Bessho Onsen

Bessho Onsen is a small hot spring town in the hills southwest of central Ueda City in eastern Nagano. During the Kamakura period it served as a regional administrative centre, and the temples built then earned it the nickname the Kamakura of Shinshu. Anrakuji temple, a short walk from the station, has a wooden octagonal pagoda in Chinese Song style that is designated a National Treasure and is the only surviving example of its kind in Japan. The town has several public bathhouses fed by alkaline sulphur springs, alongside inns and older temples such as Jorakuji and Kitamuki Kannon. It is reached by the Ueda Electric Railway Bessho Line from Ueda Station in about 30 minutes. Ueda itself connects to Tokyo by the Hokuriku Shinkansen.