
Karuizawa is known as a popular summer mountain vacation spot for Tokyo residents, due to its cooler temperatures and many outdoor activity destinations. But in the winter, most of the museums are on “winter break”, it is too cold and icy for hiking, so if you do not enjoy winter sports like skiing and snowboarding, there is not much fun to do. We had a free day in Karuizawa so we tried out a few spots to share with you: Asama Jomon MuseumMMOP Museum Terrace (museum/gallery itself is closed)Lunch with a view of Asama Mountain at ZingaraBouldering at Climbing Gym SoraniShopping at Karuizawa Prince OutletDinner at Chinese restaurant 一品香 Ippin XiangStay at Kyu-Karuizawa Harvest Club and enjoy the hot spring and poolBonus: dinner at Trattoria Abbiocco Sunset at Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza Asama Jomon Museum This museum is a small addition to the town community center. It is quite hard to find at first and not obvious – we ended up parking at the town hall and walking down, but parking is at Miyotacho Ecole Miyota Community Center. The museum is an extension to the community center. You need to first enter the main entrance of the center. Sequential exhibit guides you through the beginning of the period to the later eras Jōmon Museum is one of the few museums open during the winter. It is rather small with three parts to the exhibit, and would take around at most 30 mins. There are both Japanese and English texts. For a fan of ancient Japanese history, I think this would be a fun, quick spot. It is also a good introduction to the Jōmon era for people who, like me, know very little about this period. Jōmon period, 6,000–300 BCE, is characterized by hunter-gatherer inhabitants skilled in pottery and “cord-marking”. This museum houses many examples of such pottery and clay masks and figurines. The much loved haniwa figurines are actually not part of Jōmon period but of Kofun – regardless, in the museum shop and capsule toy machines, there are many haniwa toys sold. Summarized histories in chronological order surround a replica of an excavation site Accessories excavated, including combs and earrings Decorative pottery and clay figurines I enjoyed this part the most – pottery in glowing glass boxes If these photos or the history of intrigue you Jōmon period intrigue you, stop by the Asama Jomon Museum! MMOP Museum Terrace MMOP Musuem is closed during the winter, but the cafe area surrounding is open. There is a landscape design studio called Studio Kyoryu (Studio Dinosaur), which is named dinosaur because their mission is to think so deeply about the land they reach the layers of the dinosaur. Studio Kyoryu is made out of renovated cargo containers Inside is a small shop and very friendly staff Next door is Cabotcove Museum Terrace, dogs are allowed in the covered and heated patio area. We did not try this place out, but noted it for next time – the struggle is real in Japan for dog owners to find a pet-friendly restaurant. Right adjacent is a cafe called Koichiro Coffee. Up the path, there is a steakhouse Feu and Cercle Plus, a wine shop and cafe. Stekahouse Feu Cabotcove Museum Terrace patio Here is a map of the area found on the MMoP museum: Map from http://mmop.jp/ View of Mt. Asama from the path to the north Italian Restaurant: Zingara For lunch we went to Zingara, after calling ahead and making sure there were available seats. Luckily, we got seated at the counter which has a great view of Mt. Asama. The food was really good, and price is not cheap but not expensive. Their thin crust pizza is great and freshly baked, and vongole pasta was delicious as well. Their lunch menu comes with a salad and coffee/tea. Pizza with a view! Freshly baked pizza. The restaurant has unique architecture. Vongole Pasta with broccoli Climbing Gym Sorani This climbing gym is a bit far out of the way from everything else, but we decided to give it a try. For one of us, it was our first time going bouldering. The gym is not heated and very cold, but you warm up quickly once you are on the walls. Because we went on a normal weekday, there were only a few kids and adults, and one staff member. There is an option to take a one-hour beginners course, but we decided to skip it and just listened to a quick set of instructions. The pricing on a weekday is 2200 yen for adults, 1650 for students and 1300 for children, which is very reasonable for a climbing gym. There are many courses to try out, even for beginners, and because a lot of them are geared for children, the reach is not bad. You can rent shoes for 300 yen and chalk for 100 yen, again very reasonable prices. One of the more advanced overhang walls Several beginners levels on the slabs was a good starting point We then had aimed to go ice skating at Kera Ike Skating Rink, but they closed at 4pm and we did not make it in time. For next time! Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza Now with a few hours until dinner, we decided to kill some time by shopping. The Karuizawa Prince outlet mall is huge, and all outdoors so be sure to dress warm. You can visit with a dog but inside the stores they must be carried or in a carrier bag/cart. There is a food court, several restaurants and cafes, a pond, and stores of every kind, so every family member is guaranteed to have fun. You can see the Karuizawa Prince Ski Resort which is right next door 一品香 Ippinsyan Chinese Restaurant For dinner we went to 一品香 Ippinsyan, a delicious casual restaurant ran by a former chef at the Manpei Hotel. Our favorites were the Taiwanese century pitan eggs, spicy boiled pork with garlic sauce, abalone and scallop soup, …