9 Picks for a Refined Holiday in Shinshu: Experience the Highlands, Art, and Quiet Moments

This museum displays works by Japanese-style painter Hiroshi Senju in a building designed to bring in natural light. The interior includes a variety of features so visitors can experience the art while sensing Karuizawa’s natural surroundings.
Soft light enters the glass-walled space, which connects gently with the Color Leaf Garden. The floor slopes along the natural terrain of the site, changing your eye level and viewing angle as you walk. The appeal of this place lies in the experience of moving through it while looking for moments when the artworks overlap with the scenery outside.

This museum specializes in picture books, with a collection centered on original picture book illustrations from Japan and abroad. Its collection is rare even on a global scale, and it is also known as the world’s first museum dedicated to picture books that positioned original picture book illustrations as works of art.
The museum holds about 27,000 works from 35 countries and regions, including pieces by picture book artist Chihiro Iwasaki, who continued to wish for children’s happiness and peace. It is well loved as a child’s first museum visit, and it also hosts exhibitions and events that parents and children can enjoy together.

Located on the shores of Lake Suwa, this museum mainly exhibits glass art and Japanese-style paintings.
On the 1st floor, works by Émile Gallé and the Daum brothers are displayed, inviting visitors to look closely at the delicate decorations and subtle color differences in late 19th-century glass art.
In the Japanese-Style Painting Gallery on the 2nd floor, works by leading modern Japanese-style painters such as Kaii Higashiyama and Yasushi Sugiyama are on display. Moving between the floors and their different forms of expression broadens the viewing experience.

Musee no Mori is a cultural facility in Minami-Karuizawa where multiple museums and gardens come together. It includes two facilities, the Karuizawa Picturebook Museum and the Erzgebirge Toys Museum Karuizawa, where visitors can encounter a variety of picture books and toys from overseas.
The route leads between exhibition buildings displaying original illustrations and first editions of European and American picture books and a museum featuring wooden toys from Germany’s Erzgebirge region. In the Natural Garden, Karuizawa’s original landscape spreads out, naturally connecting the exhibitions with time spent outdoors.

This tranquil pond is known as one of Karuizawa’s signature waterside landscapes. Fed by the clear waters of Gozen-sui, the pond is remarkably transparent, and the sight of larch and maple trees reflected on its mirror-like surface is breathtaking.
A walking path of about 1 km circles the pond, with benches placed along the way. Whether you stop to gaze at the water or keep walking depends on your mood. It is a spot where you can spend time surrendering to the quiet.

This French restaurant serves course meals in a renovated traditional storehouse residence. Executive chef Masahiro Tanabe honed his skills at renowned restaurants in Europe, including Michelin-starred restaurants in France.
Dishes made with Shinshu vegetables and meats are served one after another, with multi-course meals available for both lunch and dinner. Spend time savoring each plate while feeling the atmosphere of a building from the Meiji period.

This cafe has long been popular as a place centered on breakfast. In April 2022, it relocated from Oiwake in Karuizawa Town to MMoP, a new cultural hub in the neighboring town of Miyota.
With a spacious dining area and terrace seating, it offers a morning spent looking out at the greenery. Choose from items such as popovers, pancakes, and eggs Benedict, and ease into the start of the day.

This shopping street area is the center of Karuizawa tourism. Restaurants and souvenir shops line the main street, making it a place to enjoy food while strolling.
The area offers a wide range of shops, from items suited to a summer resort and villa area, such as jam, bread, and honey, to traditional crafts such as Karuizawa-bori wood carving.
Step into the side streets and you will find distinctive shops scattered throughout, drawing you toward whatever catches your interest. By walking and making detours along the way, you naturally settle into the atmosphere that defines this town.

This complex is dotted with shops and cafes among the trees. Nine buildings stand amid more than 100 Japanese elm trees, with riverside decks and benches also placed throughout.
Take a seat between browsing the shops, and let the flow of your visit shape how you spend your time. There are also well-maintained walking paths, making it a good place for a stroll while taking in the surrounding nature.