Day trip to Karuizawa from Tokyo

Last May, I had some days off and I decided to visit Karuizawa. The only thing I knew about it was that John Lennon used to stay over with his family during the summer holidays. Karuizawa is very easy to reach from Tokyo. Using the Shinkansen, it only took me about 1h15 to get there.

Although the main roads were full of tourists and souvenir shops, there were also quiet neighborhoods composed of single houses with wide backyards that most probably only very rich people could afford. The presence of Christian churches, such as the Shaw Memorial Church above, was also notable.

I went past the Shaw Memorial Church and kept walking for a while until I ended up climbing a little mountain. The hike is really nice but make sure you bring some bells to avoid accidents with bears. I met very few people on my way up.

The views from the top are impressive and you can see the famous, and still, active volcano Mt. Asama which is near Karuizawa. By the way, Karuizawa is in Nagano prefecture but very close to the border with Gunma prefecture.

After the hike, I was a bit tired so I had some quality soba and a cup of tea nearby just before heading back to town on this colorful bus. Then, after some walking around the major road and buying some souvenirs I returned to Tokyo by Shinkansen. A really nice day trip.