ABOUT CHIKUMA

Welcome to Chikuma City.
Chikuma is situated in the center of Japan,
in northern Nagano Prefecture. Chikuma City
was born out of the merger of Koshoku City,
Togura Town in Hanishina county and Kamiyamada Town in Sarashina county on September 1st, 2003.
Chikuma is located in a valley where the
Chikuma river flows and is surrounded by
mountains. Several archeological discoveries
in the area seem to indicate that this place
has been inhabited for a very long time.
Thanks to a rich soil and the Chikuma river, agriculture has always
flourished. Recently, industry has developed and Chikuma now occupies an important place in the road traffic network, at the
junction of the roads leading to
Joetsu and Nagano.

South of the city, you can find many hot springs dating back from the end of the 19th century which are often visited by tourists, especially in the area known as "TOGURA KAMIYAMADA ONSEN".
North of the city, you can see the famous Apricot Village which always draws many visitors, thanks to its various and vivid colors when the blossoms are in bloom.

Getting to CHIKUMA
From abroad, when you arrive at Narita airport, take the
JR Narita Express train to TOKYO Station. Alternatively, take the Keisei
Skyliner train to UENO Station. You can take the NAGANO
Shinkansen from both TOKYO and UENO station. Get off at UEDA Station.
From UEDA, take the Shinano omnibus bound for NAGANO and get off 15min later at TOGURA Station. Or you can transfer to the Shinano line and take the train bound for Nagano to Chikuma. Chikuma currently has three train stations on the Shinano line: TOGURA, YASHIRO, and YASHIRO-HIGH-SCHOOL.