Bessho Onsen suits a day out from Ueda because Bessho Onsen Station is about thirty minutes from Ueda Station on the Bessho Line. This guide covers the Bessho Line and how to pay on board, fees and opening times at Anrakuji, Kitamuki Kannon and Jorakuji, the public baths and foot bath, the yearly event dates, and where to stay.
Getting to Bessho Onsen from Ueda by Rail
The Hokuriku Shinkansen brings you from Tokyo Station to Ueda Station. At Ueda you change to the Ueda Electric Railway's Bessho Line, which runs out to Bessho Onsen Station. The times for each leg come first, followed by how fares are paid on board.
- The Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Ueda Station takes about 1 hour 30 minutes.
- The Bessho Line from Ueda Station to Bessho Onsen Station takes about 30 minutes.
- It is about a 10-minute walk from Bessho Onsen Station to Anrakuji.
- On the Bessho Line and on Ueda city buses, payment is made by holding the smartphone with the QR code over the reader when boarding and again when getting off, and there is no need to take a numbered ticket.
- If the QR code cannot be displayed, including shared postpaid or prepaid payment, payment is in cash.
- The one-day free ticket for unlimited rides on all of the Bessho Line is 1,180 yen for an adult and 600 yen for a child.
When you board, the QR reader sits at the top of the numbered ticket machine. Hold the phone to it as you get on and again as you get off. For another destination in Nagano Prefecture on a later day, Matsushiro's castle town has its own guide on this site.
Anrakuji and Its Octagonal Pagoda
Anrakuji's octagonal three-storied pagoda is a National Treasure, and the fee to view it is three hundred yen. The table below sets out admission by age group and the opening times, which change between the summer and winter halves of the year.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Admission, adults | 300 yen |
| Admission, elementary and junior high school students | 100 yen |
| Opening hours, March to October | 8:00 to 17:00, last entry at 16:45 |
| Opening hours, November to February | 8:00 to 16:00, last entry at 15:45 |
From November to February Anrakuji closes earlier than it does from March to October, and in both periods the last entry comes a little before the closing time. In winter, then, plan to be at Anrakuji by mid-afternoon rather than leaving it to the end of the day.
Where to stay
Places to stay near Bessho Onsen, Ueda, Nagano →
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Kitamuki Kannon and Jorakuji: Hours and Closures
Kitamuki Kannon changes its opening times from month to month, while Jorakuji itself keeps to one schedule for the whole year. The table below lists the times for both temples and the museum, together with the entrance fee at Jorakuji, so you can line them up against your arrival.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Kitamuki Kannon, April | 7:00 to 16:30 |
| Kitamuki Kannon, May to September | 7:00 to 17:00 |
| Kitamuki Kannon, October | 7:00 to 16:30 |
| Kitamuki Kannon, November to March | 7:00 to 16:00 |
| Jorakuji opening and goshuin hours | 9:00 to 16:00, all year |
| Jorakuji entrance fee | 100 yen |
| Jorakuji Museum opening hours | 9:00 to 16:00, closed December 26 to the end of February |
The Jorakuji Museum is closed from December twenty-sixth to the end of February. Museum admission is five hundred yen for adults and one hundred yen for elementary and junior high school students. Goshuin reception at Kitamuki Kannon runs all year from eight in the morning until the closing time for that month.
Public Baths, a Foot Bath and Lunch
The public baths in the town each keep their own times and take their weekly day off on different days, so check the table below before you choose one. Nanakuri, the foot bath, is covered too, and at the baths themselves the last entry comes before the time the doors shut.
| Place | Details |
|---|---|
| Ishi-yu | open 6:30 to 21:30, last entry 21:00, closed on Tuesdays |
| Daishi-yu | open 6:00 to 21:00, last entry 20:30, closed on Thursdays |
| Oyu | open 6:30 to 21:30, last entry 21:00, closed on Wednesdays |
| Nanakuri foot bath | 9:00 to 21:00 |
Aisome-no-Yu keeps a pattern of its own, so do not assume it follows the others above. Its doors are open from ten in the morning to ten at night, with reception until nine-twenty at night. It is closed on the second and fourth Monday of each month.
For lunch, Hinode Shokudo serves horse meat udon at seven hundred yen. It is open from eleven in the morning to two in the afternoon. It is closed on Thursday. Its midday window is short, so plan lunch between the morning and afternoon stops rather than leaving it late.
Events Through the Year
Bessho Onsen keeps a handful of yearly events whose dates are either fixed or tied to a nearby Sunday. The list below gives each one by date, so you can line a visit up with one of them if you choose. Dates are given as they recur each year, not for one particular year.
- Hatsumode at Kitamuki Kannon, Anrakuji, Jorakuji and Bessho Shrine is held from January 1 to 4.
- Setsubun is held on February 3.
- The Chie no Dango event is held on March 25.
- The Take no Nobori rain-prayer festival is held on the Sunday nearest July 15.
In date order, then, the events run through January, February and March, and nothing else is listed until the Take no Nobori rain-prayer festival in July. If Nagano Prefecture is on your route again later in the trip, Obuse's chestnut town is covered in a separate guide on this site.
Staying Overnight in Bessho Onsen
By rail, the journey from Tokyo to Bessho Onsen, using the Hokuriku Shinkansen and then the Bessho Line from Ueda Station, takes about one hour forty minutes. Set that against the opening times above to judge how much of the town fits into a single day; staying the night is the other way to fit in more.
If you would like more time in town than the rail journey from Tokyo allows, browse places to stay in Bessho Onsen.