Shiojiri City spreads in a pastoral landscape with the mountains of the Northern Alps as a backdrop

Located in about the center of Nagano Prefecture, Shiojiri City spreads in a pastoral landscape with the mountains of the Northern Alps as a backdrop. Conveniently accessible from the metropolitan area, it is about 15 minutes from Suwa in the Southern Nagano region (by Chuo Expressway), and about 20 minutes by car from Matsumoto City proper (by national road), so you can feel free to head there at any time to enjoy shopping, leisure activities, hot springs, and more.

Taking advantage of the suburban setting, agriculture produces vegetables and fruits, with lettuce the main focus but a wealth of different vegetables being cultivated. Fruits such as grapes, apples, and pears are cultivated, with grapes in particular serving as an ingredient in the wine made there, shining a limelight on the local industry.

Blessed with an abundance of forest resources that included the “Kiso Goboku” (5 types of trees historically not to be cut under penalty of death), the Kiso lacquerware industry also developed, a famous local industry that takes pride in more than 400 years of history and even now keeps the traditional techniques alive.

On the tourism front, the Yatsugatake Chushin Kogen Quasi-National Park has the Takabotchi Highlands rich in tourist attractions, with mountain-climbing and hiking that can be enjoyed even during the COVID pandemic. Situated at the entrance to the Kisoji trail, the Narakawa area has Niekawa Post Town with a checkpoint on the Nakasendo, Narai Post Town, and the Kiso lacquerware town of Kiso-Hirasawa.

Narai Post Town in particular was the liveliest of the 11 post towns on the Nakasendo, and since much of the scenery of bygone days remains, it, along with the lacquerware town of Kiso-Hirasawa, has been designated by the country as an “Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings.”

The history and culture of this city have been passed down in a variety of forms, and while history and culture will be passed on in the future, efforts are also being made to put them to use in building up the town.