Obuse

About Obuse

Located in northern Nagano Prefecture, Obuse-machi is en route to the famous Jigokudani Wild Monkey Park in Yamanochi-machi town. Obuse-machi is renown for its chestnuts, sake and other agricultural produce. A seventh-century temple, Zenko-ji Temple, sits in the center of the town. Obuse-machi is also famous for being home to the Japanese wood block artist Hokusai during the latter part of his life. Hokusai created the iconic Wave off the Coast at Kanagawa wood print. One local museum is dedicated to Hokusai's works. The town area was overhauled during the 1990s. Obuse-machi was a site for the Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics. The city's ice-skating rink was one of the venues at the time. Visitors can see exhibits of licensed products and the sports equipment actually used in the events. Other areas popular with tourists include city gardens and the main Omote-sando promenade. Here you can see a mix of traditional and modern architecture. Buildings along this street include galleries, mini-museums​ and souvenir shops.