Snowshoe Trekking Trip - Mt. Nyukasa & Lake Suwa (Nagano) (2027)

Mt. Nyukasa, at the southern end of the Yatsugatake mountains in Nagano, is one of the most accessible snowy summits in Japan. On this three-day journey, students take a train from Shinjuku, ride a gondola up the mountain, and then strap on snowshoes to trek through the winter forest to the 1,955 m summit. After summit day, students spend the night in Hütte Nyukasa, a small mountain hut, and experience what life high in the mountains is like in winter. On Day 2, the group descends to Lake Suwa and tries wakasagi (Japanese smelt) fishing, a local winter tradition, from a heated fishing dome on the lake. The second night is spent at a Japanese inn on the shore of Lake Suwa. On the final day, students explore the area around Lake Suwa, visiting Suwa Taisha, one of the oldest shrines in Japan, and the historic lakeside town, before heading back to Tokyo. Adventure, nature and local culture, all in three days: a journey for students who want to feel the depth of a Japanese winter with their own feet. New for 2027: this journey joins Exploration Week for the first time this year. Be one of the first ASIJ students to take it on! Photo credits: Suwa Taisha by 663highland (CC BY 2.5) via Wikimedia Commons; winter mountain huts by 雷太 (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr.