Of car trips, castles and curry

Last weekend was my very first Japanese road trip! As it was Nikki's last weekend in Japan I planned something special so she could see the sights and meet my friends. So me and her and Rhee and another girl from Fujiyoshida, Sheena, piled into my little car and set out on the open road for Matsumoto. Matsumoto is considered one of three of Japan's great castles as it's an original (most have been reconstructed after fires or dismantled during the period of revolution when Japan was being pushed into the future) and if over 400 years old. Also most castles are white. Matsumoto castle is black. After a week of monsoon rains (the rainy season had apparently begun early and the rice paddies are filling already) the sky cleared and we had a beautiful drive into Nagano, the prefecture next to Yamanashi.


 



 

 





After the afternoon in Matsumoto it was on to the Kiso valley. This was an ancient post route that the feudal lords would take from the southern and western parts of Japan on their way to Edo (Tokyo at the time) when they were expected to spend alternating time in Edo and their domain. The valley is famous for being not only gorgeous but having several post town that have been carefully preserved in their Edo period state. The most popular of the towns is Tsumago where we went on Sunday which has managed to keep it's the atmosphere of the past so no cars are allowed to enter and wires are hidden. We spent the night in a lovely little hostel in the middle of nowhere, where we were the only guests and had a beautiful view of the sunset. After we went to the convenience store for supplies and then found an onsen to bathe in. An onsen is a hot spring used as a public bath. It was quite lovely after you get over being naked in public company. There was even an outdoor bath that you could see the stars from.





 





After a much needed rest it was into the heart of the valley where we followed the Kiso river past an amazing gorge where we stopped to hike around. It was stunning! The water was milky green and the sun was out and it was the nicest temperature. The rocks were so smooth and cool so we took of our shoes and jumped from rock to rock and climbed water falls, ducked under boulders, I saw a bright red snake (but the pics are blurry) and a lone shrines up in some trees in the rock. And a cave where people placed their money in the cracks. And a toddler that wanted to go home with us and fell in love with my camera. I could have stayed there all day, climbing up the stones and dancing about but there was more to see. We next went to Tsumago which lived up to my expectations and retained it's ancient air. It felt as if we had walked in to the past and it would have had the perfect affect if only there weren't so many tourists! Still, we were the only foreigners... I wonder when travelers will return. I can count how many I've seen since I arrived here, it's really weird not seeing any other westerners. Anyways after Tsumago it was up a mountain only to drive back down look for some dinner and then it was home.


 

 


















Unfortunately, by Monday it was time to say good bye to Nikki. I hope more people come soon! So that was last weekend, next weekend I'm off to the other side of Fuji to go white water rafting! More to come!