is a town located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 8,339 in 3351 households, and a population density of 56 persons per km<sup>2</sup>. The total area of the town is .
The area of present-day Shinano was part of ancient Shinano Province. The modern village of Shinano was created by the merger of the villages of Kashiwabara and Fujisato on July 1, 1955. Shinano merged with the neighboring villages of Furuma and Shinanojiri to form the town of Shinano on September 30, 1956.
Shinano is located in far northern Nagano Prefecture, bordered by Niigata Prefecture to the north. Lake Nojiri and Mount Kurohime are in Shinano.
The town has a humid continental climate characterized by characterized by short, hot and humid summers, and cold winters with heavy snowfall (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The average annual temperature in Shinano is . The average annual rainfall is with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .
Per Japanese census data, the population of Shinano has declined over the past 70 years.
Shinano has one combined public elementary/middle school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.
Mayors