When coming to Nagano in Japan, don’t forget to shop at the shopping spots. Nagano has many gourmets and traditional crafts brought on by the rich nature, and they can be purchased as souvenirs. This will be an introduction to souvenirs you definitely want to buy and places where you can purchase them.
Oyaki
“Oyaki” is a local dish of Nagano. It is a Manju (bun) that is made with dough made from wheat flour and buckwheat flour, that is filled with the speciality "Nozawana" (pickled mustard greens) and "An" (red bean paste) and then baked. It is perfectly sized for eating while walking, and you can eat it as a snack. Depending on the region and the shop, the filling and baking style are a little different, so it might be interesting to compare between a few of them.
Marugoto Apple Pie
“Marugoto Apple Pie” is a Western pastry using speciality apples. Apples from Nagano are soaked in honey, the centre filled with castella, wrapped in pie dough, then baked.
Nagano has a highland climate, and is great for growing apples, making them very sweet and delicious. Because of this, there are many treats besides apple pie using apples, and you should definitely check them out.
Shichimi Togarashi
“Shichimi Togarashi” is a spicy seasoning Japan holds in pride, combining seven types of spices such as red pepper, ginger, and sesame, and it is a speciality of Nagano. As for related products, there are items such as Senbei and potato chips using Shichimi Togarashi, as well as beauty essences made by extracting the pungent ingredients of Shichimi Togarashi.
Kurikanoko
“Kurikanoko” is a Nagano delicacy. Nagano is also known as a chestnut production area. It is a Japanese pastry using all sorts of chestnuts, made from mixing chestnut paste made from only chestnuts, and large chestnut grains pickled in molasses. One of its nice points is that it is canned, letting it last a while.
Urayamagami
“Urayamagami” is one of Nagano’s traditional crafts. It is made in a traditional way by bleaching the paper with snow, using 100% of the material from the Moraceae plant. It is mainly used as calligraphy paper, but as souvenirs, things such as postcards using the stationery, and lighting using Japanese paper are recommended.
Places where you can buy Nagano Souvenirs
You can purchase Nagano souvenirs and other speciality products introduced up to this point at major shopping spots within the prefecture. However, there are many cases where only workshops handle manufacturing and selling of traditional crafts, so be sure to visit those directly.
Shopping Streets such as Gondo Shopping Street
At “Gondo Shopping Street” located near Nagano Station, a variety of items such as Japanese pastries and cosmetic items are available. Aside from that, shopping malls around the main stations of Nagano, and shopping spots of each tourist spot such as Old Karuizawa Ginza Street are also recommended.
Souvenir Shops of Nagano Station and Shinshu Matsumoto Airport
Major train stations such as Nagano Station and Shinshu Matsumoto Airport have souvenir shops with lots of foods and miscellaneous goods, allowing you to buy a variety of souvenirs at once. You can shop efficiently, especially at the end of your trip, so it is recommended.
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