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Joshin’etsukogen NP, Nagano
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The large green-tuff rock inside the center is a remnant of underwater volcanic activity about 16 million years ago. Local guides say you can spot the same rock type in Okushiga.
At the center, visitors can paint their own Okomin, Shiga Kogen’s mascot, in the style of a Tsuchibina clay doll. This traditional craft comes from neighboring Nakano, where local artisans also make Okomin figures.
The center’s ココイコキューブ turns visitors’ questions into touch-operated quizzes. Veteran local guide Katsuko Yumoto helped create it, drawing on the knowledge she gathered over years of guiding in Shiga Kogen.
The center first opened in July 1970 as the Nagano Prefecture Shiga Kogen Nature Classroom. It became the Nature Protection Center in 1997, then reopened under its current name on April 27, 2026.
Since 2013, a Shiga Kogen environmental-learning program has taken students from a lesson to a guided outdoor study, then to a report on protecting nature. The center’s guide association helps bring the program to life.
