Visited on September 9, 2025 (Tuesday)
An excellent museum for learning about the origins of Karuizawa!
Karuizawa is now a high-end villa area, but it was originally a post town on the Nakasendo road. Oiwake, Kutsukake, and Karuizawa were known as the Asama Three Post Towns, where travelers crossing the Usui Pass stayed.
Although it declined as a post town during the Meiji era, it was developed as a villa area after a foreigner named AC Shaw built a villa development there.
The diorama clearly shows the Nakasendo road passing at the foot of Mount Asama. Located at an altitude of 1000 meters, it's a cool and pleasant summer retreat, but due to recent global warming, it was still quite hot even at this time of year.
I visited on a weekday.
You can learn about the history of Karuizawa. Depending on the materials, it may be small, but the entrance fee to the Western-style building was included. You can also enjoy forest bathing on the grounds, so it's a great place to relax.
Learn about Karuizawa's past and present, and its origins as a summer resort.
Photography is prohibited inside the building, so I took photos of the beautiful surrounding nature.
Oiwake-juku's history, decline, and its impact as a summer resort, as well as the vibrant Paul Jacoulet.
The Old Karuizawa, New Karuizawa, and Hoshino areas are all great, but I also recommend this one.
The only drawback is that it's not barrier-free due to the building and land conditions. (^_^;)
The former Konoe Fumimaro Villa is also lovely. Try looking for a faux-Western-style spot. (^-^)
If you have time, why not reminisce about the past? (^-^)
This museum is perfect for learning about the history, geography, and folklore of Karuizawa.
In addition to exhibits from ancient times to the present day, there are also sections on stuffed animals and Mount Asama.
Admission is 400 yen.
I visited on April 3rd. It seems they reopened in April. I went from the former Konoe Fumimaro villa, so I left my car parked in the Hanayama Park parking lot and walked along the waterway from the villa, passing behind the Amemiya Memorial Museum. There was no need to drive around. The exhibits included folklore of Karuizawa, the Yokokawa-Karuizawa section of the Shin'etsu Line, and introductions to buildings in Karuizawa.
More about Higashikagawa City Museum of History and Folklore from our blog