Winging Back Home!

Time to return back home!  We left on the train out of Matsumoto to Tokyo, a 2 1/2 hr ride.  The trains are beautiful in Japan and very convenient.   Japan Rail Passes are a very good way to see the country!
When we arrived in Tokyo we switched trains for the one to Narita (Tokyo Airport) another 1 1/2 hr ride.  The scenery along the way was very lovely to look at and the ride was quick!  We arrived at Narita (inside the terminal) and made our way to Japan Airlines to check in. 

It was an easy checkin, easy trek through security, some very nice shopping in the secure area and a great flight back with Japan Airlines.

Again, we arrived a half hour early! 

Now I am home, back at work...but am dreaming of returning to Japan, this time with my husband, Bill, where we can explore Tokyo, Matsumoto, Habuka and venture to Osaka and Kyoto.

If you are thinking of Japan, please give me a call, I'd love to share all the beauty of Japan with you.

Thanks again to Louise and Sue for giving me the opportunity of visiting a country I had only dreamt about!! And to Ricky of Silk Holidays and Serena of Japan Airlines for making Japan come to life for me!!

Hakuba & Kiso Valley

We left Matsumoto with a light drizzle falling.  We made our way to Kiso Valley to visit the old post town on Nakasendo.  What a lovely little town.  We strolled along the quiet streets and the rain stopped.  This town was used to accommodate travelers that would rest before or after making their trek through over the mountains. There are many springs there and we came across a lot of them in the town. 

From the Kiso Valley we made our way to the Dai Wasabi Farm..but first we had lunch!  Soba noodles was the main course, these are made from buckwheat and are delicious. You mix the onions, wasabi into a broth and immerse the noodles, very yummy! Below you can see the restaurant and the lunch.

 Our tour guide at the Daio Wasabi Farm was an interesting man, he had been a newspaper reporter before retiring.  He told a lot about wasabi growth, how direct sunlight has to be avoided and how the water that is constantly being fed through to the growing plants has to be 13 degrees Celsius.

 Here is the rows and rows of wasabi.  The plant can only be harvested once, then it's back to Square 1 :-)  From the Daio Wasabi Farm we took the hour drive to Hakuba!  What an incredible drive, past fields and fields of rice paddies into the Japanese Alps, absolutely breathtaking!!!  Rice paddies grow in front of homes, they can be for their own use, or sometimes they sell the rice.  This area of Japan produces their best rice.

We arrived to Hakuba after a beautiful drive!  What to say about Hakuba is why you've got to go! Ski 10 unique ski fields with one lift pass. The average snow depth for the Hakuba area over is over 2.5 metres, incredible!!  There are plenty of restaurants, onsens as well as snow monkeys! :-)  We did see 2 of them on our mountain climb.  There are day tours organized during the winter season where you can see them up close enjoying the hot onsens.

We were taken up on the chair lift, what a sight to behold, makes me want to go back to Japan to ski, something that I had never thought about when I would think about Japan.  Hakuba is the area in which the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics were held, so there is some pretty good trails and terrain!

Sadly, we had to leave Hakuba and Japan.  Tomorrow we wing back to Canada!

 

 

Norikurakogen, Snow Wall & Kamikochi

 

We set out on our coach to Narikurakogen, above is one of the views on the way up to the top.  Once we reached the plateau we did have to walk up abit, here we go!   It was beautiful at the Snow Wall, cool but not cold, lovely spring weather.  The Wall is melting, best time of year to see it is between April-June.

 

We stopped in Kamikochi on the way back, gorgeous Alpine area, mountains, snow, incredible scenery.  We had a fabulous lunch of fried chicken, rice, salad, it was great!  We made a quick stop at the Museum in Matsumoto and had a look at all the polka dots.  These are representative of Yayoi Kusama's work, she is a painter and writer that was born in Matsumoto.  After another lovely dinner, we called it a night and prepare to head out to Kiso Valley and Hakuba tomorrow!!

 

Matsumoto & Castle

We bid farewell to Tokyo this am and boarded the city bus to Matsumoto.  It took about 3 hours to go from Tokyo to Matsumoto.  It was a very nice ride, buses are very comfy and very quiet. Upon our arrival we went on a city walk to the Castle.  What a sight to behold, The Black Crow, as it has been called due to it's black exterior. We were greeted by a Samurai and a lady in a beautiful kimono.  We had to take our shoes off at the door and toured the castle in our sock and bare feet.  Our tour guide gave us all the history of the lovely castle and the stories of the Shoguns and their quest for land and power!

After touring the Castle, we checked into our beautiful hotel, Hotel Soho, complete with Onsen. Below is the view of the Japanese Alps, quite the sight.  We were treated to an authentic Japanese dinner, served by ladies in kimonos. It was delicious and quite a memory.  For anyone that hasn't been to Japan, Onsens are a very big part of the Japanese lifestyle. In the mountain area of Japan, there are many hot springs.  For us Westerners, it is a bit of an eye opener.....bathing suits are not allowed in the hot springs...or towels...  They are usually male and female Onsens in the hotels, however there are some co-ed ones as well. 

Tomorrow we will visit the Snow Wall in Norikurakogen and then Kamichochi!!  Stay tuned!!

Walking through Tokyo

We started our day off by taking the subway to the Tsukiji Fish Market  The subway system is huge and very efficient. One needs their ticket to enter and exit  The trains are full but very quiet as talking on cellphones is prohibited, texting only.  The fish market was very interesting, all kinds of fresh and dried fish.  Delicious strawberries on rice cakes!

We then proceeded to Asakusa to view the Buddhist temple  It was an incredible sight to see  Lots of people praying.

 We then went to the Sky Tree, the highest tower in the world, just beautiful! Here's some tidbits for you.
The Tokyo Skytree, completed in February 2012, reaches a height of 634 m (2,080 ft), making it the tallest tower, and second tallest free standing structure in the world.

  After that we made a stop at Mid Town for a relaxing drink outside in the beautiful courtyard area.

Tokyo is a very impressive city, so clean, modern, and full of history. Our walking tour was over 20kms  one of the ladies has a pedometer:-)  so after a good dinner at the hotel it is off to bed.

Tomorrow we say Sayonara  to Tokyo and we continue our adventure to Matsumoto!

Tokyo!

Flight was awesome! Great service, good food and we arrived an hr early.
 Very easy to get to our hotel from the airport, bus tickets can be purchased upon arrival.
 It takes about 80 minutes to get downtown. 

Our hotel is in the Shinjuku area, very lively part of Tokyo. We had dinner in the hotel in true Japanese style,shoes off, sitting on the floor  It was a real welcome to Japan! Tomorrow we venture to Mt Fuji! Am loving Japan already. The people are so nice and so respectful  Bowing is a part of their daily life.

 Til next time Sayonara!

Mt. Fuji

The Japanese say that Mt Fuji is shy and this is true  we were lucky to see her before the clouds and fog set in. It is about an hour and half drive from Tokyo  we were able to drive to station 5 the highest point. Countryside is gorgeous, lots of flowers and so manicured.  Mt Fuji is very special to the Japanese people and to climb to the top is all their dream.

Above you can see Shy Mt Fuji!  After descending from Station 5, we had a lovely lunch.  The tour also includes the ropeway and a boat cruise on Lake Ashi.

That evening we went to the Robot Show in Tokyo, quite the entertaining show complete with a suschi dinner!  Tomorrow is our walking tour of Tokyo!!  Make sure the shoes are comfy!