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Finally, back in Japan
We are currently in Japan – Matsumoto to be exact. I haven’t been good in the trip report department lately, but mrwunrfl asked that I report back on some logistics (Kamikochi?), so I thought I’d post a few things as we go along. If I don’t do it now, it might never happen!
As background, this is my third trip to Japan, and mr_go’s second. Our itinerary includes Tokyo, Matsumoto, Kamikochi, Takayama, and Kanazawa. I covered most of this ground in my first trip (2006), but it is mostly new for him. I bought the airline tickets last July, well before details of Japan’s reopening were announced. My side hobby is finding ways to use United Plus Points to upgrade to Polaris, and when I saw available flights, I jumped on them – hoping all would eventually work out. We completed the immigration and customs forms online before traveling and came armed with QR codes. When I started the forms during the week prior to travel, the quarantine requirement was scheduled to end on May 8. I entered all the information and uploaded our vax cards. Sometime over the weekend of April 29, that requirement was eliminated altogether, a week early. There was no wait at immigration or customs (we did require a little assistance from someone at the customs kiosk, where I was admonished that the printed QR was “too big”). Despite a very long walk from the plane to the immigration hall, we went from plane door at 4:15 pm to seated on an Airport Limousine Bus departing for Shinjuku at 4:50 pm. Travel to the Hyatt Regency Shinjuku took about one hour, including stops at the other HND terminals. We picked this hotel primarily because I was able to apply a Hyatt Club Award, with lounge access that included breakfast and happy hour with a generous buffet and plated appetizers (of which we made great use). I also like all of its conveniences, including a direct airport bus, a mostly underground walkway into Shinjuku Station, and direct underground access to two subway lines (Oedo and Marunouchi), as well as a 7-11 with ATM in the hotel basement. It's a large hotel, but it never felt crowded at all. The best part was our rather spacious corner room with a view of Mt. Fuji – at least until the clouds moved in a day later. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...02c6b02cc.jpeg View from our room, Hyatt Regency Shinjuku. If you look closely, Mt. Fuji is visible to the left of the building on the right side of the photo. |
Sugoii!!! Glad you finally made it back to Japan, ms_go. It’s been 10 years since I visited Japan and am hoping to make it back this November after postponing it for the past couple of years, so I read what you share with keen interest. Had planned to go around this time but decided that I did not want to be there while the G7 is taking place.
Seems like some of the long queues on arrival have been resolved, or at least you arrived at an optimal time of day. Which airport did you fly into: Haneda or Narita? How are the tourist crowds in Matsumoto? Tokyo I know is always busy tourists or not given the size of the city. Thank you for sharing your trip with us. |
Hi tripplanner001! Our flight was from Chicago to Haneda. So far, Matsumoto doesn't seem to have big tourist crowds. We went to the castle mid-afternoon yesterday. There were others around, but it wasn't crowded. And we were practically the only people in the art museum this morning. I have a friend who is in Japan now on a tour, and Hiroshima was cut from the itinerary because of the G7.
Tokyo I remember making note on our arrival evening that it was dark by around 7pm. Well, now we know the other side of that equation. I saw sunlight through the cracks in the curtains the next morning and was amazed that we slept in – only to find out it was 4:45 am! We had two full days in Tokyo. We knew on arrival that one day would be nice albeit extremely windy, and the second day would be rainy. We used the nice day to hop around the city, partly on foot and partly on the trains using a SUICA card – with destinations that included Ueno Park and surrounding area, Asakusa/Senso-ji (Nakamise-dori was packed, but it was a Saturday), Ginza, and the gardens around the Imperial Palace. The rainy day was more challenging. We started with the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden and then sought out Hibiya Okuroji (a newer shopping restaurant development under the viaduct between Shimbashi and Yurakucho stations for lunch. We spent a couple of our evenings wandering east of Shinjuku station. The other we spent at Meiji Jingu Stadium taking in a Yakult Swallows game. We arrived a little late and could hear the chanting and singing several blocks from the stadium. At first glance, we thought the 8-1 on the scoreboard was just some display element we weren’t used to – but, no, we missed a lot of action in the first 1.5 innings (and mostly not by the home team). Nevertheless, that didn’t seem to get the Swallows fans down. They chanted. They sang. And when their team scored, out came the umbrellas. One nice fan nearby bought us beer. It was fun, even if the home team wasn’t looking so good. We left after the 7th inning, as jetlag was still an issue. By the way, I bought the tickets online a couple of weeks before we traveled. Probably a good idea. The stadium was packed, and not just the locals. Yokohama brought a very large contingent of fans, a few with musical instruments. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e4b528099.jpeg |
Japanese pro baseball games are so much fun to attend and love the “kawaii” beer girls!
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A study in contrasts...all places within about 10 minutes of Shinjuku Station.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ea6bc9126.jpeg Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4cf02cb5a.jpeg Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...efb08d7da.jpeg Kabukichō https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2a405ffb1.jpeg Shinjuku Promenade Park https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5351815c1.jpeg Golden Gai https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2d6e08d47.jpeg Office building art to the west |
Thank you for your responses, ms_go. Japan is indeed a land of contrasts. Love how well the Japanese integrate the modern with the traditional. Hope the G7 logistics don't impact you as some of the meetings are also taking place in Niigata and Kanazawa. They were meeting in Karuizawa and Hokkaido earlier this year.
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Oh, ms_go, this is great! As I’m following in your footsteps (though at a much slower pace!), this is incredibly helpful to read. And all it looks fantastic! Even the rainy bits.
Has the recent earthquake impacted any of the trip? |
Originally Posted by progol
(Post 17461936)
Has the recent earthquake impacted any of the trip?
And I doubt the G7 will affect us much, as (unfortunately) we will be back home before that gets going. |
ms_go, this is a wonderful report, am looking forward to more. Happy that you took the time. Say hi to mr_go for me, pls. Love the Shinjuku Gyoen shot and the view of Fujisan.
(funny that Yakult has a probiotic drink and their team name is swallows. I see they were down 14-5 when you left and the Baystars won 17-7) |
The 14-5 score sounds about right. It was still fun. It was a toss up on whether to go Saturday or Sunday. I'm really glad I picked Saturday, as Sunday was pretty wet (I never checked to see if it was rained out).
A note about travel. Our itinerary is not optimized for a JR Pass. It is spread over 12 days and involves a mix of buses and trains. And try as I might, I couldn’t find a regional pass that would provide any significant savings. On that note, we took the Azusa Limited Express from Shinjuku to Matsumoto, with about 10 stops (2.5 hours). We bought the tickets two days ahead of time and opted for reserved seats. The train car was never completely full, but most seats had a green light (reserved) at least at some point. Having two seats together for the whole trip may not have been that easy. Matsumoto My 2006 trip had just enough time to see the castle. This time, we decided to stay a while – or two nights, anyway. Of course, we went to the castle. I’ve only been to two Japanese castles (this and Himeji, now twice each), but I believe this is considered one of the most significant and beautiful. We also went to the Matsumoto City Museum of Art to see the Yayoi Kusama collection and a few other exhibits on permanent display. After being in Tokyo, I was struck by the lack of crowds. There were maybe two dozen people on the castle grounds when we went, and in the art museum, staff outnumbered visitors by a good bit. The only tour we’ve encountered was a group of Australians who arrived at our hotel yesterday and left this morning. Our other activity was an afternoon trip south to hike the portion of the Nakasendo trail between Yabuhara and Narai. I’ll cover that in a separate post. We really enjoyed our time in Matsumoto. It’s a nice, walkable city with views toward snowy mountains. We ate well – including a great yakitori restaurant with only a Japanese menu (thank goodness for Google Translate with a camera feature!) and one of the local specialties, soba. We chose the Tabino Hotel Matsumoto for its proximity to the train and bus stations, but we could still walk to the castle and museum in about 15 minutes. It is pretty new. The rooms are small in traditional fashion, but everything is very efficient – e.g., one faucet contraption that operates both the sink and shower. There are power and USB plugs everywhere. The wi-fi is great. Full Japanese breakfast buffet and a complementary happy hour drink. This worked very well for us. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...78976771b.jpeg Matsumoto Castle I have some more photos but am having trouble posting right now. Maybe this evening... Â |
I am LOVING this! And so excited to be going in a few months and glad we will be in Matsumoto for a few days. It caught my eye when I was planning a while ago and your description and photo reassures me that we made a good decision.
Thanks for the info re: the earthquake. |
Love the castle photo. Speaking of plugs, it’s convenient for us Americans that Japan uses the same type of plug and wattage - one place where don’t have to mess with adapters and converters.
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Let's try photos again...
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...69648c3de.jpeg Matsumoto Castle by day https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...de5cdc0fb.jpeg Kusama collection at the Matsumoto City Museum of Art https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...33ac1fe31.jpeg Matsumoto City Museum of Art - even the vending machine reflects her style https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0aa04c436.jpeg Matsumoto Castle at night |
A taste of the Nakasendo trail
The Nakasendo trail connected Tokyo and Kyoto in the Edo Period. There were about 70 “post” towns where travelers could rest. Several are well preserved and offer a chance for visitors to walk part of the trail. The most popular walk is between Magome and Tsumago, but it is a little tricky and time consuming to get there. Another option is the route from Yabuhara to Narai, otherwise known as the Torii Pass walk. It is easier to access because the Chuo regional line stops in both towns. But it is more of a hike than a walk, with a ~1,100-foot elevation gain and then descent. Alltrails calls it a moderate hike. That’s what we did. It takes some coordination of train schedules (hello, Navitime!), but there are options that allow a few hours for the hike. We chose to start in Yabuhara and end in Narai, which is beautifully preserved town. Coming in from the hike, you walk from one end of the town to the other. We left Matsumoto at 12:23 pm (about 1:10 ride), and returned from Narai on a train departing at 3:57 pm. We finished the whole walk in about 2:10, but we move pretty fast. It was fantastic. Very well marked, almost to a fault – almost impossible to get lost. There are bear bells in a few places along the way, so I suppose that is a possibility. It was a little wet in places from the rain over the weekend, but all in all not too bad. We passed fewer than 10 people on the trail, and the town of Narai was delightfully quiet when we arrived – empty in parts. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...607405865.jpeg Beginning of the Torii Pass trail outside of Yabuhara https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...809eddca6.jpeg Somewhere near the pass https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f0805127f.jpeg Narai |
Fabulous. Thank you for continuing to post. I’m so enjoying following your travels!
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nice photos!
the Sunday game was a rainout |
Thank you so, so much for information about this Nakasendo walk. It's exactly the type of walk / hike we enjoy and have been looking to incorporate into our own trip to Japan later this year.
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Originally Posted by tripplanner001
(Post 17462451)
Thank you so, so much for information about this Nakasendo walk. It's exactly the type of walk / hike we enjoy and have been looking to incorporate into our own trip to Japan later this year.
https://www.go-nagano.net/en/theme/id=16293 Kamikochi This is an alpine valley between Matsumoto and Takayama. It is only open seven months of the year, from mid-April to mid-November. We like to hike, so of course this caught our eye. The hotels don’t begin booking for the new season until after the first of the year – although I saw that if I joined Gosenjaku’s email list, I would get advance notice for reservations (which came in mid-December). It was the first to take reservations, so we decided just to make this our vacation splurge since it was just for one night. The hotel room is spacious and comfortable, and the rate includes breakfast and multi-course French dinner – not to mention a bear bell and insulated vests to wear while hiking. Access is by bus or taxi from Hirayu Onsen. The typical way to get here from Matsumoto is by train and then bus, but I read about a 2X daily direct bus (“National Park Liner”) from the Matsumoto bus terminal. The first leaves very early in the morning and the second at 10:15. I kept an eye on the JapanBusOnline website, and when I saw this specific route loaded around the time Kamikochi opened in mid-April, I bought tickets right away. Apparently, it is popular, as there were enough reservations to run two buses at 10:15 yesterday. People began lining up at the Matsumoto bus terminal 30 minutes in advance. The ride takes about 1:40. Weather is always an unknown, but I’ll happily trade the rainy day in Tokyo for the spectacularly sunny 24 hours we got here. The various trails from the Kamikochi bus terminal are relatively flat, with lovely views of the mountains (including active volcano Mt. Yake-dake) and river. We walked two nice loops of 7-8 kilometers each. The bus trip from Kamikochi to Takayama involves a change at Hirayu Onsen. The schedules are well coordinated, with about 5 minutes in between buses. You can buy one ticket for both segments. Neither bus was crowded. Side note: there was apparently a pretty significant earthquake south of Tokyo this morning. A friend currently staying in Tokyo got the phone warning at 4 am! https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...51bbf4846.jpeg The walks at Kamikochi are relatively flat, with a lot of boardwalks over wet areas. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4138e1ba6.jpeg Rest stop. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5bf3aac2c.jpeg No bears during our hikes, but we did see some monkeys. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1f9b34e5f.jpeg There are worse views from a hotel room! |
Gorgeous pix, once again! And what a view from the hotel.
Your comments about the bus from Matsumoto are also very helpful as we will be going to the Okuhida onsen region from Matsumoto. and will need to change at Hiraya onsen (the central Okuhida town) for a bus to our ryokan in Shin-Hotaka Onsen. A question about the Nakesendo trail walk that you did- how strenuous and how long is the ascent? I have some mild physical limitations and am not sure how difficult that walk would be, but am very interested in doing it. Otherwise, we might just travel to Narai from Matsumoto and back. But the walk looks wonderful. |
Thanks, progol! Tough call. It took us about an hour to get from the train station to the top of the pass. The grade varies, but according to Alltrails, it get in the upper 20-degree range at times and probably averages in the double digits. I had to stop to catch my breath a few times. I'd also say it would be weather dependent. It was still wet in places from the rain two days earlier. We did it in running shoes, so decent support but not very grippy - and we had to watch our footing at times. It is possible to just go to Narai and back. Some people on our trains did that.
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Kamikochi looks beautiful. Too bad I will be going too late in the season. It’s the one downside about a November trip; there does not seem to be any day hike options in the Japanese Alps.
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Originally Posted by ms_go
(Post 17462717)
Thanks, progol! Tough call. It took us about an hour to get from the train station to the top of the pass. The grade varies, but according to Alltrails, it get in the upper 20-degree range at times and probably averages in the double digits. I had to stop to catch my breath a few times. I'd also say it would be weather dependent. It was still wet in places from the rain two days earlier. We did it in running shoes, so decent support but not very grippy - and we had to watch our footing at times. It is possible to just go to Narai and back. Some people on our trains did that.
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Takayama
We are here for three days. I’ll post on this in bits. But first, a fabulous walk – the Higashiyama Walking Course. https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5906.html This route – just up the hill above Takayama – passes about a dozen temples and shrines dating back as far as the 16th Century, plus the ruins of the Takayama Castle. There are nice views down into Takayama along the way. It is not a difficult walk, aside from a brief bit of uphill once in Shiroyama Park. We took our time and spent a couple of hours. Really enjoyable, and we didn’t come across more than about 10 other people doing the same. It’s well marked, but having a map also helps. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5a16cb367.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f35847a1a.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2d259c5e6.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1716daf8b.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f791dec4b.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0baca98e3.jpeg |
Love it! This we will definitely do! I’m smiling!
You’re having such wonderful weather now, too! |
Hida Furukawa
One of the things to do while in Takayama is visit Shirakawa-go to see the gassho-style structures. It’s about a 50-minute bus ride. But today, rain was predicted to move in. I’ve been to Shirakawa-go before – and in the rain. Instead of dealing with likely crowds, we decided instead to visit Hida Furukawa, a short 15-minute train ride. I’d bookmarked it as one possibility while researching this trip, and our hotel has a nice English map/brochure with type that is actually large enough for me to read. Decision made! I’ve seen it called a “smaller and calmer Takayama.” The central area has carp-filled canals, a row of old white-painted storehouses lining the canal (a little like Kurashiki) and some temples (Honkouji Temple is the largest wooden structure in the Hida region), shrines and sake breweries. What doesn’t have is throngs of people. It was nice to have a couple of hours of low-key time. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...309c1bde3.jpeg Setogawa Canal and white-walled storehouses https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bb81669fe.jpeg Imamiya bridge https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...75227bdf0.jpeg Shinshuji Temple https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...42dd6bd22.jpeg Random decor |
I visited Hida Furukawa back in 2010 as it was famous for the Mishima candle shop which was featured in the 2002 Japanese asadora - morning drama - Sakura. Back in those days a NYC local station showed some Japanese dramas. It was definitely a very pleasant small town to visit!
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Originally Posted by Mara
(Post 17463093)
I visited Hida Furukawa back in 2010 as it was famous for the Mishima candle shop which was featured in the 2002 Japanese asadora - morning drama - Sakura. Back in those days a NYC local station showed some Japanese dramas. It was definitely a very pleasant small town to visit!
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Looks lovely, and very quiet! A welcome change from a touristy Takayama? I’m making note of this town for a possible visit, too, as it looks very pretty and surprisingly less discovered.
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I've never considered visiting Japan, but I'm thoroughly enjoying your report ms_go, especially the hiking/walking bits.
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Yo MS_Go,
My fave foto of yours was that rainy Tokyo one. The image captured the atmosphere so well, reminiscent of the similar street scene Progol once shot in Naples. And was also struck by your remarkable hotel room view. Btw, every time that I think of Takayama, I think of sounds. We brought a taper and recorded those koi being fed. En masse, they made some really LOUD slurps! We still have that audio collage. I am done. the daijobu PS during that same '91 trip, we bought an unusual gift for a friend. He was about to open a new sports memorabilia shop here in Toronto and so I got him a big pack of beisburo cards, making sure that they contained a few featuring former Major Leaguers who'd made the move to play over in Japan. Seems those latter cards were the most sought-after by collectors. |
Thanks, Melnq8 and zebec!
Takayama (cont.) We’re winding up our time here, so a few other random experiences and observations. One of the things Takayama is known for is its preservation area with traditional houses. Along a few blocks of the main street, Sannomachi, these are now primarily shops, with a few restaurants and breweries sprinkled in. Naturally, it’s a magnet for visitors and is mobbed during the day. We know this because our hotel is also in the historic area, just a block away. But interestingly, you can go just a block or two from Sannomachi, and it is back to being quiet and very atmospheric. And when the shops close up around 5, everyone leaves. Walking to and from dinner every evening, we had Sannomachi practically to ourselves. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...376971e55.jpeg Takayama is also known for its elaborate spring and fall festivals. I’m sure it is quite the scene. There’s a museum/exhibition hall where you can see and learn about the festival floats. The train station also has a nice festival exhibition – good for killing time while waiting for a train. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c2dc1df7c.jpeg I mentioned the temple walk above, but there are also a couple of notable temples in the city center, including Kokubunji – the city’s oldest with a sacred 1,200-year-old gingko tree. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f00fe179f.jpeg This is the place to try Hida beef. There are plenty of steak houses, of course. But you can also try it on the go – sushi style, grilled on a skewer, or in a bun. A particular shout out to the vendor who serves it grilled on skewers with Sapporo beer right by the river. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4cb1defe8.jpeg And on that note, we also found this to be a great city for grazing during the day, with abundant street food. In addition to the Hida beef skewers, we tried a few other local specialties. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f79a730cb.jpeg Mitarashi dango are grilled rice dumplings on a skewer, glazed in sweet soy https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3908b33ed.jpeg Gohei mochi is a rice cake glazed with soy and miso and grilled on a skewer The morning market has various good things to try. One vendor has small cakes with custard or chocolate filling (kind of like the Momiji manju that I remember from Miyajima). And, of course, there’s green tea ice cream. If you do feel like sitting down to a quick lunch, you can do a lot worse than friendly, family-run Musashi, up the hill in Shiroyama Park, with excellent yakitori and a nice view of the city. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a7f9df231.jpeg Yakitori at Musashi And then there’s sake. With seven breweries right in the city center, it’s quite easy to pop in for tastings for a small fee. The one we tried had at least 10 bottles open. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7d45b71c1.jpeg And finally, there’s Sarubobo, the Japanese amulet prevalent in this area. I’ve seen different meanings for it, but generally associated with luck or protection. We’ve had a small Sarubobo hanging on our back door since my first visit in 2006. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5bcf1ffce.jpeg |
Travel note #2: We were uncertain about how we would move from Takayama to Kanazawa. If weather looked to be good, we were going to consider shipping our bags ahead and then taking the bus with a stop for a few hours in Shirakawa or Gokayama. But it is raining, so we’ve opted to go by train (with a transfer in Toyama). That is one of only three longer train rides on this trip. As mentioned earlier, a JR Pass did not make sense given our itinerary, so we are just buying the point-to-point tickets. I research timetables on Navitime, write down exactly what I want (date, train name/number, departure/arrival times, reserved seats, 2 people) and hand that to an agent at the JR ticket office. I’m sure we could manage with machines, which do have English menus, but this method seems to work well, and we haven’t encountered lines at the ticket offices.
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Thank you for all the tips on Takayama, ms_go. I'm making notes. The street food looks fabulous. It's one of the things I remember about Japan; there seems to be someone selling food everywhere in addition to the ubiquitous vending machines. Hard to go hungry in Japan.
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In Takayama, we stayed at Hotel Wood (as the name suggests, a wooden structure in the historic district), which we really liked. It is a fairly new hotel designed in a minimalist style that combines traditional features (e.g., futon-style beds on tatami) with modern amenities and abundant space. The hotel hosts a “happy hour” from 5-11 pm with complimentary sake, beer and other drinks. The best part is the staff, who are all very welcoming and helpful. Very filling Japanese set breakfast.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e48b54298.jpeg Speaking of hotels, we are now at our last stop, in Kanazawa. Proximity to the train station was our top priority, and we are staying at the almost-new Hyatt House just 60 seconds from the west gate. We have a very spacious room with sitting area, full kitchen, modern everything – at a rate ($105/night) I couldn’t resist! There’s a big food market with two floors of restaurants in the same building, and the station (with abundant shopping and dining) is about 60 seconds from the front door. Now, if we can get the rain to stop tomorrow… |
Thank you for the wonderful photos and great description of your trip. We, too, will be going from Takayama to Kanazawa and you’ve answered my questions about that trip even before I realized I had them!
And the food! Oh, the food! You’ve got me very hungry and excited about our trip! |
How was the train trip from Takayama to Toyama? I have read that it is scenic.Did you get any nice views or were there a lot of trees blocking the views?
On the main drag in town is the Starbucks Coffee - Kanazawa M’ZA Omicho. If you stand outside the door to the Sbux, facing the street, you will see a pedestrian crosswalk. Immediately outside the door you will see stairs on the left. If you want terrific okonomiyaki then go down those stairs and you will find the okonomiyaki restaurant among others. Back in front of Starbucks if you take that crosswalk then straight ahead is a small walking street with several restaurants. There is a good and very welcoming sushi-ya on the right. Two or three doors further is a place where I got a crab bowl that had (the Kanazawa-famous) gold leaf sprinkled on top. I was there at the beginning of the local crab season (Nov-March). Oishi desu. Followed that up with a stop at the sushi place. I think there is a bus stop right by that Starbucks front door. Coming from the station it would be on the right. |
Great, timely recommendation. Guess where we just went for lunch? Thanks! Mr_go is particularly appreciative, as he's been wanting okonomiyaki, and today is our last day.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...262fcae78.jpeg The train from Takayama to Toyama was pretty scenic, for the most part. I don't have any good photos, though. Every time I tried to get my phone in place to take a photo, we went in a tunnel or behind some trees. We could see the snowy Alps in the distance as we approached Toyama. |
MS_Go,
During one of our Japanese homestays, the parents took us out for a rural drive. When we stopped for lunch, those folks engaged us in the social tradition of 'mutually-making okonomiyaki for each other'. Mrs Z was expected to make the mom's meal right there at the table. And vice-versa, the father and I doing the same. Problem was, I am a terrible chef. The photo of my botched okonomiyaki made for him is an all-time classic. A chimp could've created a better dish. The food was so poorly created that our normally-reserved hosts suddenly burst into laughter as I turned crimson. Its great to see your voyage going so well, a needed tonic after covid. I am done. the culinarily-challenged |
Yay! Sometimes you just gotta have okonomiyaki. Happy to hear that mr_go got his fix.
That train ride sounds good. Maybe progol can get a view shot through bare trees if they go that route. I see you got the bus tix to Kamikochi in April. Did you do that for the Kamikochi - Takayama buses? I've been advising fodorites to get the bus tickets in advance because I waited until I arrived in Kamikochi to buy a ticket for the bus to Matsumoto and it was almost sold out hours in advance. A few people did get on at the last minute but had to use the jump seats in the aisles. |
Thanks for the great tour, ms_go! You’ve given me a great overview of what to expect and some ideas for what to see and do! I hope you have/had a great last day and wish you safe travels home!
And mrwunrfl, if we go to Kanazawa via Toyama, I’ll make every effort to to take some photos from the train. I’ve made note of the okonomiyaki place, which sounds like the kind of place we would enjoy. Once we get close to our trip, I’ll be making sure to get tickets for transportation, too. And zebec, I’m amazed you can recall my Naples photo - clearly, visual recall is a greater skill than cooking!😉 Good story, though. |
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