi, Nagano MAP
- 10 minutes drive from JR Shinano-Omachi Station
- Swimming pool 10:00 - 21:00 (last admission 20:00)
Public hot springs 10:00 - 20:00 (last admission 19:30), Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays 7:00 - 21:00 (last admission 20:30) - Thursdays (open if Thursday is a national holiday, closed the following day) *Pool is closed on G.W. and during Obon vacation; Public hot spring is open every day in August.
- Pool 600 yen, Elementary/Junior high school students 300 yen Public baths 700 yen, 3 years old to elementary school students, 65 years old and over 500 yen Pool and Public hot spring common ticket (adults only) 1,000 yen
- 0261-23-7100
- Free of charge
5Hakuba47 Mountain Sports Park / Winter Sports Park
A huge park where you can play all day long, from catching fish to playing with athletic equipment
A huge park where visitors can enjoy different activities during the green season and snow season. In the green season, the park is transformed into a "mountain sports park," with a "base area" where visitors can play in the river, including catching fish, and an "alpine area" where mountain biking, ziplining, and other mountain activities can be experienced in the 1,200-meter-high forest reached by gondola ride. The "Alpine Area" offers a variety of fun activities for children and adults alike. Of particular note is the "Alpine Adventure. This is a full-scale athletic activity where you walk across the top of a tree with a lifeline attached, providing a thrilling and exhilarating experience.
In winter, enjoy playing in the snow on the "Kids' Slope.
In winter, the park is transformed into a "Winter Sports Park," one of the largest ski slopes in Hakuba. At the "Kids' Slope" where admission is free, you can enjoy renting various types of sleds. When they get tired of playing, they can take a rest in the kids' room next door.
The adjacent Restaurant "Alice" offers a wide variety of dishes such as sweet curry and kid's plates. Seats by the window overlook the kids' slopes, so you can take a coffee break while watching your children. The kids' school, which is open to children as young as 4 years old, also offers rental courses, making it ideal for skiing debuts.
- Hakuba47 Mountain Sports Park / Winter Sports Park
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- 24196-47 Kamishiro, Hakuba-mura, Kitaazumi-gun, Nagano MAP
- 10 minutes drive from Hakuba Station on the JR Oito Line, or 60 minutes each from the Azumino IC of Nagano Expressway, Nagano IC of Joshinetsu Expressway, and Itoigawa IC of Hokuriku Expressway.
Shuttle bus available from JR Hakuba Station- Mountain Sports Park mid-July to mid-September 9:00-16:30
Winter Sports Park "Kids' Slope": snowfall and preparation from mid-July to the end of March 11:30 - 15:00 - Open throughout the year
- Please check the Mountain Sports Park HP
Winter Sports Park "Kids Slope" Free - 0261-75-3533
- Free of charge
- Winter Sports Park
https://www.hakuba47.co.jp/winter/
6La Casta Natural Healing Garden “Aromatherapy Experience”
Create your own original fragrance by mixing your favorite essential oil.
The vast garden where the La Casta natural cosmetics brand's manufacturing plant is located. Visitors can enjoy a relaxing stroll in the garden, where seasonal flowers, trees, and water features soothe the senses, with reservations required and limited to 100 people per day. At the "Aroma Experience Workshop" in the garden, visitors can create their own original items by combining the scents of natural herbs and fruits. For example, for room sprays, visitors can choose their favorite fragrance from more than 10 kinds of essential oils, including seasonal scents, and mix them to make a total of 20 drops. Dissolve the mixture in anhydrous ethanol and add melted snow water from the Northern Alps to create a one-of-a-kind scent.
Bring your favorite fragrance into your daily life!
The finished room spray is placed in a glass container, labeled with the recipe and date, and taken home. Each time you spray, your room will be filled with your own unique scent. In addition to this Experience, you can also make oil toilets, bath oils, and aroma pendants that gently fragrance the skin when worn.
Before or after the Experience, visitors can take a stroll through the beautifully landscaped gardens and take a break in the gazebo (a Western-style veranda) or café surrounded by flowers and grasses. At the café, visitors can enjoy baked goods and drinks while admiring the lush greenery and flowers on the parasol-lined terrace.
- La Casta Natural Healing Garden
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- 9729-2 Tokiwa, Omachi-shi, Nagano MAP
- Approx. 12 min. by car from JR Shinano-Omachi Stn.
Approx. 5 min. walk from JR Azumikutsukake Station - April-September: 10:00-17:00 (last admission 16:00)
October-November: 10:00-16:00 (last admission at 15:00) - Wednesdays (open if Wednesday is a national holiday, closed the following day) *Closed during winter (mid-November to mid-April)
- Admission: Adults 1,100 yen, elementary/junior high school students 550 yen, preschool children free
Experience: 1,540 yen (35 min.) - 0261-23-3911
- Free of charge
Elementary school students and older- Reservations are required to enter the garden by calling the website or making a reservation in advance.
For details on Experience, please check the website.
7Miasa Kogen Kura “Handmade Miso Workshop”
Experience making miso at Marukome's miso brewery on the plateau
One of the two warehouses is where the company's miso is naturally aged. One of the two warehouses is where the company's miso is naturally aged, while the other offers a "miso making class" where visitors can learn how to make miso while having fun (advance reservations required). The participants will learn how to mash Nagano soybeans by hand until they become a paste, and then mix salt, malt, and seed miso together. Experience the whole process of making miso. After bringing it home, store it at room temperature and let it mature for one to two months in hot weather and four to six months in cold weather before it is ready to eat.
Compare and contrast flavors of matured miso
If you sign up for the miso making class when you make your reservation, you can also participate in the "miso eating comparison class" for free. When comparing miso made with different maturing periods, miso that has been aged for two months is light in color and has a light flavor, while miso that has been aged for two or three years has a more umami taste with a hint of sourness. Visitors can also compare miso soup made with 2- and 3-year-old miso.
The brewery also has an area that displays the wooden barrels in which miso is prepared, and a sales area where visitors can purchase matured miso by weight. All of these areas are open only to class participants, so you can tour them at your leisure.
- Mima Kogen Kura
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- 8787-3 Mima, Omachi-shi, Nagano MAP
- Approx. 15 min. by car from JR Shinano-Omachi Station
- Take a bus from JR Shinano-Omachi Station, get off at "Kisaki-ko Iriguchi" or "Shingyo", and walk 10 minutes.
- Experience 10:00～, 13:00～, 15:00～
- Mondays, Year-end and New Year holidays
- Miso making class 1,000 yen, 4 years old to junior high school students 500 yen
- 0120-060-070
- Free of charge
- Ages 4 and up
- Experience must be reserved by 17:00 3 days prior to the desired date on the dedicated website or by phone.
8Shinshu Matsuzaki Washi “Paper-Making Experience”
Try your hand at making Japanese paper with natural plants and trees
Washi paper from the Sha Matsuzaki district of Omachi City is said to have originated in the mid-Heian period when it was dedicated to the national treasure Nishina Shinmyougu Shrine. Later, the art of papermaking developed as a side job for farmers, and it has become a specialty of Shinshu and a favorite throughout the country. Now in its 90th year of operation, the third-generation owner is Omachi's only papermaker. The shop uses an abundance of high-quality local water and natural flowers and grasses to make its paper. At the "Paper-Making Experience," visitors can enjoy making softly colored washi using leaves and flowers of such natural plants and trees.
Completed postcards made of washi paper that reflect the richness of Omachi's nature
In the introductory course, you can make postcard-sized washi paper. First, a frame is placed in a tank containing raw materials for the paper, and the thickness is adjusted by moving the frame back and forth and from side to side. After arranging more than 10 kinds of flowers and plants collected from the local mountains, the paper is placed back into the tank and finished. With the owner's gentle guidance, even first-timers can create a beautiful piece of paper. The finished product can be taken home and put on windowpanes or other surfaces to dry naturally. There are also courses to make fans, coasters, and candlesticks.
- Shinshu Matsuzaki Washi
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- 6562 Sha Matsuzaki, Omachi-shi, Nagano MAP
- 10 min. walk from JR Shinano Omachi Stn.
- 8:00-17:00 *Experience from 9:00
- Closed on weekends and holidays
- Paper-making Experience: 1,000 yen and up
- 0261-22-0579
- Free of charge
- Ages 6 and up
- Experience is available by phone by the morning of the desired day, or by reservation on the website at least 2 days in advance (from 2 people).
9Sōsha Wachigai “Local Cuisine Cooking Experience”
Learn about Omachi's food culture at a popular local restaurant
A stately 130-year-old building stands on the main street in front of Omachi Station. This Dining Area takes its name from the name of the headman's house that has been in existence since the Muromachi Period. To convey the charm of local cuisine, the restaurant offers a "Cooking Experience" every Wednesday. In a private kitchen, a chef will carefully teach you how to make dashi (Japanese soup stock), which is an important part of "wakage", and how to make noodle soup based on that dashi. You can also experience and learn about Omachi's food culture, including fermented foods, using local ingredients such as Omachi's specialty "frozen rice cakes" and "rape blossom oil" from the Nakayama Highlands.
Taste the dishes you made in an elegant Japanese dining room.
After the Experience, it is time for lunch. You can enjoy "Mokichi Zen," which includes the Experience menu, such as "Ego," a seaweed food indispensable for weddings and funerals in the northern part of Shinshu. Zaza," which refers to noodles in the Omachi area dialect, is served with "Wachichi-ryu dashi" noodle soup. The fresh noodles are made from 100% Nagano wheat and have a strong texture and rich flavor.
The entire experience, from experience to meal, takes 2 hours and 30 minutes. By experiencing not only visiting for lunch, but also for the cooking experience, visitors can learn more about the climate and flavors of Omachi. You will receive recipes for the dishes you experience, so be sure to recreate them at home.
- Sosha Wawachi
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- 4084 Kaminakamachi, Omachi-shi, Nagano MAP
- 10 min. walk from JR Shinano Omachi Stn.
- 10:00-15:30
- Monday, Tuesday
- 0261-23-7363
- Free of charge (Parking in the shopping arcade)
- Experience is limited to 1 group per day (1-6 people), check the website for details and reservations.
*Complete reservations required, limited to 1 group per room and 3 groups per day.
MAP
- Hoshino Resorts facilities nearby
Local Guide who was in charge of this article
- Miwa Hashiguchi Stay creators in Shinshu
Hoshino Resorts KAI Alps
Omachi hot spring, Nagano
Hot spring ryokan located in Omachi Onsen, the gateway to the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route and Hakuba.
Access by bus Approx. 15 min. by cab from JR Shinano-Omachi Station
- Example of Accommodation Rates
- 1 person per night From 18,700 yen