Karuizawa Area Guide

Karuizawa access from Tokyo

Original map is provided by d-maps.com.

     Karuizawa is a small town in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.

     Before I moved to the town, I thought it was too far for Tokyo residents to go back and forth to this mountain resort frequently.  The fact is, it is only 70 minutes ride on Bullet Train, or 2 hour drive by expressway from downtown Tokyo.  It is located at the east edge of Nagano prefecture, and adjacent to the Greater Tokyo (aka Kanto) area.

    Tokyo people usually commute to their workplace in downtown Tokyo more or less for an hour from their home.  It is not exceptional to spend 2 hours everyday for commute from their home in especially Kanagawa, Chiba, or Saitama regions.  It is real pain to be on 200% crowded commuting train for an hour everyday.

    Living in Karuizawa while working in Tokyo should be one of the housing options for progressive businesspersons, who love "work-life balance."

Karuizawa Station (Bullet Train)	2012	2013	2014
Average # of commuting pass holder passengers per day	358	380	422

Source: JR East (Bullet Train operator)

    Table above shows the growth in the number of commuting pass holder passengers in the Karuizawa station.  The number includes both inbound (to Tokyo) and outbound (to Kanazawa via Nagano) passengers, but you can see recent growth in Karuizawa commuters is fairly significant.

    Picture above is a very simplified map to show each of main residential areas in Karuizawa.
 
    There are mainly 5 areas in the town.

• Kyu (Old) Karuizawa:   Namely, old town of Karuizawa.  A lot of luxury summer villas and cottages are there, including ones owned by politicians, business owners, actors, etc.
  

• Shin (New) Karuizawa:  Mostly commercial area, but there are limited residential areas for local residents.  A large outlet shopping center (Prince Shopping Plaza) is located here, and major roads in this area are always jammed during weekend and summer season.

• Minami (South) Karuizawa:  Quiet but popular area for second house owners.  There are some large international standard golf courses, which must be fun for golf lovers.  Nagano Olympic Game facilities (Curling, Ice Hockey) are also here.  Town-operated farmer's market (for highland vegetables) is scheduled to open in this area in early 2016.

• Naka (Central) Karuizawa:  Another commercial attraction area, having become famous by Hoshino Resort.  You will see a mixture of residential houses for old town residents and luxury villas in town scenery.  It is rumored that Mr. Bill Gates is constructing his summer villa in this area.

• Nishi (West) Karuizawa:   This area is growing in population, due to reasonable land price.  There are some large vacation rental facilities (like XIV Karuizawa and Ownershill) in the area.  Good to acquire large area of land and great view of Mt. Asama.

    I chose Shin Karuizawa area to build my permanent residence, to prioritize the distance to Karuizawa Station.   However, I think all the areas are equally attractive.

    I hope this post would be some help for people to study the area for their permanent or temporary residency.