NAGANO TRIP 
Shirakabako Family Land Resort is located in the highlands of Nagano Prefecture. In summer, you can explore around lakes, camp and have fun at the theme park. In winter, you can go skiing.
We strongly recommned 3 points of Shirakabako Highland to compare Karuizawa.
- Only 1 hour by car or bus from Karuizawa!
- Cooler than Karuizawa (Altitude of 1400 meters)!
- Fewer tourists than Karuizawa!
In this page, we’ll introduce you to what we experienced in Shirakaba Highland. If you are the person who thinks “I’d like to do something special with my family! Not only visiting Tokyo or Kyoto…! ” or “I’d like to see the nature and countryside in Japan!”, this is perfect for you! So, here are the 7 best things to do around Shirakaba Highland.
Shirakabako Family Land Resort / Family Land Ikenotaira Resort (白樺湖ファミリーランド)
Shirakabako Family Land is a full-scale amusement park. Pre-school, primary school children will enjoy the zoo, family golf course, maze, flower garden, swimming pool, bowling and many more activities.
There is also a museum that has a world famous collection of shadow pictures, paper cutting art, glass art and music box. You will be surprised at a large number of collections. Of course it is enjoyable to visit Japanese traditional or historical places, however, for children, it might not be fun enough. Then if you come to Shirakabako Family Land Resort and spend time there, they will be happy and satisfied.
Megami Lake (女神湖)
Megami Lake is one of the highlights of the region. It takes 10 min drive from Shirakaba Lake, 20 min by e-Bike, 90 min on foot. By the carpark, you will see the Megami Lake Center. You can enjoy having lunch or ice cream at its terrace. They have a gift shop too.
When you go around the lake, you can drive, walk, ride a bike, take a boat ride, or just have a picnic. Megami Lake is smaller than Shirakaba Lake, but quiet as well, it is the best place to have relaxing time in the highland.
There is free wi-fi, tables and chairs at the Megami Lake Center. ※Caution, there is limited wi-fi in the mountain region, make sure your hotel has wi-fi.
Megami no Sora Terrace (女神のそらテラス)
The gondola will take you to the Megami no Sora Terrace at 1830m high. You will enjoy a birds eye view of the whole Shirakaba Highland area. At the terrace, you can use chairs and hammocks to feel the refreshing wind. Don’t forget to take photos, they will be all impressive!
Because of the altitude, you may feel the cool breeze at the terrace, we recommend you to take one more layer of clothing. You can save money by buying a concession ticket at the gondola lift station.
Tateshina Gosensui Nature Park (御泉水自然園)
Tateshina Gosensui Nature Park is 1 minute walk from Megami no Sora Terrace, on the mountain side. It is a totally different atmosphere, you can enjoy the peace, listen to birdsong and the wind in the forest. Observing mountainous plants, walking through swamps, there are many rare things you will enjoy in the highland nature.
If you go there by car, you don’t have to take a gondola lift. You can park your car at the car park close by and visit only Nature Park.
Tateshina Dai-2 Farm MouMou (蓼科第二牧場 もうもう)
MouMou soft serve ice cream shop is located north of Shirakaba Highland, by the Tateshina Farm. From the Shinshu Tateshina Tourism Bureau, it takes about 30 min on foot, 10 min by e-Bike. Their soft serve ice cream is made of fresh milk, the best in the region!
LAKESIDE FIREBASE
LAKESIDE FIREBASE is a new activity spot where you can enjoy a tent sauna and barbeque. If you book, you can just come without anything. For barbeque, you can experience lighting the fire and chopping wood by yourself. It is a precious and luxurious time to eat delicious meat and vegetables with a beautiful lake view.
The tent sauna is a collaboration with FIRESIDE, a wood stove company. You can have it all to yourself for 1 hour, so don’t hesitate to get sweaty! The water bath is cool, but you will get used to it, and it will be comfortable.
e-Bike
When you want to move around the highland more actively, it’s worth renting an e-Bike! We recommend you to book it. It has electric assist so that you can climb up a hill easily. When you ride an e-Bike between Shirakaba Lake and Megami Lake, it will be a big help.
When we tried one, we felt that it was much quicker than we thought to go around a lake all the way! When you want to be slow while you are enjoying the scenery, the assist system will work.
Here is our article about a tour plan in Tateshina Town with e-Bike, and how to rent. Please check it out.
Let’s go Shirakaba Resort and Tateshina Area!
NAGANO TRIP has lots of tips to enjoy your trip in Japan, especially Nagano Prefecture. It is not so far from Tokyo, when you take a bullet train, it’s only 1 hour. In this page, we introduced how to enjoy resort activity in nature. When you want to know more about traditional Japanese culture around that area, please check out the following links too!
