Earlier this year I posted about my trip to Japan, it wasn’t very detailed nor informative. I revisited the trip and compiled the list of places I went & stayed for a friend’s reference which I think would be good to share with all of you who are looking to go to Japan, but are tired of the shopping in Tokyo.

Karuizawa 軽井沢

Where we stayed:
Hotel Generous

Alternative stay (highly recommended): Hoshinoya

Places we went:
旧軽井沢森ノ美術館 (lots of shops on the same street – 旧軽井沢銀座)

Prince Shopping Plaza (If you really miss the shopping, here’s an outlet with brands like Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Kate Spade)

Sawaya Jam (jam, juice, preservatives. Must try their strawberry juice, so good served warm with ginger!)

水音 (very good soba, but the tempura & noodle in soup is not as impressive)

白系の淹 (a small waterfall)

Harunire Terrace (a small shopping area located next to Hotel Hoshinoya with hot spring/spa and some good restaurants)

Below are the places we planned to go but were closed during the time we visit, so if you are going during winter/snowy season, you should take this into consideration.

Karuizawa Taliesin (a lake with museums and recreational facilities, sadly we could only see the view below, but can imagine it to be very pretty during fall when the lake is surrounded by red leaves)

Mountain Pasture (where you can experience the making of Karuizawa’s famous jam, soba noodles, sausages, candles etc. It was such a bummer it was heavily snowing that day the pasture had to close)

If I have the chance, I’d really love to go Karuizawa again in the summer/fall for its beautiful scenery and to the places we have missed.