 Nagano City is an important historical location, an industrial center, as well as a travel destination and a center for accessing surrounding sightseeing spots, including Japan's "onsen"-bathing snow monkeys in Yamanouchi and world-class ski resorts of Hakuba and Nozawaonsen - throughout the year.Nagano is located in former Shinano Province and developed from the Nara period as a temple town at the gate of the famous Zenkō-ji, a 7th-century Buddhist temple which was relocated to this location in 642 AD, and as a post station on the Hokkoku Kaidō highway connecting Edo with the Sea of Japan coast.In the southern section of Nagano City are a series of over 500 burial mounds at Ōmuro Kofun - a National historic site - dating from the 5th-8th centuries.