Those who are going from Matsumoto to Mt. Norikura (Tatamidaira) have to transfer buses at the transport hub N-29 Norikura Kogen Tourist Center. There are probably people who are looking for a place to eat as they arrived exactly at lunch time or they are waiting for the next bus to come. For tourists who are experiencing a bit of trouble because they are unsure whether the place they are looking at is an actually restaurant or just somebody’s house, or they don’t know what’s on the menu, we are going to introduce 3 of our recommended restaurants near the Norikura Kogen Tourist Center.
1. Café Maple
A restaurant with a cozy atmosphere that’s a 1-minute walk away from the bus stop. The food is delicious, and the serving sizes are so generous that you might not be able to finish your plate. What’s more is that the dishes are very reasonably priced. According to the owner, eating places in tourist spots are generally on the pricy side, but because they want people that came all this way to leisurely enjoy some sightseeing, they haven’t raised the prices once in the past 20 years. Also, an English menu is available, so you can rest assured that you know what you order.
In a log house, nice and warm with a good atmosphere
Recommended menu: Norikura’s Special Pizza with Japanese plum from Mt. Norikura that has just the right amount of sweetness (1,000 JPY)
Recommended menu: Ginger Roast Pork Set Meal (1,000 JPY)
Recommended menu: “Sanzoku-yaki” (Fried Chicken) (700 JPY)
Business hours: Lunch 11:30～13:30（Closes at 14:00）
Dinner 17:00～20:30（Closes at 21:00）
Closed: Irregular closing days
Business period: All year round
2. Primavera (Inside Yukemurikan Hot Spring)
This restaurant is located inside a hot spring facility, just a 1-minute walk away from the bus stop. For those who want to refresh themselves a little after doing some trekking or hiking, this place is highly recommended! As main dishes, they have stone-oven baked pizza and pasta. The entrance fee is 720 JPY for adults and 300 JPY for children.
The atmosphere inside the restaurant
Creamy Shinshu Mushroom and Chicken Pasta (1,180 JPY)
Side dishes such as fried potatoes and roast duck with a wasabi dip are also available.
An overview of the menu. They also have pictures which makes it easy to order.
How about a cold beer after bathing in the hot spring?
The outdoor hot spring for day visits（Photo provided by Visitmatsumoto）
Restaurant’s business hours: 11:00～19:15 (may change due to circumstances)
Hot spring facility’s business hours: 9:30～21:00（Entry until 20:00）
Closed: 3rd Tuesday of every month as well as the 4th Tuesday (also closed in the beginning of December)
Business period: All year round
3. Oasis
This restaurant is in the same building as the bus ticket counter. You order food by buying a meal ticket from the vending machine and hand it to the person at the counter. On the vending machine you will find photos of the meals, so it is easy to choose from. For people who are short on time, this would be a good place to eat. As main dishes, they have things like soba and udon noodles, hamburgers, curry rice, and “katsudon” (pork cutlet rice bowl).
The meal ticket vending machine
The recommended menu here is the “Mt. Kengamine” serving size (1,500 JPY) of their “Peak Zaru-soba” (buckwheat noodles). The dish is made to look like the tallest peak of Mt. Norikura and its portion size is 5 times as large as a regular zaru-soba. So, want to challenge it?
Matsumoto’s specialty “Sanzoku-yaki” (Fried Chicken) Hamburger is also recommended (680 JPY)
Business hours: 9:30～15:30
Business period: April 26～October 31 (2019)
Besides these 3 restaurants, there are also many other great eating places. We’ll continue to update the list, so stay tuned!
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