The city of Nagano grew around the Buddhist temple Zenkoji, which was built in the early seventh century. By the seventeenth century, it had grown into a prosperous commercial center with a large market.

It's a relatively big city today with a population of 360,000, and it is a regional center of commerce and industry, particularly electrical machinery.

Nagano is hosting the Olympic Winter Games in February 1998. Visitors from overseas will be able to reach the city easily thanks to Nagano Shinkansen ("bullet train") line between Tokyo and Nagano that went into service in October 1997.

Photos provided by Shinonoi Nishi Middle School.