By train
Nagano is about 90 minutes from Tokyo station on the bullet train. The Hokuriku Shinkansen, also known as the Nagano Shinkansen or Asama, was completed in time for the 1998 Winter Olympics. There are 2-3 departures per hour from Tokyo Station, at a cost of �7970 each way. Smoking was banned on all Asama trains as of December, 2005.
The Wide View Shinano limited express train runs hourly from Nagoya to Nagano. Taking about three hours, and at a cost of �7130 each way, this is the best method of reaching Nagano by train from Kyoto, Osaka, and elsewhere in western Japan; simply take the Shinkansen and change to the "Shinano" in Nagoya.
By bus
Highway buses from Tokyo depart from the terminal in Shinjuku, and from the Sunshine City Prince Hotel in Ikebukuro. The trip takes around three and a half hours, and the fare is �4000 one-way. The �7200 round trip fare is about half the cost of the Shinkansen.
Hankyu and Nankai buses also make a few daytime and nighttime runs from Osaka and Kyoto to Nagano. The day runs take about seven hours, and the night runs take nine hours. Expect to pay �6200 one-way, �10000 round trip from Osaka, and �5300 one-way, �9500 round-trip from Kyoto
