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Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikivoyage or other free sources online. Matsukawa Ravine is located along the Matsukawa River east of Nagano City. Beautiful scenery can be enjoyed along this tributary of the Chikuma River all throughout the year. The area is especially popular in Autumn when tourists come to see the fall foliage. Kamikochi is the crown jewel of the Japanese Alps. The scenic area is a basin at 1500 meters elevation. The Alps rise an additional 1500 meters from there, creating a stunningly magnificent background with the beautiful aquamarine Azusa River in the foreground. This is a very popular place for mountain trekking, and the traditional starting point is Kamikochi s symbolic bridge, Kappa-bashi. Downriver is Taisho Pond whose waters provide picture-perfect reflections of the Hotaka Range. The Alpine Route is a spectacular scenic passage over the Japanese Alps connecting Nagano Prefecture s Omachi with Toyama Prefecture and the Sea of Japan. This is an area of immense snowfall, and when the road opens in mid May, it is surrounded on both sides by walls of snow 10 meters tall. This book offers information on Nagano prefecture and its most notable places.

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