Glad to hear that my TR is proving to be enjoyable and informative to some of you. It's always nice to know that someone in cyberspace is reading this, though I must admit that I'm enjoying writing it and reliving our day to day experiences in Japan. This trip turned out to be so much better than I anticipated it would be. It was not near the top of my bucket list, but in retrospect it should have been.

So onto Matsumoto. To sum it up, we loved Matsumoto. It was one of the highlights of our 3 week trip. We loved Matsumoto for several reasons:

First, The Dormy Inn was perfect for our needs. It is a 5 minute, level walk from the train station, and a 10-15 slow walk to the castle. The hotel has a beautiful onsen on the top floor, with laundry facilities in an adjoining room, enabling me to do my laundry while soaking in the onsen. The buffet breakfast, which was included in our room rate, was very good, and in the evening between 9:30 and 11, they served the most delicious ramen noodles in broth. The staff at the hotel, especially Naomi, were very helpful in orienting us to Matsumoto. Our twin room seemed freshly painted and carpeted. and although small was very comfortable and more than adequate for our 2 night stay. All in all, we were very happy with our stay at this hotel.

Second, the castle park and castle are gorgeous. I took so many photos of the castle from every angle imaginable, and I can't bear to discard any of them.

Third, we had a very informative Goodwill Guide take us through the castle. Her English was very good, and the tour which normally takes one hour took two hours, as she could tell that DH and I were interested in the details of castle life, not just a brief overview.

Fourth, the weather was sunny and warm and the leaves were in full color. This together with the gorgeous surroundings made for some fabulous photos.

On our first evening in Matsumoto, we ate dinner at Kura Kura a restaurant located several blocks from the hotel. The tempura was very good, and different from the tempura we ate in Tokyo, in that the batter was much lighter and barely coated the shrimp and vegtables. Since I had never drunk sake, I ordered my first cup here, which was served warm. Although DH and I love wine, and have it most nights with dinner, we did not care for the sake. I know that there are many different kinds and tastes to sake, but we never bothered to order it again with dinner. We were happy to drink green tea which comes with most meals. After dinner we returned to the hotel where I had my first onsen experience which I thoroughly enjoyed.

The next day we headed for the castle park where we spent about an hour taking photos before we even entered the castle grounds. After paying our admission fee of $6pp, a Goodwill Guide who was waiting near the ticket booth offered to give us a free tour. After engaging with her a bit in order to make sure she spoke understandable English we accepted her offer.

We slowly climbed the 5 flights of very steep and narrow steps, stopping at each of the 5 floors of the castle to listen to her discourse. Some of the floors had museum type exhibits such as guns and swords, samurai costumes, etc., and some of the floors were empty so you could visualize how the space was used. We found out that the castle which was built for defensive purposes was never actually used during warfare, and that the soldiers did not actually live in the castle, but in houses (which no longer exist) surrounding the castle.

After our tour, we spent some time viewing an exhibit of huge, prize winning chrysanthamums. We had seen a similar exhibit on the grounds of Meiji Shrine and would be seeing several more such exhibits in various other places. November is known for these exhibits/competitions and is an added bonus to traveling in Japan in Nov.

In late afternoon we headed back to the hotel for another soak in the onsen and to do some laundry. We ate dinner again at Kura, had our evening ramen noodles, and went to bed. The next morning we had to be up early as we had reserved seats on an 8:30 train for Takayama.

I understand now that Jim did the laundry while you soaked..

Am enjoying the report

B

You give Jim too much credit. He doesn't do laundry at home and he certainly did not do it on vacation. But to give credit where credit is due, he is great at reading maps and navigating. He was instrumental in getting us around Japan efficiently and without many/any glitches.

I didn't know that there would be weddings mid-week at Meiji Jingu and that 7-5-3 would be enjoyed that early in the month and that the Tozan train would be busy mid-week.

I think you did the Hakone loop the best way, clockwise, the bus ride first with the rewards at the end of the Ashi-ko views and Tokaido Road cedars.

I would very much like to hear as many details of your ride south from Matsumoto on the Shinano L'ex, assuming you took that train, and across to the Takayama Line.

Yours and Craig's and Kathie's and other reports are bringing back memories of my trips to Japan. Thanks to all of you.

One resurrected memory is of going to a laundromat in Takayama. I was puzzled about how to use the machines and there was no soap in the place, so I went to a shop next door and got help. Turns out it was an all-in-one washer-dryer and the soap was supplied automatically. Never saw such a machine before or since. I swear, the dryer cycle was as hot as it could be without setting my clothes on fire.

Matsumoto-jo certainly is gorgeous and very photogenic. It sits there silently demanding that you take its picture.

Hi Bill,
We had that same washer/dryer combo machine in our rented machiya with Bob n Karen last month. Ingenious machine invention

Aloha!

Matsumoto sounds lovely. Next time, perhaps.

Eagerly awaiting more!

After a very good buffet breakfast (We opened the dining room at 6:30am), we walked from the Dormy Inn to the station to catch our 8;30am train to Takayama. The train headed south toward Nagoya, passing through a lot of forested land and some small villages. The ride was comfortable, but not that scenic, although the changing foliage did add some interest to this part of the journey.

At Nagoya we changed trains and headed north to Takayama. This part of the trip was interesting and very beautiful. The train passed through many small village with rice paddies, and agricultural gardens near the houses. The train traveled over many bridges, and traveled close to some rivers and streams. The leafs were at full color. To sum it up the trip was very scenic, the time passed quickly, and I would recommend this part of the trip toanyone desiring a scenic train ride through the Japanes Alps.

We arrived in Takayama at about 2 PM and walked 5 minutes to our hotel for the next 2 nights-Hodakso Yamano Lori. This hotel was a traditional, Japanese inn, with tatami mats, low beds and furniture, and an onsen. I had wanted to try a traditional inn of this type during our trip, for the cultural experience, and these 2 nights in a Japanese inn fit into our itinerary.

In retrospect, the idea of the cultural experince was better than the actual experience for a number of reasons. First,the low chairs were very uncomfortable to settle into. There was no real way to "relax" while in the room. Second, Wifi existed only in the lobby (but since our room was directly over the lobby on the second floor, we had Wifi in our room at times)Third, meals were not included in our room rate, and since the seating in the dining room was in low chairs, we passed on that experience. Fourth,the onsen in the hotel was smaller and not as nice (though adequate) as in the Dormy Inn. Fifth, we had to take our shoes off when entering the hotel, and change slippers every time you entered your bedroom, the bathroom, the onsen, etc. Frankly, we got tired of changing slippers. Last, and my biggest criticism of the hotel is that the hot water fluctuated to a dangerous degree, making taking a shower an ordeal. The saving grace was the huge soaking tub in our room, which when filled with steaming hot water made a nice, relaxing way to warm up and end the day.

When we arrived we dropped our luggage at the hotel and headed for the San Machi historic district, a stretch of about 4 or 5 long blocks of low houses and narrow streets. Most of these houses were tuned into commercial establishments selling sake, pottery and tourist souvenirs. At night many of the historic houses opened as restaurants. I found this area crowded and touristy.

In the evening we went to a restaurant which turned out to be an unusual dining experience. On the recommendation of an Australian man leaving the restaurant , we ordered Hida beef and pork BBQ, not quite realizing that we would be the chefs cooking our own dinners. They brought a small grill to our table along with thinly sliced Hida beef and pork, an assortment of vegtables, and various sauces. We then grilled the meat and vegtables. The beef and pork were delicious and exceptionally tender, and we enjoyed this meal so much that we repeated it at the same place the next night.

Up until this point the weather had been very good, sunny and warm with a few showery or rainy days every now and then. Our luck was about to run out.

The next morning, we awoke to torrential rain pounding on the roof and window of our room. The rain was so hard that DH and I agreed we would be drenched in 2 minutes if we ventured outside, so we decided to stay in and relax until the rain subsided or the day ended, whichever came first. This is when we found we could not relax in our room due to the low chairs and table. Thankfully the heavy rain turned to light rain at about 11am, so we headed to the bus station to go to Hida No Sato, an attraction featuring many historic houses brought to this area from all over Japan.

Even in the rain we enjoyed our 3 hours wandering from house to house. The scenery and foliage were beautiful and the houses were interesting. I took many photos, most included various people holding umbrellas. We left Hida No Sato at about 2:30 and were back in Takayama by 3. We walked (still in the rain) to Takayama Jinja, a historic, administrative building dating back hundreds of years, one of the only ones left in japan. We paid our admission and wandered through the complex. There were so many rooms that it took us about an hour. Most of the rooms were empty, but it was interesting to see the painted screens, and finishings on the different rooms. As an added bonus, it kept us out of the rain. We returned to the room, had a soak in the onsen and returned to the restaurant where I "cooked" our Hida beef dinner.

The next morning (still raining) we walked to the morning market near the river and went to a nearby shrine before walking to the train station to catch our 11am train to Kanazawa.

I understand exactly what you mean regarding the low chairs, and the notion of the concept being a lot better than the reality. Japanese people seem to be incredibly adept at floor-level activities and sitting on their haunches; this typist is very definitely not. I avoid traditional ryokans and those restaurants that have that type of seating -- I just can't get comfortable.

Heading north to Toyama next? If so, please compare the scenery with the ride up from Nagoya.

The place looks interesting: hidatakayama-yamanoiori.jp/
I think yamano iori means "mountain retreat", yet it is in town. Pretty good rates. Am comfortable at the low table as long as there is a nice cushion to sit on.

Agreed!

We included a number of ryokan on our last trip, because I really wanted to experience the traditional inns. We certainly loved them, and I don't regret any of them, but we did struggle a little. The futon beds were comfortable but I found it hard to get up and down from and to them. As for the low chairs, I had written in advance to explain I have hip problems so would not be able to sit on the floor and eat at the usual low tables. The ryokans were all able to accommodate me with higher seating for our meals. And those meals were certainly one of the highlights of our trip, just so incredibly intricate and beautiful.

This time, we chose only one traditional ryokan but splurged on their top level room, which had Western beds, the usual low table and seat backs but also Western chairs/ table and a dressing table area and chairs. And an outdoor table and chairs on the decking where the outdoor private bath was. (We had an indoor one too). This was amazing, though sadly, the food here didn't live up to the best we'd had last time.

I would still stay in ryokans on our future trips, but look for those which can definitely accommodate me by providing a full height table and chairs for the dining.

It's really hard to sit long on the floor for those of us not accustomed, especially if we have arthritis to boot!

(How do elderly Japanese cope with this?)

To each his own, but as far as DH and I are concerned, we would not want to repeat the "low chair, low table"experience. Interestingly, the low bed experience was fine and we had no trouble getting up or down. In Kyoto, we ate at a traditional Japanese restaurant with floor seating and a low table that had a space for your legs underneath. I would not do that again either.

mrw-The only way I would recommend this place is if one wanted to take meals at the low tables in their dining room. I looked into the dining room both nights and the only people eating there were Japanese. The dinner was a 7 course dinner which started with sushi and sashimi, and included your choice of Hida beef shabu shabu or teryiaki. Since we do not eat sushi or sashimi, and even if we did would not want to be seated on the ground, we did not partake. In addition, you have to tell the hotel one day in advance if you want to have dinner or breakfast in their dining room, so they can shop for the food.

Although this gave us the feel of a ryokan experience, at reasonable rates, I would not go back to this or any other hotel where I could not relax in comfort in my room. That's just me.

As an aside, the Goodwill Guide at Matsumoto castle asked us if we were staying at any traditional Japanese inns. I said that we were going to stay at one in Takayama. She told me that most young Japanese couples choose to sleep in western beds, and these days even older couples are choosing not to sleep on tatami mats. As she said, "Too uncomfortable." Maybe in the distant future it will be only tourists who will be sleeping on the floor. lol

Shelley, I have recently read something very similar about public baths -- they are finding that their previous clientele, locals who visited regularly, is dwindling but that tourists are increasing. Which is fine for ones in tourist locations but means many in rural places are closing.

I really like ryokan which have embraced some touches of modernism (including beds that are lower than a standard bed but not right on the floor like a futon) and which provide a little more storage in the room for customers' belongings and, as you say, more comfortable seating as well.

Can't wait to read more of your report.

Our 11am train from Takayama to Kanazawa, via Toyama, arrived at 1:30. The scenery during the train ride to Toyama was similar to what we saw coming from Nagoya to Takayama- forests, small farms,ect., though maybe slightly less scenic. The 35 minute ride from Toyama to Kanazawa passed industrial areas.

We took a $12 taxi ride to the Kanazawa Excel Hotel, our home for the next 2 nights. This hotel is a typical high rise business hotel. Our twin room was big by Japanese standards. On arrival the room was very warm and when we called down to the desk to ask about regulating the heat, a manager came up to room to personally apologize that the a/c was shut off for the season. He brought us a fan, and immediately called a maintenance person to fix the window in our room that would not open.

This hotel was chosen mainly for its location. It is in in the Korimbo shopping district of Kanazawa, and was within walking distance of all of the sites I wanted to see. In addition, there were numerous restaurant possibilities near by. Although there was a loop bus stop near the hotel, we walked everywhere.

After settling in, we headed to Kenrouken Garden to find its location for our next day's outing there. Since we had an hour before it closed, we toured the villa that was inside the garden. We ate dinner in a local restaurant and window shopped in the shopping area. There is a Daiwa department store directly across the street from the hotel which was open until at 8PM. It was beautifully decorated for Christmas.

The next morning we awoke to rain. We borrowed large, clear plastic umbrellas from the front desk and set out for Kenrouken Garden, about a 15 minute walk from the hotel. We spent about 3 hours viewing this extensive garden. The foliage was almost at peak and the garden is beautifully designed with lots of interesting water features and ponds. I took many photos, and we enjoyed our time spent there despite the rain, although I am sure we would have enjoyed it much more on a bright and sunny day.

It was about 50 degrees outside, but to me it felt colder. Thankfully, DH brought an extra pair of gloves which I was happy to use to keep my hands warm and dry. I had brought an extra pair of shoes which I used the next day, as my shoes were soaked by the time we got back to the hotel at the end of this day.

After viewing the garden, we walked about 15 minutes to the Kanazawa castle park. I had intended to quickly view the castle and move on, but when a Goodwill Guide offered to give us a tour, we accepted. We had had such a nice experience in Matsumoto with a Goodwill Guide that we hoped that we would enjoy this tour as well. We were not disappointed

We had a most interesting tour of the castle park and buildings, with many displays showing construction techniques.history, etc. At the end of the tour, we had an extensive conversation with this erudite, older gentleman who spoke perfect English. He told us about his life in Japan, including how he took English courses twice a week for years to learn English. Our 2 hours with him went quickly and was one of our more memorable experiences in Kanazawa.

At the end of our tour I asked him for directions to get to the gisha area. He told me that it would be about a half hour walk and slightly less by bus, so we decided to walk rather than wait for the bus. He told us about a geisha area "on this side of the river" that he felt was "more authentic" than the one on that most tourists go to. He told us how to find it and we did, not without some effort.

This quiet, geisha area was residential rather than commercial, with houses lining both sides of very narrow streets. We strolled through this area and then headed for the other geisha area across the river, which looked very different. It was developed into a mainly commercial area with store after store selling tea, dolls, and tourist souvenirs. This area was filled with large tourist groups as this is what is on most tourist maps. I am glad we saw both areas.

We left this area and walked half an hour to Omichi market, a large covered market selling lots of fish, produce and sushi. We left there as it was closing and walked back to the hotel along a busy commercial street, stopping for an early dinner at a Chinese restaurant.

The hotel was kind enough to extend our checkout to 2PM. The next morning, we headed to the samurai district, which was behind our hotel. We strolled the streets, visiting several houses in this samurai district. The Nomura house belonged to a higher up samarai and had been in the family for centuries. The furnishings were typical of a well to do family.

During our walk we found 3 other houses which belonged to lower ranking soldiers, and lower still household help. Although the Nomua house charged admission, these three houses were run by the tourist bureau and they were free. It was interesting to see the contrast in living conditions among the different classes in the samurai caste system.

We then headed back to Kenrouken Garden where we visited the Kanazawa Craft Museum. After spending about an hour there, and after taking one more quick look at Kenrouken Garden, we headed back to the hotel to check out. We took a taxi to the station, changed our 4PM tickets for an earlier train, and took a 3:20 train to Hiroshima.

The non commercial geisha area is where the house that craig and kathie rented is located--one alley way in from the river.

Bob

Can't wait for more.
Thanks a lot for writing up with great details.

I didn't realize you also got rain in Kanazawa. I'd love to see the gardens when it wasn't pouring!

Great trip report and itinerary.
Thanks for posting.
Those Dormy Inn breakfasts are interesting with all the small plates.

Bob- I was wondering what neighborhood the house was in. So that's where your geisha night was? I wonder if she lived in that neighborhood.

Reading54 and kalihiwai2-Glad to know you are out there. I've done this report with many details because these are some of the details I wanted to know before planning our itinerary-ie-how long does it take to get from place to place, and how to do it efficiently. Hope this is helpful to someone planning a first time trip to Japan.

Kathie-We had 4 days in a row when we saw the sun for a total of about 3 hours. One of those short times was when we were in the garden, so we briefly got a glimpse of it in the sun. It, and the photos of it, look much better with sun and a blue sky. However, a rainy day in Kenrouken Garden is better than a sunny day in my own in MA. lol I am just happy that the intensity of the rain allowed us to see the garden because had it rained as hard as it rained for a while in Takayama, we would not have ventured out.