A model itinerary for Takayama Village.
One day, or one night

Takayama Village, in Kamitakai District, Nagano, is a long narrow village that follows the Matsukawa Gorge.

The sights are not gathered in one spot. The altitude changes as you drive up the gorge, and so does what there is to see. Deciding how high to go, before deciding where to go, makes the day much easier to plan.

Takayama Village belongs to the association of The Most Beautiful Villages in Japan, and the whole village is registered within the Shiga Highland UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Below we set out the route for a day trip and for an overnight stay. The base for both is Yamada Onsen, at the foot of the gorge.

Eight hot spring settlements line the Matsukawa Gorge

The hot springs of Takayama Village are known together as the Shinshu Takayama hot spring villages, eight of them scattered along the Matsukawa river.

The Shinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association lists them from the top down as Okuyamada, Nanami, Goshiki, Matsukawa Keikoku, Yamada, Warabi, Koyasu and You-Yu Land.

Nanami, the furthest in, sits at the deepest point of the group. Goshiki is described as changing the colour of its water with the weather of the day.

Of the eight, Yamada Onsen is the one that gathers inns, souvenir shops and places to eat. It is small enough to walk, which makes it the easy base.

For a day trip, Kaminari Falls, Yataki Falls and Yamada Onsen are enough

In a single day you will see more by taking less. These three stops work well.

Yataki Falls drops about 180m and is seen from a lookout tower. Kaminari Falls drops about 30m and lets you walk behind the water. The two are so unalike that seeing both is no repetition.

For a wet day there is the Issa Museum. Takayama Village is where the poet Kobayashi Issa came often in his later years. It opens from 9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:00), closes on Mondays, and charges 500 yen for adults and 150 yen for schoolchildren. Prices are subject to change; please check before you visit.

Directions for each are in Kaminari Falls, the waterfall you see from behind.

With a night, spend the second morning up at Yamada Ranch

If you can stay, the second day is free to go higher.

Day one follows the day-trip route above, returning to Yamada Onsen in the evening for the inn. On the morning of day two, drive up to Yamada Ranch, 1,500m up.

Yamada Ranch is the plateau known as the Tyrol of Shinshu, with a sweeping view over the Five Peaks of northern Shinshu and the Northern Alps. Go up after dark and the stars at 1,500m are yours as well.

What to do up there is in Yamada Ranch, a plateau 1,500m up.

Autumn runs from about 5 to 25 October, top down

In autumn, let the date choose the destination. The autumn feature from the Shinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association gives Mount Kasa at 2,000m around 5 October, Yamada Ranch at 1,500m around 10 October, Kaminari Falls and Yataki Falls around 20 October, and Yamada Onsen at 900m around 25 October.

The Matsukawa Gorge runs 15km with a drop of 1,100m. The colour comes down from the top, so the gorge as a whole holds it for about a month.

The full table by altitude, and the order to drive it, are in autumn colours in the Matsukawa Gorge.

Cherry blossom runs mid-April to early May; summer is for stars

From mid to late April, Takayama Village is known as a village of weeping cherries. It holds about twenty of them, and half are more than 200 years old.

Five in particular are called the Five Great Cherries of Takayama: the Mizunaka weeping cherry, the Tsuboi weeping cherry, the Kurobe Edohigan cherry, the Akawa Kannon weeping cherry and the Nakashio weeping cherry.

The Tsuboi weeping cherry is put at more than six centuries old, the oldest in the village. The Mizunaka weeping cherry is about 260 years old, 4m around the trunk and 22m tall, and stood in the opening scene of the film Kita no Zeronen. The Kurobe Edohigan cherry is over five centuries old, about 7m around the trunk and 13m tall.

Takayama Village puts the peak for the cherries on the valley floor in late April. After them come the Enmei cherry at Yamada Onsen and the Oyamazakura in the Matsukawa Gorge, carrying the season into early May. The Oyamazakura at Yataki Falls also peaks in early May.

The Shinshu Takayama cherry blossom festival runs from 1 to 30 April in 2026. Flowering shifts from year to year, so please also check the blossom reports Takayama Village publishes.

Summer belongs to the stars at Yamada Ranch, with a colony of Ezo hydrangea around 1,600m. In winter the ranch becomes a ski area, the Yamaboku Wild Snow Park.

By car it is 15 minutes from Yamada Onsen to Kaminari Falls

Here are the distances in one place.

Autumn is another matter. The village autumn bulletin gives the 9km between Yamada Ranch and Yamada Onsen as 20 minutes normally, but over an hour at the height of the season, with the car parks full.

Some places are shut in winter. Kaminari Falls closes from late November, and the Yataki lookout cannot be reached from late November to early May because of snow. Winter turns on the hot springs and the ski area at Yamada Ranch.

Hours and fees at Oyu are in Oyu at Yamada Onsen, and how to walk the village.

Base yourself at Yamada Onsen, 40 minutes by car from Nagano Station

MATSUKAWAKAN is at 3507-1 Yamada Onsen, Takayama Village, Kamitakai District, Nagano 382-0816. It is about 40 minutes by car from Nagano Station, and the free village car park is available.

By train, the Nagano Dentetsu Nagano Line runs from JR Nagano Station to Suzaka Station in about 20 minutes. From Suzaka it is about 30 minutes by taxi, or about 50 minutes on the Nagaden bus to the Yamada Onsen stop.

Guests staying the night may also use the free shuttle between Nagano Station and MATSUKAWAKAN, by reservation. It leaves Nagano Station at 11:00, 14:00 and 16:00, and MATSUKAWAKAN at 10:00, 13:00 and 15:00.

In winter there may be snow and ice on the road, so please come with snow tyres fitted. Directions in full are on our access page.

Frequently asked questions