Chuo-Dori, the Main Street of Nagano, runs north to Zenkoji temple from near JR Nagano Station.  This tour shows only the section north of Showa-Dori, where the vehicular road has been narrowed, and the pedestrian infrastructure has been upgraded.

This street is a quasi-S.L.O.W. street; it shares most of the characteristic physical qualities, but has traffic in both directions.  It has many parallels to State Street in Santa Barbara; one lane each direction, frequent mini-bus service, no on-street parking, plenty of trees, and mostly 2 story buildings.

The intersection of Chuo-Dori and Showa-Dori is landmarked by TOiGO, with SBC (Shin-etsu Broadcasting Co) & the city of Nagano’s life-long learning center over two floors of shops:

TOiGO is a 10 minute walk from JR Nagano or a 3 minute walk from Shiyakusho-mae subway station (www.toigo.co.jp/access/).

This photo tour covers the upgraded portion of Chuo-Dori, proceeding northwards from TOiGO towards Zenkoji.

Note the stone bollards, frequent trees, human-scale street lighting, facade-to-facade pavers, and #curbless design.

Scramble crossing at Showa-Dori (glass clad TOiGO buildings on east side):

7 benches in front of TOiGO West (more in TOiGO plaza):

Two benches under shade umbrella:

Bus stop with 2 benches (note the wayfinding map in the background):

3 benches:

Bus stop with 2 benches:

3 benches:

4 benches:

bus stop with 2 benches:

3 benches:

7 benches:

2 benches, back-to-back:

Umbrella tables outside “Matsuya” and  “go slow“:

Bus stop with 3 benches:

1 bench in front of shoe store:

2 benches in the shade (on a fairly wide #widewalk):

Umbrella table outside “World Trek Diner & Guesthouse“:

Umbrella table outside the Gondo Shopping Arcade:

Bus stop with 2 benches (note the red benches across the street):

Red benches in front of the Kitano Bungeiza (there are 4 on the west side, and 3 on the east side):

Here begins a long bench-less section:

Past, Present, and Future seem to all co-exist:

“Japan, however, is like a huge spiral that spins constantly. The past is projected into the future, and history is created by layers. The past always remains visible next to the present. The notion of a trend is totally irrelevant as history is created every minute. Previous ideas don’t become irrelevant and out of date, but inspire future ones.”

~Nicolas Gwenael in Interior Design

Great architecture & great variety:

More benches:

2 metal benches:

Bus stop with 2 benches:

Bus stop with 1 bench (and no roof!):

8 benches:

Scramble crossing (intersection of Chuo-Dori and National Freeway 406; 4 lanes, 31 mph).  This scramble crossing marks the end of the #curbless section.

Umbrella tables on both sides:

2 benches with 2 shade umbrellas:

The end of the “Main Street” section of Chuo-Dori, with umbrella tables on both sides:

Chuo-Dori continues as a car-free street to Zenkoji temple:

70+ benches in just a 12 minute walk (900 meters ~ 3,000 feet):(Same 12 min walk shown at two different scales)