Obuse

Obuse was once prosperous as the economic center of Kitashinano (now Nagano) in the Edo period. It is a famous hometown of chestnuts in Japan. Today, there are still many warehouses built by wineries and chestnut cakes with a history of more than 600 years on both sides of the streets. Shop, wandering here, there are fresh chestnut blossoms in spring, and chestnut fruits with burrs can be seen everywhere in autumn. The combination of fun and tranquility is very wonderful. Another great charm of Obuse belongs to Katsushika Hokusai, the top Japanese ukiyo-e painter who spent his later years in Obuse, and you can see more than 40 of his handwritten works in Hokusaikan. If you have time, you can go to Iwamatsu-in to visit Katsushika's "Phoenix in all directions". This is a masterpiece painted by the old man at the age of 89. It is painted on the ceiling. Gorgeous, thanks in large part to special pigments imported from China.