Takato Castle Park

Hi will get JR East Pass (Nagano, Niigatta)

Plan to visit Takato Castle Park on 13 Apr from Tokyo.

Shinjuku to Chino then take bus to Takato Castle Park.

May I know where can I find bus schedule from Chino to Takato Castle Park (& bus returning schedule)?

I read that bus from Chino to Takato Castle Park abt 50 min cost 1390 yen 1 way, one bus every 1-4 hr, that's not very frequent?

If it's not so convenient to travel to this park then may need to skip :(
Thanks!

I was going to ask a similar question!
I planned to visit Takato on 16 April, coming from Matsumoto and spending the night in Ina.
I was also looking for bus schedule. I found this very helpful site https://takato-inacity.jp/h30/takatoh_sakuramaturi_no_goannnai but only if you speak japanese!
I was also wondering if mid-april there is already night illumination and if the buses run night time.
Also, if it is going to base myself in Chino (which maybe would be better as I am going to Nagano after).
Any help would be appreciated!

If you transfer at Okaya to Inashi, there is an hourly bus that only takes 20 minutes each way and drops you closer to the park. It's not any faster than the longer bus from Chino, due to extra rail travel, but it does run more frequently.

Either way you are looking at close to 4 hours each way from Shinjuku, and I think you'd have to leave the park at 6:00-6:30pm to make it back to Tokyo by last train. Probably not the easiest day trip idea.

As an alternative, you may consider Ueda, which has a castle park and night illuminations and is only a little more than an hour from Tokyo on Shinkansen (which is also covered by Nagano/Niigata pass.)

I had been planning on going to Takato castle, Matsumoto castle and other areas around Nagano on the 14th of April, however I'm not under the impression that the cherry blossom season has come too early for these areas. Can anyone confirm if most of the sakura flowers will have fallen in these areas by the 14th April?

The Matsumoto Castle cherry trees just came into bloom yesterday. I figure about 7 days max from now. This Sunday would be good, but it might be a bit cool that day.

When you say just came into bloom yesterday do you mean first bloom or full bloom? Japan guide has first bloom down as 1st April and best viewing from April 4th - 12th. I'm considering going to Takato castle park and Matsumoto castle on the 14th but am worried the cherry blossoms will have mostly dropped by that stage. Can anyone advise?