Day 14 today was originally planned for our snowshoe hike trip. But the guide we engaged alerted a few days ago that snowfall in the area was lower than expected this week, so the missus asked if he could swap our trip date to Day 15 instead. As it turned out, our Day 15 was for a visit to the Daio Wasabi Farm – a spot we could go anytime, so we made the switch.
The Daio Wasabi Farm is in Nagano prefecture, and is – apparently – one of the largest in Japan at 15 hectares, and made famous in one of famed Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s films. The farm is actually pretty near Matsumoto, but we had to research a fair bit to figure out how to get to the farm from the nearest train station. There is a bus service that starts from Matsumoto Bus Terminal northwards to somewhere near the farm, but the bus journey is almost 90 minutes long for the fairly short journey of about 15km. So, we opted a train ride, which surprisingly, doesn’t show up as a suggested route on Google Maps.
Basically, our journey was:
1. Catch a train for a 30-minute ride from Matsumoto Station to Hotaka Station. The ride was relatively sparse of commuters on Thursday morning.
2. At Hotaka Station, take a 6-minute cab ride that costs around 1,400 yen. The Tourist Information counter at a brown brick building opposite Hotaka Station sells a taxi fare with return coupon at 2,700 yen. You only need to show this to any taxi waiting at Hotaka Station, and the driver will bring you to the farm. He’d also tear off one of the coupon stubs each way. For the return journey, the farm’s information counter will assist to call a return cab for you.
There is apparently also a shuttle bus service that runs between Hotaka Station and the Farm, but it was not in operation when we visited the farm.
There is no admission charge into the farm itself, and few visitors. Well, mostly – because there was a bus load of noisy tourists from that country up north and who made their presence felt throughout. But once they left, the overall serenity of the farm visit returned. There is a very helpful large brochure with a detailed guide of the farm, and also suggested walking paths. You can’t get lost in the farm, and if you intend to do the full walking circuit, about a 90-minute visit would suffice.
The weather was chilly though, but thankfully the earlier forecast snow fall was very light. The occasional wind did make things pretty cold.
Pictures and comments from this morning’s visit!
In all, this was a sedate and peaceful visit, and it was refreshing to walk through the farm routes, albeit in chilly weather. This is a must visit if you love the spice, but if not, and you’re not in the general area, then whether the trouble of making your way to this farm is worth it.