Location
Myoko City, Lake Nojiri and Togakushi are located north-west of Tokyo and 30-60 minutes from Nagano, home of the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Travelling by car Take Route 18 or the Joshin-etsu Expressway between Nagano and Joetsu City and look for the turn-offs to Lake Nojiri (Nojiriko), Kurohime, Togakushi, Myokokogen, Arai and/or the various resorts. |
Travelling by train
By train/bus from Tokyo: Take a shinkansen (bullet) train to Nagano. Travelling time is 2.5 - 3 hours from JR Tokyo or JR Ueno stations (depending on connections and stops).
For Togakushi take a Kawanakajima bus bound for Togakushi Camp-jo (approx.45-50 minutes) from outside Nagano station.
For Lake Nojiri swap to a train bound for Naoetsu and alight at Kurohime station. To get to Lake Nojiri take the 'Nagaden' bus from Kurohime Station.
Myokokogen is the stop after Kurohime and Arai is another three stops on. Though not very regular one can also take a highway bus to Myoko and the resort areas from Nagano station. Click here for details.
An alternative is take the shinkansen to Yuzawa, change to the Hoku Hoku line for Naoetsu, then change again from there for Nagano (see below).
By train from Osaka/Kyoto or Niigata City: Take a train to Naoetsu station then swap to a train for Nagano. The stop before Myokokogen is Sekiyama (on a local train) or Arai (on an express train). Myokokogen is followed by Kurohime, Furuma and Mure. The trip from Naoetsu takes approximately 30-45 minutes. You can alight at Kurohime for Togakushi and take either a taxi or a shuttle bus (during winter only and must be pre-booked). Click here (GIF / PDF) for a map from Naoetsu. There was previously also an overnight train from Osaka to Nagano via Nagoya and Matsumoto but now appears to be discontinued. Some special trains may run during peak times however
Use this very useful link to help you look up train time tables in Japan.
Check the route and station pictures between Nagano and Naoetsu here
Taxi Service
By taxi from Tokyo: 'I M Taxi' provides a direct service to or from Tokyo airport to your lodgings in Nagano or Niigata. From Narita International Airport the cost is ¥11,000 and ¥8,800 from Haneda Domestic Airport. Phone 0255-23-3188 for bookings or book online as below (Japanese only).
Use this link to help you to book the airport taxi service (Japanese only).
Travelling by Highway Bus
There are also overnight buses that run from Osaka and Nagoya to Nagano plus from Tokyo to Nagano and Joetsu City. You can then connect on a train from there. In winter there are 'special ski' trains and buses that run from Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and some other major cities. Ask at the tourist information offices in any of the above train stations.
Other pages with directions are here at Outdoor Japan and here at Snow Japan
Getting around the area
Taxis are available from the front of most railway stations. Buses in Myokokogen and Lake Nojiri run quite regularly from outside the stations as well. In Myokokogen buses cost a flat Y200 for any distance - apart from the special summer season bus to Sasagamine which is Y1,000. Click here for routes and timetables. Some routes differ slightly according to seasons. Buses are available to nearly all the major resorts. Most of the hotels will also pick you up and drop you off at the station. Resort buses run to Tangram and Madarao but you need to check the times when you make a booking. The bus to Tangram comes from Nagano City via Kurohime.
Want to look up local area within Myoko? Check here for the Diddlefinger map