Introduction
Obuse is located in the northeast of Nagano Prefecture and is its smallest municipality. Known for chestnuts, ukiyo-e painter Hokusai and flowers, Obuse is a popular tourist destination visited by nearly 1.2 million visitors a year. Obuse chestnuts have been famous since the Edo period as a gift to the shogunate, and there are still six chestnut confectionery stores in the town.
Although best known for its chestnuts, the town has a chilly climate, low rainfall levels and acidic soil that helped it gain international fame as a production region for apples and kyoho grapes. Among the town's notable specialities are cultivated vegetables and local Obuse-maru eggplant.
Open Garden, which is open to visitors and beloved by residents, has become known as the City of Flowers. One of the reasons for Obuse's rise as a tourist destination was the opening of the Hokusai Museum, which exhibits ukiyoe and handwritten paintings by Katsushika Hokusai. During the Edo period, Obuse thrived as a transportation and economic hub, with the Chikuma River being a major shipping route, and was frequented by many writers and artists, including Hokusai and Kobayashi Issa. The town of Obuse cherishes its historical and cultural heritage inherited from ancient times, and is home to nine museums, including the Hokusai Museum and the Takai Kozan Memorial Museum. There are also many places related to Hokusai, such as the Gansho-in Temple famous for one the Hokusai's last major works, The Great Phoenix, painted on the ceiling.
As of now, Obuse is focused on the transformation into an environmentally advanced city. In the summer of 2021, the town hired zero carbon and zero-waste promoters through the Regional Development Cooperation Corps system. They are working toward a sustainable future by promoting the use of natural energy and zero waste.
Tourism destinations are managed by:
Obuse Town, General Affairs Division, General Policy Promotion Office
Sustainability Coordinators
Hayashi Sho, General Policy Promotion Specialist
Miyata Yuta, Obuse General Policy Promotion Office, Green Destination Team
Shinjo Naoaki, Obuse General Policy Promotion Office, Green Destination Team
Igami Nagisa, Obuse General Policy Promotion Office, Green Destination Team
Kusama Gaku, Obuse General Policy Promotion Office, Green Destination Team