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City in Chūbu, Japan
Photo: User: (WT-shared) Dreams at wts wikivoyage, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Suwa (諏訪) is a city in Nagano prefecture.
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諏訪湖間欠泉センター
A once an hour 10-min eruption. See the website for exact times.
諏訪高島城
This castle is quite nice but lacks English signs.
高島公園
The park is especially enjoyable in cherry blossom season.
諏訪大社
Every six years, Suwa is home to Onbashira-sai, one of the "three dangerous festivals" in Japan. Onbashira is a symbolic reconstruction of the four shrines of the Suwa Taisha with gigantic logs harvested from the forests at the base of Mt. Yatsugatake. The highlight of the festival is the kiotoshi portion, where brave and foolhardy young men ride on these giant logs as they slide down a steep hill. Injuries are common and occasionally deaths occur.
Enjoy the hot springs.
八ヶ岳
すわっこランド
Work out, swim, and onsen.
霧ヶ峰
Look at flowers at this volcano.
諏訪湖祭湖上花火大会, suwako-matsuri kojō hanabitaikai
An enormous event on the lake on August 15th. Get there early, mark your sitting spot the night before or the early morning of, eat stand food, drink beer, watch one of the top 5 fireworks shows in Japan. Come early to the fireworks and visit the Taiko Festival in neighboring Okaya a few days before.
マスヤゲストハウス
A cool and relaxed hostel. The hostel has a shared kitchen, open lounge area and a small bar that serves drinks to guests and locals in the evening. The dorm rooms are spacious and the beds include a storage compartment, lamp and power point. The hostel has some nice touches including the provision of free soap that can be taken to local onsen and a coffee machine that can be used for a small fee. The hostel appears to be frequented by mainly Japanese travelers and locals from the area, so it is a nice place to practice your Japanese.
By train
By car
The Chūō Expressway (E19) and the national Road 20 are the obvious choices when accessing Suwa. There are two interchanges of the E19: the Suwa Interchange and the Suwako Service Area.
There are three local bus routes on those ridiculous looking buses with the quince fruit on the outside. They can take you to Suwakoland, as well as shopping the big stores, and Montbell at Station Park.
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Matsumoto · Regional · MMJ
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