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.
Café Maple（カフェメープル）
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 she wants people that came all this way to leisurely enjoy some sightseeing, she hasn’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.
Restaurant’s business hours: 11:30～14:00 (LO 13:30) and 17:00-21:00 (LO 20:30) *may change due to circumstances
Closed: Irregular holidays
Business period: All year round
Primavera（プリマベーラ）
This restaurant is located inside a hot spring facility (Yukemurikan Hot Spring), 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.
Side dishes such as fried potatoes and roast duck with a wasabi dip are also available.
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
See Map
Oasis（オアシス）
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).
Business hours: 9:30～15:30
Business period: April 26～October 31 (2019)
See Map
Besides these 3 restaurants, there are also many other great eating places. We’ll continue to update the list, so stay tuned!
Getting to Norikura
Norikura is accessible from Matsumoto by Alpico Bus. You can check bus routes and timetables from the links below.
