Explore quiet, cute Japanese town Obuse - Top 5 must-dos

Just a train ride from Nagano is the charming town of Obuse, a place with Hokusai history, and where you'll find super delicious chestnuts, lovely pathways, and great local Japanese food!
The centre of Obuse is small enough to explore in a day, yet there are so many unique things here you won't find elsewhere in Japan! Check out these Top 5 ideas to get you started! :)
Top 5 Obuse: What to do
1 - Stroll through Chestnut Alley
2 - View the Open Gardens (private gardens opened to the public)
3 - Visit the Hokusai Museum
4 - Try the local cuisine (restaurant recommendations in the video!)
5 - Get some chestnut treats, an Obuse specialty
-----------------------------------
Places mentioned (All centrally located):
📍 Chestnut Alley - A quaint walkway lined with chestnut trees. You might find a cafe or two along the way, but it's really made for a nice little stroll so don't expect shops here.
📍 Hokusai Museum - A museum displaying the works of the famous Japanese artist, Hokusai, as well as some interesting information about woodblock printing. Now, hold your thoughts if you're thinking "It's just an art museum!" I was convinced by a local to visit the museum, and was pleasantly surprised by how well the displays were done, and also how high-quality the souvenirs were in the gift shop! Woodblock printing is also really unique, making the museum worth checking out if you're curious about this aspect of Japanese culture!
📍 Sakurai-kanseido Hokusaitei - A branch of Sakurai-kanseido, which is a shop popular for serving chestnut set meals and chestnut treats. Would also recommend the set that comes with a small chestnut mont blanc, shine muscats & local apple!
📍 小布施蔵部 Obuse Kurabu - This restaurant has a beautiful interior, and serves up great value lunch set meals. Be sure to try their specialty rice! It was quite busy at lunchtime, but we barely waited 5 minutes before being seated as the restaurant was so huge.
-----------------------------------
Key Moments:
00:00 Obuse: Why, how, what
00:38 Chestnut Alley - a nice stroll
00:53 Open Gardens - explore private gardens
01:16 Hokusai Museum - famous Japanese artist
01:33 Local food in Obuse - chestnut rice & lunch set meals
02:10 Chestnut treats - an Obuse specialty
-----------------------------------
Disclaimer:
All opinions expressed are my own and contain no paid promotions or reviews. The places and prices mentioned in the video were from November 2023.
-----------------------------------
Music: Serenity by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Artist: audionautix.com/
-----------------------------------
Thank you for watching! Follow me for more videos on interesting places to visit in Japan :)