Sightseeing in Shinano: Lake Nojiri, Naumann Elephants, Fairy Tales and Issa’s Post Town

What Kind of Town Is Shinano?

Shinano is a town in Kamiminochi District near the northern edge of Nagano Prefecture, bordering Myoko City in Niigata Prefecture. It is known for Lake Nojiri, the Kurohime Highlands and as the birthplace of the haiku poet Kobayashi Issa. Most of the town is mountainous, ringed by Mt. Kurohime, Mt. Iizuna and Mt. Madarao, and heavy winter snow earns it designation as a special heavy-snowfall area. It is also certified as a Forest Therapy Base.

The town was formed in 1956 through the merger of Shinano Village, Furuma Village and Shinanojiri Village. This article introduces its sights in order of latitude, from north to south. We begin with a site beneath the lake, then move on to the Naumann elephant museum, Lake Nojiri, a fairy-tale museum in the highlands, and finally the Issa Memorial Museum, heading steadily south. The lakeshore and the highlands change dramatically with the seasons, so please check the latest information before you set out.

1. Sugikubo Site (杉久保遺跡)

The Sugikubo Site is a Paleolithic site on the northern shore of Lake Nojiri, spanning the lake bed and the shoreline. In winter the water level drops and the area around the site turns into mudflats. On the lake bed, along the shore and on the surrounding hills, about 38 sites dating from the Paleolithic to the beginning of the Jomon period are known, and together they are called the Nojiriko Site Group.

The site drew attention in 1953, when the archaeologist Serizawa Chosuke and others identified Paleolithic tools among stone implements collected by local residents. Named the “Sugikubo-type knife,” the tool is a long, narrow stone blade blunted by retouching at the tip and the base, and it became a standard for classifying knife-shaped stone tools. It is said to have spread mainly from the northern Chubu region to the Tohoku region.

Together with the Hanaizumi Site in Ichinoseki, Iwate Prefecture, the Nojiriko Site Group is regarded as one of Japan’s most important site groups for the excavation and study of Late Pleistocene fossils. Excavations have been carried out in March every three years in an unusual “mass excavation” format that ordinary citizens can join. In this site’s view, the fact that people today dig up the traces of a hunting life from tens of thousands of years ago together is itself another story of this lake. Most of the site is a protected area. Please follow the rules for excavation and visits, and do not take any artifacts away.

2. Nojiriko Naumann Elephant Museum (野尻湖ナウマンゾウ博物館)

The Nojiriko Naumann Elephant Museum opened in July 1984 as the “Nojiriko Museum” and took its present name in 1996. Centered on the results of excavations at Lake Nojiri, it researches and displays the natural environment around the lake from about 50,000 years ago to the present. Its aim is to keep every excavated find on site and make it available to the public.

It all began in 1948, when a local man who ran an inn by the lake happened to find a molar of a Naumann elephant. When it was first found, its shape reportedly earned it the nickname “hot-water-bottle fossil.” Since 1962, excavations on the lake bed have been carried out with the participation of the general public. In the 1973 survey, a Naumann elephant tusk and an antler of a Yabe giant deer came out of the ground side by side, supporting the idea that Naumann elephants and Paleolithic people lived at the same time.

From their shapes, these two fossils are known affectionately as the “Moon and Stars,” and they serve as the museum’s symbol. In this site’s view, the charm of this lake lies in how a fossil once called a “hot-water bottle” grew into a tale of the Ice Age tens of thousands of years ago. Opening hours and closing days change with the season, so please check the official website for the latest information before you go.

3. Lake Nojiri (野尻湖)

Lake Nojiri lies on a highland at an altitude of 654 meters, between Mt. Madarao to the east and Mt. Kurohime to the west. With an area of about 4.56 square kilometers, it is the second largest natural lake in the prefecture after Lake Suwa. It is deep, at about 39 meters, and is said to hold more water than Lake Suwa. It also goes by the name “Fuyoko” (Lotus Lake). Although it lies in a cold region, it is known as a lake that does not freeze over in winter, and in the cold months visitors can enjoy wakasagi (pond smelt) fishing from “dome boats” equipped with stoves.

Part of the shoreline is Kamiyama International Village, counted as one of Japan’s Three Great Foreign Summer Resorts, which has been managed by the Nojiriko Association since 1921. Biwajima Island sits on the lake and can be reached by sightseeing boat. On the island stand Uga Shrine and a grave said to belong to the Sengoku warlord Usami Sadamitsu.

The Ikejiriga Power Station takes in water from the lake, generates electricity and then releases the water into the Seki River. The water level falls in winter, so in early spring meltwater is pumped up into the lake to restore it. Completed in 1934, it was Japan’s first pumped-storage power station. This is our own speculation, but the fact that this way of using water lowers the lake in winter is what makes excavation of the sites on the lake bed possible, and that seems a striking case of people and nature connecting in unexpected ways. Some spots along the shore are slippery underfoot, so please walk carefully near the water.

4. Kurohime Fairy Tale Museum (黒姫童話館)

The Kurohime Fairy Tale Museum is a town-run literary museum in the Kurohime Highlands devoted to fairy tales from around the world. It opened in 1991 with the cooperation of the Shinshu Children’s Literature Society. It holds more than 2,000 items of material on Michael Ende, the German author known for The Neverending Story and Momo, donated by Ende himself. It is the only facility in the world that permanently displays Ende’s materials.

Inside are manuscripts, illustrations and drafts of Ende’s works, along with fairy tales from many countries, Japanese folktales and old stories handed down in Nagano Prefecture. Outdoors, the Kurohime Sanso, a mountain cottage that the picture-book artist Iwasaki Chihiro used as her studio, has been moved to the grounds and is on display. Because the children’s author Matsutani Miyoko built a mountain cottage in the Kurohime Highlands in 1980, the same year as Chihiro, a permanent exhibition room for her has also been set up.

In this site’s view, it is no coincidence that fairy tales from around the world gathered in this snowy land where folktales have long been passed down. Perhaps the power of stories told through long winter nights drew writers to these highlands. The museum is open from April to the end of November and closed in winter. Please check the official website for the latest information before you go.

5. Issa Memorial Museum (一茶記念館)

The Issa Memorial Museum in Kashiwabara is dedicated to the haiku poet Kobayashi Issa. Kashiwabara was Issa’s hometown, about 25 kilometers north of central Nagano City at an altitude of nearly 700 meters. Mt. Kurohime, Mt. Iizuna and Mt. Myoko can be seen all around, and Lake Nojiri is close by. A post town on the Hokkoku Kaido road, it prospered as a transport hub linking the Hokuriku region with Shinano and Edo, and culture from Edo flowed in as well.

In Kashiwabara, Issa learned the haikai poetry of the Edo period and wrote about the lives of ordinary people. In the town, the earthen storehouse where Issa spent his final days remains as a prefectural historic site, and his old residence is a national historic site. At Meisenji, his family temple, the Issa Memorial Service is held every year on November 19, and a verse monument stands in the grounds inscribed with the poem “Come and play with me, sparrow with no parents” (Ware to kite asobe ya oya no nai suzume).

In this site’s view, Issa’s life, in which poverty, conflict with his stepmother and the grief of losing child after child were turned into humorous verse, seems to overlap with the weight of daily life in this snowy post town. Buildings, exhibits and opening hours may change. The old residence and the storehouse are still part of the local community’s daily life, so when you visit, please follow the guidance and walk quietly. Please check the town’s official website for the latest information before you go.

Local Specialties: Food and Drink

As for Shinano’s food, we introduce only what can be confirmed through the town’s tourist information and similar sources. At Lake Nojiri, wakasagi fishing from dome boats in winter is a well-known specialty. The town also has a roadside station, Michi-no-Eki Shinano, a place to stop on the way during a trip.

The whole Hokushin region has long been a center of rapeseed cultivation since the Edo period, and in spring fields of rapeseed blossoms spread out. This is our own speculation, but such farming life may have formed the backdrop to the school song that sings of the rapeseed-blossom landscape.

Shops and products change over time. Please check the town’s tourist information for the latest details before you go.

Rare Wildlife and Nature

The symbols of the town’s nature are Lake Nojiri and the mountains around it: Mt. Kurohime, Mt. Iizuna and Mt. Madarao. The town also has ponds such as Harinoki Pond, Okubo Pond, Oike Pond and Nanatsu-ike. The Kurohime Highlands are part of Myoko-Togakushi Renzan National Park, with the fairy tale museum and flower gardens spreading across them.

The town has a continental climate with large swings in temperature, and the average annual snowfall is about 726 centimeters. The town is certified as a Forest Therapy Base.

Other Notable Things About This Town

The town’s name comes from the old province of Shinano. In 1955, Kashiwabara Village and Fujisato Village merged to form Shinano Village, and the following year it merged with Shinanojiri Village and Furuma Village to become Shinano Town.

In Kashiwabara, in the south of the town, traces of its days as a post town on the Hokkoku Kaido road remain. In 2023 it also served as a stop on a television travel program themed on saunas.

The Night Side: Ghost Stories and Haunted Spots of This Town

So far we have walked through Shinano’s daytime face: traces of a hunt from tens of thousands of years ago, a fossil once called a hot-water bottle, a lake that does not freeze in winter, fairy tales from around the world, and a post town on the old highway where Issa was born. Every one of these places carries layers of time in which people faced nature and handed down their stories.

That depth connects to the night side as well. Lakes and old highways may seem calm by day, but at night they cast the shadow of history into the silence. In this site’s view, a ghost story is a kind of shadow cast on people’s hearts by a place’s history and terrain. Archaeological sites and lakeshores are also protected places or places with treacherous footing. Entering them at night out of curiosity is never something we recommend.

At KARASU CHANNEL we record true ghost stories and haunted spots not so that people will go there, but so that they are remembered. Having come to know the daytime scenery, we hope you will also read the stories of the night.

Before You Go

Opening hours, fees, closing days and access change often, so they are not listed in this article. Before you set out, please check the latest information on each facility’s or local government’s official site. Some places may be restricted because of weather or disaster.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. In what order should I visit the sights of Shinano to be efficient?

A. This article introduces them from north to south. The Sugikubo Site, the Naumann Elephant Museum and Lake Nojiri are close together. The Kurohime Fairy Tale Museum is in the highlands to the west and the Issa Memorial Museum is in Kashiwabara to the south, so we recommend traveling there by car and setting aside separate time for each. Please check the town’s official website for the latest information before you go.

Q. Does Lake Nojiri freeze in winter?

A. Although it lies in a cold region, it is known as a lake that does not freeze over in winter. In the cold months you can enjoy wakasagi fishing from dome boats equipped with stoves. Lake conditions and boat operations may change, so please check before you go.

Q. Can I visit the Kurohime Fairy Tale Museum at any time of year?

A. It is open from April to the end of November and closed in winter. Please check the official website for the latest information before you go.

Official sites and references consulted
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/信濃町
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/野尻湖
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/野尻湖ナウマンゾウ博物館
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/野尻湖遺跡群
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/杉久保遺跡
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/黒姫童話館
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/明専寺_(長野県信濃町)
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/小林一茶