First-timers’ trip to Japan: 4 weeks, an unexpectedly awesome trip
Dec 13th, 2023, 01:12 PM
#101
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 4,563
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Wow! The lighting and the sky around Matsumoto Castle on October 26 is just glorious!!!! All those photos are so spectacular!
And your photos of October 27 of the castle and the fall foliage are gorgeous!!! I would definitely want to visit this castle if we visit Japan.
And I love all the frog photos and the frog story!
And your photos of October 27 of the castle and the fall foliage are gorgeous!!! I would definitely want to visit this castle if we visit Japan.
And I love all the frog photos and the frog story!
Dec 14th, 2023, 03:11 AM
#103
Original Poster
Thank you, KarenWoo and tp!
KarenWoo, we were really taken by Matsumoto - and it just keeps getting better! It’s a wonderful small city and not nearly as busy as other places. I’d recommend a visit there when you do go to Japan. Oh, and the best fall foliage comes later…😉
tp, we loved Matsumoto castle, it’s beautiful and feels very intimate at the same time. And the frogs! We didn’t even realize what we were seeing until later. It is a delightful place!
KarenWoo, we were really taken by Matsumoto - and it just keeps getting better! It’s a wonderful small city and not nearly as busy as other places. I’d recommend a visit there when you do go to Japan. Oh, and the best fall foliage comes later…😉
tp, we loved Matsumoto castle, it’s beautiful and feels very intimate at the same time. And the frogs! We didn’t even realize what we were seeing until later. It is a delightful place!
Dec 17th, 2023, 10:19 AM
#106
Original Poster
<<Following along, just in case I can make a Japan trip happen! Great report>>
Thank you, HappyCheesehead! I'm glad you find this helpful and I hope you get to Japan as well! Now we're starting to dream of a return trip someday...
Dec 17th, 2023, 10:34 AM
#107
Original Poster
October 27, continued...
Matsumoto afternoon
And who can visit without stopping by the Matsumoto City Museum of Art? If you’re at all a little bit interested in Yayoi Kusama, it’s worth it to stop by to see the permanent exhibit of her work. This is her birthplace and the show is a small overview of her work and also has some of her writings which reveal some of her thoughts and feelings.
No photos are allowed inside the museum, but you do see her work in all its glory outside the entrance to the museum!
Matsumoto afternoon
And who can visit without stopping by the Matsumoto City Museum of Art? If you’re at all a little bit interested in Yayoi Kusama, it’s worth it to stop by to see the permanent exhibit of her work. This is her birthplace and the show is a small overview of her work and also has some of her writings which reveal some of her thoughts and feelings.
No photos are allowed inside the museum, but you do see her work in all its glory outside the entrance to the museum!
Last edited by progol; Dec 17th, 2023 at 10:36 AM.
Dec 17th, 2023, 11:32 AM
#108
Original Poster
A wander back to the hotel and dinner…
Halloween is around the corner and who doesn’t love a cat jack-o’lantern?
We stopped in a shop associated with the Japan Ukiyo-e Museum. Ukiyo-e are woodcut prints and the private museum is a ways out of town so we didn’t make it there. But we enjoyed the shop which had some lovely paper fans with classic images on them - and of course, bought a couple!
Displaying the fan
We had no time for the Timepiece Museum, either, but it’s an interesting building. Inside, it has 3 floors of timepieces, but i didn’t really call to us.
Matsumoto Timepiece Museum
Wonderful sights are often just below your feet
And dinner was at the excellent Shizuka, just a short distance from the castle
Halloween is around the corner and who doesn’t love a cat jack-o’lantern?
We stopped in a shop associated with the Japan Ukiyo-e Museum. Ukiyo-e are woodcut prints and the private museum is a ways out of town so we didn’t make it there. But we enjoyed the shop which had some lovely paper fans with classic images on them - and of course, bought a couple!
Displaying the fan
We had no time for the Timepiece Museum, either, but it’s an interesting building. Inside, it has 3 floors of timepieces, but i didn’t really call to us.
Matsumoto Timepiece Museum
Wonderful sights are often just below your feet
And dinner was at the excellent Shizuka, just a short distance from the castle
Dec 17th, 2023, 12:11 PM
#111
Original Poster
Ha! We also heard bird chirp sounds at a crosswalk! Though in Matsumoto, we heard the tune, "Coming through the Rye"! I could never quite make sense of that!
Dec 17th, 2023, 01:06 PM
#112
Original Poster
October 28
Day trip to Narai-jukuOne of the many highlights of our trip was a fabulous day trip from Matsumoto to Narai, or Narai-juku, one of the Post towns along the Nakesendo Trail in the Kiso Valley. What a gorgeous place! This is a well-preserved town, with many historical houses along a very long street.
The Nakesendo Trail was one of the original routes between Kyoto and Tokyo during the Edo period and the town is the longest post town in Japan. A post town is a place where travelers could rest on their long journey. The Nakesendo Trail is a popular place to hike from one town to the next; much as I would’ve liked to do this, I knew that I wasn’t up to it physically. The day trip, though, turned out to be a wonderful compromise and we loved spending time in the town.
To get there frrom Matsumoto, we took a local train, and about 45 minutes later, we arrived in the very charming town of Narai. It was a Sunday, so there were others out for a day trip, but the town was by no means too crowded. I was worried that it might be overly manicured for tourists, but we found it to be a beautiful place, many shops, temples, a number of historic houses and a small museum, and it kept us busy for several hours. We spent a long time at the Tezuka Family Residence, one of the historical houses and a designated Important Cultural Property. We also stopped in several temples, including Chosen-Ji, with a remarkable painting of a dragon on the ceiling. Lunch was a bit of a challenge, and we ended up eating pizza in a small restaurant that is also the private home of the cook. We each had a very unusual strawberry soda!
We also visited the Narakawa Museum of History and Folklore, locatedat the end of the town,whichhas exhibits on the life and customs of the people of the Kiso Valley area, with local painted combs, folk crafts and wooden furniture as well as articles from the festival of Shizume Jinja.
A very easy but satisfying day out of town!
Day trip to Narai-jukuOne of the many highlights of our trip was a fabulous day trip from Matsumoto to Narai, or Narai-juku, one of the Post towns along the Nakesendo Trail in the Kiso Valley. What a gorgeous place! This is a well-preserved town, with many historical houses along a very long street.
The Nakesendo Trail was one of the original routes between Kyoto and Tokyo during the Edo period and the town is the longest post town in Japan. A post town is a place where travelers could rest on their long journey. The Nakesendo Trail is a popular place to hike from one town to the next; much as I would’ve liked to do this, I knew that I wasn’t up to it physically. The day trip, though, turned out to be a wonderful compromise and we loved spending time in the town.
To get there frrom Matsumoto, we took a local train, and about 45 minutes later, we arrived in the very charming town of Narai. It was a Sunday, so there were others out for a day trip, but the town was by no means too crowded. I was worried that it might be overly manicured for tourists, but we found it to be a beautiful place, many shops, temples, a number of historic houses and a small museum, and it kept us busy for several hours. We spent a long time at the Tezuka Family Residence, one of the historical houses and a designated Important Cultural Property. We also stopped in several temples, including Chosen-Ji, with a remarkable painting of a dragon on the ceiling. Lunch was a bit of a challenge, and we ended up eating pizza in a small restaurant that is also the private home of the cook. We each had a very unusual strawberry soda!
We also visited the Narakawa Museum of History and Folklore, locatedat the end of the town,whichhas exhibits on the life and customs of the people of the Kiso Valley area, with local painted combs, folk crafts and wooden furniture as well as articles from the festival of Shizume Jinja.
A very easy but satisfying day out of town!
Dec 17th, 2023, 01:39 PM
#113
Original Poster
Narai
Wooden carvings are typical in this region
I love the textures
Chosen-ji dragon ceiling
Those views!
The cutest strawberry soda I’ve ever had!
Our strawberry sodas!
Combs are a specialty in the area
After the rain
Wooden carvings are typical in this region
I love the textures
Chosen-ji dragon ceiling
Those views!
The cutest strawberry soda I’ve ever had!
Our strawberry sodas!
Combs are a specialty in the area
After the rain
Last edited by progol; Dec 17th, 2023 at 01:42 PM.
Dec 17th, 2023, 01:54 PM
#115
Original Poster
We were glad to see the Yayoi Kusama exhibit in Matsumoto - but that was enough for us.
Dec 17th, 2023, 05:45 PM
#117
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 4,563
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Wow! What a terrific journey through Japan . . . Matsumoto, Narai . . . just so beautiful! My favorite photos are the ones of Matsumoto Castle at night with the reflections in the water. Also love the cat jack-o-lantern, the colorful manhole cover, the temples, the statuary, the woodcuts, and those strawberry drinks!
Dec 18th, 2023, 09:11 AM
#119
Original Poster
Onsen Time in Okuhida
Sadly, it was time to leave Matsumoto and head off to our next stop, Okuhida, a region within the Japanese Alps that is famous for its hot springs. A glorious ride on the bus through the Japanese alps to our ryokan in the mountains.
From Matsumoto, we took 2 buses to our destination on the Nohi bus line. Again, it worked out well and it was an easy trip. It was a glorious ride on the bus through the Japanese alps. The color isn’t really captured in the photos, but what a joy to see so much autumn color throughout the ride.
The bus from Matsumoto to the first stop, Hirayu Onsen, takes about an hour. We had no more than a 10-15 minute wait for the bus to take us further up the hill to our bus stop, and from there, it was a short walk to Yarimikan.
There are 5 separate towns within Okuhida, and we stayed in Shin-Hotaka onsen, in a valley in the mountains at a ryokan overlooking a river and surrounded by beautiful views . At our ryokan, Yarimikan, a traditional-style inn with an onsen, there are a set of steam baths that are fed by hot springs. The ryokan is beautifully-sited in a forest, overlooking a stone-filled river. We have our breakfast and dinner here, the latter is an elaborate multi-dish meal. This is an experience unique to Japan.
Sadly, it was time to leave Matsumoto and head off to our next stop, Okuhida, a region within the Japanese Alps that is famous for its hot springs. A glorious ride on the bus through the Japanese alps to our ryokan in the mountains.
From Matsumoto, we took 2 buses to our destination on the Nohi bus line. Again, it worked out well and it was an easy trip. It was a glorious ride on the bus through the Japanese alps. The color isn’t really captured in the photos, but what a joy to see so much autumn color throughout the ride.
The bus from Matsumoto to the first stop, Hirayu Onsen, takes about an hour. We had no more than a 10-15 minute wait for the bus to take us further up the hill to our bus stop, and from there, it was a short walk to Yarimikan.
There are 5 separate towns within Okuhida, and we stayed in Shin-Hotaka onsen, in a valley in the mountains at a ryokan overlooking a river and surrounded by beautiful views . At our ryokan, Yarimikan, a traditional-style inn with an onsen, there are a set of steam baths that are fed by hot springs. The ryokan is beautifully-sited in a forest, overlooking a stone-filled river. We have our breakfast and dinner here, the latter is an elaborate multi-dish meal. This is an experience unique to Japan.
Dec 18th, 2023, 09:15 AM
#120
Original Poster
Bus ride from Matsumoto to Yarimikan
The sky changed frequently, from sun to rain and back, as we rode through the mountains
The views just kept getting better
I was fascinated by this monitor. It is constantly updating with the price of a ride from one stop to the next. I learned that each stop has a number associated with it so, remembering the stop you got on and knowing which one you’re getting off will tell you the cost of the ride.
The sky changed frequently, from sun to rain and back, as we rode through the mountains
The views just kept getting better
I was fascinated by this monitor. It is constantly updating with the price of a ride from one stop to the next. I learned that each stop has a number associated with it so, remembering the stop you got on and knowing which one you’re getting off will tell you the cost of the ride.
