Japan (October 2008)
Days 1 and 2:
This is one of my numerous trips to Japan. This time I visited with an old friend from Maui. I took a Japan Airlines flight from San Francisco and arrived at Narita International shortly after 4:00 p.m. My friend's flight from Honolulu had arrived about 2 hours earlier, and she was waiting for me at a "Meeting Point" in Terminal 2. We took a limousine bus from the airport to Tokyo JR Station and checked into a hotel that was a short walk from the station.
Our plan was to see the central part of Japan on this trip.
Day 3:
After an early breakfast, we returned to Tokyo JR Station and took the "Asama" Bullet Train to Nagano - about 1 hr. 45 min.
At Nagano we transferred to a local train to Matsumoto, which ran along a mountainous farming area. All the rice fields had recently been harvested.
Our hotel in Matsumoto was near the train station. Since it was too early to check in, we left our luggage at the hotel and went sightseeing. We walked to Matsumoto Castle, one of the few original castles that have survived the fires and wars. This castle and Himeji Castle are considered to be the two premier castles in Japan. Pine trees on the castle ground are all meticulously shaped and gloomed.
One can climb, a set of steep stairs, to the top floor of Tenshu-kaku (the "Keep") for viewing the rest of the castle ground. There's a miniature Shinto shrine on the top floor. Here's a close-up view of Tenshu-kaku which was built in the late 16th century. Because of its black exterior, it's called "Crow Castle". Himeji Castle, on the other hand, is called "White Egret Castle" because of its white exterior.
On the way back to the hotel, we visited Nawate-dori, a small street lined with shops selling Japanese knickknacks. Actually many of the shops were selling interesting items, but the business seemed to be very slow everywhere. There was a cool-looking "koban" (police station) by the shopping street, and also a unique display:
We, also, walked by a hotel with a rather curious name. I guess the owner couldn't decide if it's a hotel, a dorm, or an inn!? I call these "Janglish" - an abbreviation for Japanese English. Everywhere in Japan, one sees strange signs in English, and sometimes they even mix English and French words! My pet peeve: why not use Japanese instead or have the sign checked by someone who knows English or whichever Western language they want to use?
This is one of my numerous trips to Japan. This time I visited with an old friend from Maui. I took a Japan Airlines flight from San Francisco and arrived at Narita International shortly after 4:00 p.m. My friend's flight from Honolulu had arrived about 2 hours earlier, and she was waiting for me at a "Meeting Point" in Terminal 2. We took a limousine bus from the airport to Tokyo JR Station and checked into a hotel that was a short walk from the station.
Our plan was to see the central part of Japan on this trip.
Day 3:
After an early breakfast, we returned to Tokyo JR Station and took the "Asama" Bullet Train to Nagano - about 1 hr. 45 min.
At Nagano we transferred to a local train to Matsumoto, which ran along a mountainous farming area. All the rice fields had recently been harvested.
Our hotel in Matsumoto was near the train station. Since it was too early to check in, we left our luggage at the hotel and went sightseeing. We walked to Matsumoto Castle, one of the few original castles that have survived the fires and wars. This castle and Himeji Castle are considered to be the two premier castles in Japan. Pine trees on the castle ground are all meticulously shaped and gloomed.
One can climb, a set of steep stairs, to the top floor of Tenshu-kaku (the "Keep") for viewing the rest of the castle ground. There's a miniature Shinto shrine on the top floor. Here's a close-up view of Tenshu-kaku which was built in the late 16th century. Because of its black exterior, it's called "Crow Castle". Himeji Castle, on the other hand, is called "White Egret Castle" because of its white exterior.
On the way back to the hotel, we visited Nawate-dori, a small street lined with shops selling Japanese knickknacks. Actually many of the shops were selling interesting items, but the business seemed to be very slow everywhere. There was a cool-looking "koban" (police station) by the shopping street, and also a unique display:
We, also, walked by a hotel with a rather curious name. I guess the owner couldn't decide if it's a hotel, a dorm, or an inn!? I call these "Janglish" - an abbreviation for Japanese English. Everywhere in Japan, one sees strange signs in English, and sometimes they even mix English and French words! My pet peeve: why not use Japanese instead or have the sign checked by someone who knows English or whichever Western language they want to use?
By the way the name of the hotel we were staying was Hotel Buena Vista. Yes, Matsumoto does offer magnificent views of snow-capped mountains on a fine day. I took the photo below from a highland just outside of Matsumoto on another trip.
The Japanese restaurant in our hotel was actually a fine restaurant and served wonderful "kaiseki" dinner in a beautiful setting at a reasonable price! We were pleasantly surprised. If I ever revisit Matsumoto, I would definitely dine there, again.
Day 4:
Our plan for the day was a day trip to Mt. Tateyama via Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route. It's a route through the Northern Japan Alps, which is traversed by various means of transportation, including cable cars, trolley buses and a ropeway.
From Matsumoto we took a train to Shinano-Ohmachi, the starting point on the Nagano Prefecture side (east side) of the Alpine Route. We purchased round-trip tickets to Murodo on Mt. Tateyama, as we weren't going all the way to the other end of the route. We first took a bus to Ogizawa and then an underground trolley bus to Kurobe Dam:
After exploring the dam and the lake, we walked on the dam to the other side of the man-made lake to reach the cable car station for a short ride through a tunnel:
After getting off the cable car, we waited for a gondola at Kurobe-daira Ropeway Station.
A short ride on the ropeway took us to Daikanbou Station, where we had light lunch. We enjoyed a walk near the station and admired the view down to Kurobe Dam and Lake as well as the fall colors.
The final mode of transportation to Murodo Station on Mt. Tateyama was a trolley bus through a long tunnel under Mt. Tateyama. After about a 10-minute ride through the tunnel we reached Murodo at the elevation of about 2,450 m (8,038 ft). There's a hotel at the station which is used by those who go hiking/climbing in the area.
We, too, went on a hike on the plateau. Unfortunately it was cloudy, and thus we could not see the Sea of Japan. We passed a beautiful pond and hiked down into Jigoku-dani, a hellish valley spewing steam and gas, powered by steaming hot springs.
In fact, there was a lodge offering bathing in baths fed by a hot spring. On the way out of the valley, we spotted a number of "raicho" or rock ptarmigan.
After returning to Murodo Station, we backtracked the Alpine Route all the way to Shinano-Ohmachi and then took a train back to Matsumoto. It was a very interesting day trip. However, it would have been better if we had had a sunny day!
The Japanese restaurant in our hotel was actually a fine restaurant and served wonderful "kaiseki" dinner in a beautiful setting at a reasonable price! We were pleasantly surprised. If I ever revisit Matsumoto, I would definitely dine there, again.
Day 4:
Our plan for the day was a day trip to Mt. Tateyama via Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route. It's a route through the Northern Japan Alps, which is traversed by various means of transportation, including cable cars, trolley buses and a ropeway.
From Matsumoto we took a train to Shinano-Ohmachi, the starting point on the Nagano Prefecture side (east side) of the Alpine Route. We purchased round-trip tickets to Murodo on Mt. Tateyama, as we weren't going all the way to the other end of the route. We first took a bus to Ogizawa and then an underground trolley bus to Kurobe Dam:
After exploring the dam and the lake, we walked on the dam to the other side of the man-made lake to reach the cable car station for a short ride through a tunnel:
After getting off the cable car, we waited for a gondola at Kurobe-daira Ropeway Station.
A short ride on the ropeway took us to Daikanbou Station, where we had light lunch. We enjoyed a walk near the station and admired the view down to Kurobe Dam and Lake as well as the fall colors.
The final mode of transportation to Murodo Station on Mt. Tateyama was a trolley bus through a long tunnel under Mt. Tateyama. After about a 10-minute ride through the tunnel we reached Murodo at the elevation of about 2,450 m (8,038 ft). There's a hotel at the station which is used by those who go hiking/climbing in the area.
We, too, went on a hike on the plateau. Unfortunately it was cloudy, and thus we could not see the Sea of Japan. We passed a beautiful pond and hiked down into Jigoku-dani, a hellish valley spewing steam and gas, powered by steaming hot springs.
In fact, there was a lodge offering bathing in baths fed by a hot spring. On the way out of the valley, we spotted a number of "raicho" or rock ptarmigan.
After returning to Murodo Station, we backtracked the Alpine Route all the way to Shinano-Ohmachi and then took a train back to Matsumoto. It was a very interesting day trip. However, it would have been better if we had had a sunny day!
