This is where you rent e-bikes. OIDEYA is comprised of multiple facilities: Tokei Kobo Gishodo (a clock museum), Hoshigato Museum Yanoneya (an obsidian museum), a footbath, and a rest area. This makes it a great location to use as a base for walking around the town. You can even take part in a popular watchmaking experience here.
Trip Ideas
E-cycle Yashima, a highly active plan!
Hop on an e-bike and ride all the way up into the mountains for some fresh air! Thanks to their electric assistance, riders can easily go up steep hills or other inclines you may not be able to climb on a normal bicycle. You can also do a lap (90 minutes) around the Yashima Wetlands hiking course. The course includes Kiotoshizaka (a slope used in the Onbashira Festival), a pond with beautiful scenery, and Suwa-taisha Akimiya Shrine. After returning the e-bikes, you can soak away in a hot spring whose waters come directly from the source for just JPY 240 to heal your tired legs.
E-bikes can be rented at OIDEYA, but only a limited number are available. Contact them via phone at 0266-27-0001 before you plan a trip.
total time1 day (about 6 hours)
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01
OIDEYA Museum Complex: Footbath and Tourists Information
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02
Kiotoshizaka Slope
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03
Higashimata National Forest
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04
Yashimagahara Wetlands
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05
Yashima Sanso
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06
Tate no Umi via Kirigamine
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07
Lake Izumi
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08
Suwa Taisha Shimosha Akimiya Shrine
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09
Nearby Public Bathhouses
01
OIDEYA Museum Complex: Footbath and Tourists Information
Address :3289 Shimosuwa Town, Suwa District
Phone :0266-27-0001
About 10 minutes Kiotoshizaka
02
Kiotoshizaka Slope
Kiotoshizaka Slope is a dangerous slope used in the Onbashira Festival, a massive festival held once every six years. Massive trees are chopped down and pulled out of the mountains, and the locals then straddle and ride the logs down this extremely steep slope.
Address :2111 Machiyashiki, Shimosuwa Town, Suwa District
About 10 minutes 03
Higashimata National Forest
The national forest from where the trees used in the Onbashira Festival are taken. Part of this 1,700-hectare national forest is dubbed the Onbashira Forest. The Onbashira Forestation Commission conducts resource surveys and forest maintenance projects here, and a great effort is made to create and maintain forests that share the local culture. If you take a close look at the trees you might be able to find the living or the stumps of the fir trees that are actually going to be used or used in the festival. Don't also for get to pay attention to the side of the road as you may be lucky enough to find fragments of the obsidians from the Jomon period.
About 20 minutes 04
Yashimagahara Wetlands
Yashimagahara Wetlands sits at an altitude of 1,630 meters. Located mostly in the heart of Nagano, these wetlands have a 12,000-year history that makes them the oldest high-altitude wetlands in all of Japan. They are even designated as a natural monument, and their 90-minute walking course is extremely popular! You can even go for a longer walk and hike some of the surrounding mountains.
Find more about the Yashima Hiking Course here.
Address :10618 Yashima Shitsugen, Shimosuwa Town, Suwa District
Phone :0266-52-7000
About 3 minutes 05
Yashima Sanso
This mountain hutte is located on the plateau right next to Yashima Wetlands. Yashima Sanso even has a restaurant where soba with edible wild plants, curry, and other items are offered that are sure to fill you up. Make sure to enjoy a nice souvenir like apple soft-serve ice cream, too!
Address :10618 Yashima Shitsugen, Shimosuwa Town, Suwa District
Phone :0266-58-5357
About 3 minutes 06
Tate no Umi via Kirigamine
This artificial pond is in a serene location surrounded by the forest. A field, a forest experience center, a field obstacle course, walking trails, and the Omiyama Observatory are located nearby. You can even enjoy outdoors activities like fishing here.
Address :12968 Kamisuwa, Suwa City, Suwa District
About 3 minutes 07
Lake Izumi
An artificial pond located close to Tate no Umi
Larch, maple, and other trees surround this pond where you can experience the beauty of the forest throughout all four seasons. A mallet golf course, tennis courts, and a canoeing area, and campgrounds are all located nearby.
Address :8777-1 Kinoshita, Shimosuwa Town, Suwa District
0 minutes 08
Suwa Taisha Shimosha Akimiya Shrine
Akimiya is one of the four shrines of Suwa-taisha and enshrined here is an ancient Japanese yew tree. The kaguraden hall with a crossed gable roof and the heihaiden hall are important cultural properties of Japan. There are many things to see here, from the 800-year-old Neiri no Sugi (slumbering cedar) to Japan’s largest bronze komainu (the lion-shaped guard dog in front of shrines). Every year on August 1st, the deity returns from Harumiya shrine as part of Ofune Matsuri.
Address :5828 Shimosuwa Town, Suwa District
Phone :0266-27-8035
09
Nearby Public Bathhouses
After returning the e-bikes at OIDEYA, you can soak away in a hot spring whose waters come directly from the source to heal your tired legs.
Sugeno Onsen, Shin’yu, Koyu, Tanganoyu, and many other public bathhouses can be found in Shimosuwa. You can hop in and relax for just 240 JPY! If you’re short of time, be sure to check out the footbaths as well.
Check out all the onsen facilities and footbaths here.