Nagano Prefecture is located in the Chubu region of the main island of Honshu. It is one of only eight landlocked prefectures in Japan, bordered by Niigata, Gunma, Saitama, Yamanashi, Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu, and Toyama.

Nagano Prefecture is sometimes referred to as 'the roof of Japan' because of the steep, rugged terrain of the many 2,000-3,000m mountains that comprise the Japan Alps. The Northern Alps are located along the northwestern region bordering Gifu and Toyama. The Central Alps are in the southwestern region, and the Southern Alps are along the southeastern border.

After Hokkaido, Nagano Prefecture is home to the second-largest number of ski areas in Japan. It has multiple world-class winter sports resorts within its boundaries, and some were venues for the main events of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. There are ski areas throughout the mountains of Nagano Prefecture, but the majority are in the northern and central regions.

There are a number of ski areas in the highland region near Lake Shirakaba, between Mt Kirigamine and Mt Tateshina, and within Chino City, Tateshina Town, Nagawa Town and Suwa City. The region usually enjoys a relatively large amount of clear weather conditions during the winter. As a result, it generally receives less snowfall than some other highland areas.

Blanche Takayama Ski Resort is the only ski area currently operating in Nagawa Town. There is another ski area called Echo Valley, but that has not opened in recent years.

The Yatsugatake Chushin Kogen Quasi-National Park is a popular tourist destination year-round.