You can arrive at this amazingly beautiful place after just a 3-hour drive from Tokyo. Get off the Chuo-highway at Matsumoto and visit Castle Matsumoto, also called Black Castle. It was Lotus flower season and their were also white swans in the moat. Also it's great fun to row a boat at Taisho Pond where the water is clear and as cold as ice water.
The Hodaka mountains view is so breathtakingly beautiful walking along the Azusa river side… You have to park your car at the Sawando parking area, and everyone has to take a bus or taxi to Kamikoch.
From Kappa-bashi, after a 2-hour trek, you suddenly reach a very mysteriously beautiful pond called Myojin Pond. Shirahone Onsen (hot spring) has an outdoor public bath where you can relax your tired feet and soul.