Bessho Onsen & Ueda別所温泉・上田

Sanada Masayuki built the castle in 1583. His forces held it against Tokugawa armies in 1585 and again in 1600, and the second siege delayed Tokugawa Hidetada's march to Sekigahara. You can walk the moats and stone walls in the park; the rebuilt turret is open for ¥300 (¥500 with the city museum), 9:00 to 17:00, last entry 16:30, closed Wednesdays, the day after a public holiday and at the new year. The Yagura-mon gate tower is also shut from mid-November to March. Sanada Shrine stands inside the grounds.

A lane on the old Hokkoku Kaidō, an Edo post town of inns, drapers and sake shops, now with long-established sake brewers, a bakery and cafés. It is the quiet part of Ueda and takes about 40 minutes to walk with a stop for a drink. It is a short walk from the castle if you go on foot between the two.

Shinano's oldest Zen temple, founded in the Kamakura period. Its three-storey octagonal pagoda, from the end of that period, is a National Treasure and the only octagonal wooden pagoda in Japan. Open 8:00 to 17:00 from March to October (last entry 16:45) and 8:00 to 16:00 from November to February (last entry 15:45).

Founded in 825, the Kannon hall faces north, the opposite way to Zenkō-ji in Nagano, which faces south. Visiting both is said to bring the full blessing. Jōraku-ji, its head temple, has a rare stone multi-treasure pagoda (¥100 entry) and a small museum (¥500).

The village grew up around three public baths, and the usual evening is a yukata and wooden sandals, with a bath or two between dinner and bed. Each costs ¥300; the table below has hours and closing days. The water is a colourless simple sulfur spring, 50.9°C at the main No. 4 source, with a faint sulfur smell. Daishiyu is the quietest and uses its own source, free-flowing; Ōyu and Ishiyu combine free flow with recirculation.

Take a morning Hakutaka to Ueda (about 1h 30m) and spend an hour and a half at the castle and Yanagimachi. Ride the Bessho Line (30 min) to the village, walk to Kitamuki Kannon and Jōraku-ji, eat soba, climb to Anraku-ji and finish with a ¥300 bath. Take a Bessho Line train back in time for an evening Shinkansen. Check the last Bessho train before you start.

Day 1: Shinkansen to Ueda, the castle and Yanagimachi, then the Bessho Line to the village by late afternoon. A bath before dinner, a walk in yukata after it. Day 2: bathe from 6:00 or 6:30 (check which bath is open), then Kitamuki Kannon and Anraku-ji before the crowds, and the Bessho Line back to Ueda. Karuizawa and Nagano are the bigger Shinkansen stops either side of Ueda.