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Day trip to Togakushi from Tokyo 2024/5/30 02:06
Hi! It is possible to do a day trip to Tagokushi shrine from Tokyo please?
by Poonie  

Re: Day trip to Togakushi from Tokyo 2024/5/30 08:15
Yes, Togakushi is just 3 hours from Tokyo with hourly connections:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6005.html
by Uji rate this post as useful

Re: Day trip to Togakushi from Tokyo 2024/5/30 08:17
Of course, an early start will be recommended.
by Uji rate this post as useful

Re: Day trip to Togakushi from Tokyo 2024/5/30 08:56
I have taken some day trips with about that much time spent one-way on transit, but those involved train rides that were fairly scenic. I really love Togakushi, but I canft say I would recommend it as a day trip from Tokyo (even with a rail pass covering the shinkansen) because the transportation part is not particularly fun. The shinkansen to Nagano is okay but not great (in my opinion), and the bus ride is likewise not particularly fun. The closer you get to Togakushi, the prettier the scenery, butc

WIthout a rail pass it would be a fairly costly day trip. But yes, itfs absolutely possible.
by Kim (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Day trip to Togakushi from Tokyo 2024/5/30 12:08
Does it need to be Togakushi? For a day trip it seems a lot of effort to see one shrine.

Maybe consider a day trip to Chichibu area instead. There are some great temples in the countryside. And not that many tourists.
by LikeBike rate this post as useful

Re: Day trip to Togakushi from Tokyo 2024/5/30 14:38
Thank you so much! Roughly how long would it take to visit the shrines without rushing please?

We were considering adding a night or 2 in Nagano and visiting the Chino Moss Forest but I don't think we can fit it into our itinerary 😭
by Poonie rate this post as useful

Re: Day trip to Togakushi from Tokyo 2024/5/30 20:06
If you want to visit all three parts of the shrine, you would normally get off the bus at the lower shrine, visit that, hike 2 km to the middle shrine, visit that, hike 2 km to the entrance to the upper shrine, and then walk 2 km on the path that leads to the upper shrine and visit that. Then, to get back you need to retrace your route 2 km from the upper shrine to the bus stop at the shrine entrance area and get on the bus for Nagano. The bus only runs about once per hour, so make sure you have a bus schedule and donft miss the bus you want. It will likely be on time.

Note that I have gotten the 2-kilometer measures from Japan Guidefs description of Togakushi. These estimates seem about right to me. There are also some other hiking trails, including one that goes to Kagamiike (Mirror Lake). I have gone there twice and had marvelous galettes at the cafe therec

How much time you want to spend at the individual shrine complexes is up to you, but they are not like temples where you go inside and potentially spend time admiring Buddhist treasures or attending a ceremony or something. They are basically structures out in the woods, with places to offer devotions or pray (you can learn the customary way to do this at a shinto shrine if you want, but it wonft take a big bite out of your schedulec). So the bulk of the time will be spent on the hiking/walking trails. These are beautiful, and the reason I go to Togakushi in the first place. In season, there are lovely wildflowers in places, and I always spend a fair amount of time admiring them along with the trees and other aspects of nature there.

I guess for starters you could think about out how long it would take you to walk the minimum four 2-km segments (lower to middle, middle to upper entrance, upper entrance to shrine, and then back to the upper entrance bus stop. This is assuming that 2 km is an accurate measure of the trail lengths (again, this seems about right to me) and that you wonft get lost anywhere like I once did (but I didnft have a map with me).

To do all of this, obviously you want to get as early a start as possible, and you probably donft want to spend too much time at the lower shrine (or you could skip it and get off the bus at the middle shrine), and you will need to pace yourself while walking to make sure you finish the whole course in time and donft miss whatever bus you want to take to get back to Nagano.

If you donft want to do this much walking, you can take the bus from the lower shrine to the middle shrine and/or the middle shrine to the entrance of the upper shrine. Again, timing is of the essence; if you miss a bus you have a long wait for the next one.

Obviously, if you really want to do this excursion, especially as a day trip from Tokyo, you are going to want to prepare in advance, download maps and an up-to-date bus schedule, and pick a day with decent weather. You will spend essentially the whole day walking, and while the trails are not particularly strenuous, you need to prepare to be outside all day (in a glorious environment but one with only bare minimal support for tourists).

It is of course possible to skip one or more of the three shrines. On one of my trips there I just went to the upper shrine, visited that and then hiked to Kagamiike and had a delicious galette :) and then walked back to the upper shrine bus stop (getting slightly but not hopelessly lost) and then went back to Nagano. This was enough for me, but if youfre coming all the way from Tokyo to see Togakushi you might want to visit at least the middle and upper shrines.

In short, I would prepare extensively, get a very early start and allow all day (you do NOT want to be finishing up after dark, and you do NOT want to miss any buses). Togakushi from Nagano is a fairly easy day trip with some room for errors. From Tokyo, not so much.
by Kim (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Day trip to Togakushi from Tokyo 2024/5/31 14:53
You can buy zenkoji and togakushi 1 day pass 3000 yen by alpico kotsu bus from nagano
by MR obama (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Day trip to Togakushi from Tokyo 2024/5/31 17:57
You need time to explore Togakushi. First of all, it takes more than one hour by bus from Nagano station. It is faster using a car, but still. When I visited, I stopped at the upper shrine first, and then descended to middle and lower shrine, including side walks to ponds here and there. I had an early start and took the bus around 7 AM in Nagano station, and went back to the city around 3-4 PM. I think it is difficult as a day trip from Tokyo, you'll spend more time in the train/bus than actually enjoying Togakushi. If you want to make a day trip from Tokyo, I would suggest going to Nagano and visit Zenkoji and the prefectural museum of art.

If you want to visit Togakushi, I would suggest staying overnight in Nagano. For example you leave Tokyo on day 1, you visit Zenkoji and co, sleep in Nagano, and go to Togakushi on day 2 and get back to Tokyo in the afternoon/evening
by Vienna Logan (guest) rate this post as useful

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