Summer Haven Karuizawa

If I can name one thing about Japan that I don’t like, it is Japanese summer. Some days the temperature can get up to 97 degrees fareignheit (36 degrees Celsius) not to mention the high humidity.

Besides wearing a fan jacket, many Japanese people like to go to Karuizawa to escape the heat. Just a few days ago I decided to go there and see if it really is cooler than Tokyo. When I arrived I noticed that the humidity considerably dropped and it was indeed cooler than Tokyo. However, when you are walking from store to store or if you decide to go to their Summer Candle Event (which I highly recommend btw), there is almost no shade. I don’t recommend going to here during summer unless you plan on staying at your hotel the whole time which means you should just stay home and blast the AC.

Trip Highlight

The highlight of my trip to Karuizawa was their summer candle night which is held at 軽井沢高原協会 (Karuizawa Kougen Church). They hold a candle event at night (winter and summer) where they light up real candle lanterns and they scatter them around the church. Probably one of the best places to take photos and the best part of it is that it is FREE…sort of..