[jasonbvr]

One of the best things about Nikko is the tourism offices located in the train stations. The staff at these offices know practically every hotel and inn in town. There is the special ticket you can buy that pays for all your bus rides and temple entrance fees. It is really the best place you can go in the greater Kanto area for tourism.

Other notable places are Edo-mura and that place with the miniature replicas of the White House, Eiffel tower and so on. There is a ski resort close by too. Honestly if I had to decide to split my time between Nagano and Nikko or just do one, I would go to Nikko.

However it comes down to what you are seeking. Do you want someplace that is packed with history and full of places to run around and see or a vacation to relax and really take in the rugged beauty of Japan? There is a town, once again I forget the name, in southern Nagano that is a true Edo-mura (a town from the Edo period). Aside from electricity and other amenities, many things there remain unchanged. And for the most part Nagano is rural countryside surrounded by the Japanese Alps (deemed such as they have the highest slope grade in Japan around 45 degrees for Hakuba and Happo-One).

If you were really into boarding or skiing, there would be no question. Go to Nagano. But I get the feel you are more interested in something scenic and touristy. You could, or at least I could, spend a week in Nikko and not run out of places to photograph.