Category Chubu

Travel guides and hidden gems in the Chubu region of Japan

Central Japan · Alpine Spine

Chubu — where Mt. Fuji, the Kiso Valley, and the Japan Alps converge.

Yamanashi, Nagano, Gifu, Shizuoka — the prefectures with the highest concentration of HJG fieldwork.

Chubu is the geographical and emotional center of HJG. It contains Mt. Fuji, the Japan Alps, the Kiso Valley post towns, Kamikochi, and the Yamanashi lakes. Many of the most-read articles on this site live in Chubu prefectures.

When to visit

April for cherry blossom along Mt. Fuji. July–August for the climbing season (Mt. Fuji, Northern Alps). October for autumn at Kamikochi and Naraijuku. December for Mt. Fuji visibility at its annual peak.

How to get there

JR Tokaido Shinkansen passes through Shizuoka/Nagoya; Hokuriku Shinkansen reaches Nagano/Kanazawa. Mt. Fuji area: Kawaguchiko via Otsuki, then Fujikyuko Line. Kiso Valley: JR Chuo Main Line.

Plan a trip to Chubu

StayHotels in the Fuji areaKawaguchiko, Yamanakako, Fujiyoshida free-cancellation filter.RyokanTraditional ryokanStrongest inventory for Yamanashi, Nagano, and Gifu rural inns.RailJR Pass for the whole region7-day pass covers Tokaido + access to all Chubu prefectures.DriveRental car for the AlpsKamikochi requires bus from Sawando, but Northern Alps base towns need a car.

All Chubu articles

Shizuoka, Chubu, Experience, Food, Location

Kintaro Soba: Mountain-Yam Noodles at the Foot of Mt Fuji (Gotemba)

Tenju Kintoki at Kintaro soba in Gotemba: a red lacquer box of rice topped with large shrimp and vegetable tempura, with side dishes of greens, pickles and matcha salt at the foot of Mt Fuji

Gotemba's old mikuriya soba is bound with mountain yam, not water. Kintaro, a farmhouse soba house minutes from Mt Fuji, serves it with a shrimp-tempura rice box.

Nobu
June 2, 2026

Nagano, Chubu, Experience, Location, Nature, Seasonal Travel, Weather & Seasons

Obasute Rice Terraces: Japan’s Moon-in-Each-Paddy Hillside

The Obasute rice terraces in Chikuma, Nagano, photographed at first light in late May, with every flooded paddy on the hillside mirroring the dawn sky in a mosaic of silver and gold light above the Zenkoji plain

More than a thousand flooded rice paddies mirror the sky above Chikuma, Nagano — Japan's first farmland named a scenic beauty. When to go, how to get there, and what tagoto-no-tsuki really means.

Nobu
June 2, 2026

Nagano, Chubu, Experience, Location, Nature, Seasonal Travel, Weather & Seasons

Lake Suwa, Nagano: Mt. Fuji Views, Fireworks & Things to Do

Mount Fuji silhouetted against an orange dusk sky beyond Lake Suwa, with the city lights of Suwa, Okaya and Shimosuwa ringing the dark water, seen from the hills above the lake in Nagano.

Lake Suwa in Nagano: see Mt. Fuji over the lake from Takabocchi and Tateishi Park, ride the 16 km loop, catch the August 15 fireworks, and soak in Kamisuwa Onsen.

Nobu
June 1, 2026

Toyama, Chubu, Food, Location, Nature, Seasonal Travel

Firefly Squid in Toyama Bay: Japan’s Other Glowing Sea

Pre-dawn scene on Toyama Bay where firefly squid glow electric blue in a fixed fishing net beside two boats of onlookers, with a green deck light reflecting on the dark water of the Sea of Japan.

Firefly squid (hotaru-ika) glows blue in Toyama Bay every spring. The pre-dawn boat tour, the museum live show, the rare mi-nage stranding, when to go, and where to eat it.

Nobu
May 31, 2026

Nagano, Chubu, Culture, Location, Travel Tips

Matsumoto Castle: Tickets, Hours & the Alps View (2026)

The black five-storey keep of Matsumoto Castle in Nagano reflected in the still water of its inner moat under a clear sky, with the stone base rising straight from the water and bare early-spring trees along the far bank.

Matsumoto Castle admission is 1200 yen (e-ticket, 2026) and the keep is open 8:30 to 17:00. A guide to one of the five National Treasure castles in Japan: tickets, hours, the Northern Alps view, and how to get there from Tokyo and Nagoya.

Nobu
May 30, 2026

Nagano, Chubu, Experience, Location, Nature, Seasonal Travel, Weather & Seasons

Hakuba Iwatake 2026: Mountain Harbor + Yahho Deck Guide [Map]

A wooden tray with the City Bakery Hakuba Pork croissant sandwich two bottles of green sparkling drinks and a cup of hot drip coffee placed on a wooden table at Hakuba Mountain Harbor with the snow-capped Hakuba Sanzan three peaks directly across the green valley in late spring

Hakuba Iwatake Mountain Resort in green season — the 1,289 m Mountain Harbor deck with The City Bakery (Hakuba Pork croissant sandwich ¥1,300), the cantilevered Yahho Deck, and the 1.5-hour Nezuko Forest loop. A first-person guide from a mid-May visit with full pricing, hours, and access.

Nobu
May 29, 2026

Mie, Chubu, Culture, Location, Seasonal Travel, Shrines & Temples, Travel Tips

Ise Jingu Guide 2026: Naiku, Geku & 1707 Akafuku Honten

Massive wooden torii gate at the entrance of Ise Jingu Naiku, with visitors crossing the Uji Bridge under a clear blue late-autumn sky, the sacred crossing point into Japan most important Shinto shrine, low afternoon sun raking across the bridge planks

Ise Jingu in late November — pre-koyo blue skies, the vast Naiku cedar forest, the 101.8 m Uji Bridge torii, and Akafuku Honten on Oharaimachi where the same recipe has been made since 1707. A Japanese pilgrimage guide in Nobu first-person.

Nobu
May 28, 2026

Shizuoka, Chubu, Location, Transportation, Travel Tips

Mt. Fuji from the Shinkansen: Which Seat Both Directions (2026)

Mt Fuji with snow-capped summit and morning cloud cap photographed from the window of a Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train near Shin-Fuji station with the industrial Fuji City skyline in the foreground and slight motion blur

Tokaido Shinkansen seat for Mt. Fuji view: Seat E both directions in standard cars, Seat D in Green Cars. The seat letter is fixed to the train, so the same seat sees the same mountain whether you are going Tokyo to Osaka or Osaka to Tokyo. Full 2026 guide with timing, train type, and photography tips.

Nobu
May 28, 2026

Yamanashi, Chubu, Location, Seasonal Travel

Beni-Fuji from the First Fujikyu Train 2026: When Sunrise Lines Up with the Timetable

Mt Fuji with pink-red crimson alpenglow on its snow cap viewed through the front window of an early-morning Fujikyu Railway train, taken February 6 2026 at 6:48 AM JST from inside the Fujisan Station to Otsuki bound local train

Mt Fuji glowing pink at dawn (紅富士) is catchable from the first Fujikyu Railway local trains November to February, when sunrise falls late enough that the 05:57-06:48 services run during the alpenglow window. Month-by-month table.

Nobu
May 28, 2026

Shizuoka, Chubu, Local News, Location, News & Updates, Seasonal Travel, Weather & Seasons

Japan Sea Sparkle 2026: Where the Bioluminescent Waves Are Glowing Now (Itō, Numazu, Enoshima, Gamagori)

Wide view of Usami Beach in Ito Shizuoka at night with blue bioluminescent waves crashing on shore under a starry sky, town lights across the bay and a lone figure standing on the dark beach

Sea sparkle (noctiluca / 夜光虫) is in active bloom along Japan's Pacific coast — late May 2026 update. Largest Kamakura event since 2017 (Yuigahama peaks ~22:00). Plus Suruga Bay, Mikawa Bay, Shōnan, Miura. Verified beach list, conditions, photography notes.

Nobu
May 26, 2026