Nagano’s Main Artery of History and Daily Life
Omotesando Street is the broad avenue connecting Nagano Station to Zenkoji Temple. It has served as the city’s essential main street for centuries. The path traces its roots to the Nara period, when Nagano developed as a temple town at Zenkoji’s gate. Over time, the street became a post station along the Hokkoku Kaidō. It was used by daimyō processions, travelers, and merchants moving between Edo and the northern provinces. While the street has evolved over the centuries, it remains intact as a central route that still shapes how people move through the city today.
In the Edo period, Omotesando formed part of the “Hokkoku Kaidō”, a travel route connecting Edo (now Tokyo) to the Sea of Japan coast. Nagano served as a key post station along this road, offering lodging, supplies, and rest to travelers, merchants, and daimyō on their way to and from the capital. The street leading to Zenkoji Temple became an important stopping point. Not only for religious pilgrims but also for those journeying through central Honshu. Remnants of that role are still visible in the street’s layout and some surviving storehouses and merchant houses, reflecting a time when travel, trade, and temple worship were deeply linked.
Today, Omotesando Street remains active. You’ll find lanes of converted traditional buildings, small cafés in old houses, artisan boutiques and sake shops nestled alongside more familiar services. It blends a living sense of history with daily commerce. Heritage architecture, some tracing back to the Taisho era, shares space with 21st-century shops while preserving the look of a temple-front street.
Omotsendo connects Nagano Station to Zenkoji Temple
Each year from late November through mid-February, Omotesando Street features a winter illumination event. This event lights the route toward Zenkoji Temple. The display usually begins around November 23 and runs in the evenings from approximately 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Soft lighting highlights the street’s trees and walkways, creating a calm and welcoming atmosphere during the colder months.
In February, the area also hosts the Nagano Tomyo Lantern Festival. It commemorates the city’s role in the 1998 Winter Olympics. For several nights, paper lanterns line the approach to the temple, and colorful light projections illuminate the main hall, drawing visitors to both the event and the surrounding streets. There is no fee to attend either event.
Omotesando serves both practical and cultural roles. It connects Nagano Station to Zenkoji Temple, guiding a steady flow of visitors through a mix of shops, cafés, and historical buildings. The street functions as the city’s main ceremonial approach while also supporting daily activity. It is an easy walk from the station. And gives visitors a clear sense of the area’s character within just a few blocks.
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