Japan Day 5 - Nagano

I'm so glad I packed up my bags last night. The unthinkable happened - I slept in! When the phone rang, I wondered why Susie was calling so early. She wasn't! And we had a reserved seat train to catch. I threw the rest of my stuff in my bag, Susie came up to help me finish, and I quickly got dressed. Oh! My! Gosh!

We traipsed through the streets of Shibuya with our bags and headed to the station to catch the subway to Tokyo Station. There were no seats for most of the journey but finally it cleared out closer to our last stop. Then we hurried through the station to catch the train. There aren't always escalators and hauling up one's suitcase up several flights of stairs makes one wonder why they went shopping for more stuff to put in one's suitcase. C'est la vie!

The Shinkansen train to Nagano was only a one and a half hour ride, and the time passed very quickly. Our hotel is not even a block from the station, bonus! We weren't able to check in just yet so we took a bus up to the town's big temple. But before we went there, Susie had a surprise for us. 

We visited a restaurant with a special room in the back. We were divided into two groups, given an apron and were told to wash our hands. Then we proceeded to make our own lunch! We each had a ball of dough then reformed them into special cakes called Oyaki.

We filled one with meat and the other with vegetables. The restaurant owners then cooked each dough ball over an open fire.

The meal was hot and delicious.

We were also served miso soup well as buckwheat tea. This type of tea definitely has an unusual taste and I'm not too crazy about it. 

After our meal, we headed towards the Zenkoji Temple. It is a very old Buddhist temple built in the 7th century. Susie gave us a tour and explain the significance of the various things we were seeing.

We needed to remove our shoes before we could sit in the altar part of the temple. Every so often, a drum would beat and a curtain rose to show a statue of Buddha.

It only lasted for about one minute, then the curtain went down. After that, we walked through a dark tunnel and I mean dark. The journey through the tunnel signified the long and arduous path to enlightenment.

When we were done, we were free to go. It had begun to rain but the rain in Japan is quite light. I stuck around to photograph some of the beautiful trees near the temple, then I proceeded to walk back to the hotel. The short, almost 2 kilometre distance took me 2.5 hours because of all the stops I made. 

After taking a break for a most delicious green tea ice cream cone, I browsed in many shops along the straight path back to the hotel.

Nagano is a city of 400,000 people but it seemed much smaller and quieter, perhaps due to the time of year. I found lovely a cloth picture of Mount Fuji, some trees, and a cat riding a horse. It sounds weird I know, but the hanging looked awesome and I am bringing it home! I stopped at a grocery store and picked up some breakfast for tomorrow as well as some food stuff for a friend back home.

And I found two different stationery stores and purchased some more brush pens. That's it! I must stop buying more art supplies! I also found a ¥100 store and managed to find a few fascinating items. 

I arrived back at the hotel at 5:30 PM, an hour and a half before we were scheduled to meet for supper. A shower sure felt good after my late morning start. Supper was at an amazing traditional restaurant, Shinshu Nagaya Sakaba.

We decided to order communal dishes and share. Some of the items were fantastic, some were bland (like the gelatin on a stick thingy), and other items were just plain weird.

The thought of eating grasshoppers, bumblebees and worms turned my stomach but I didn't want to wimp out. They actually tasted quite good with the sweet sauce they were cooked in. But it's funny how one’s preconceived notions play with the mind.

After dinner, a few of us went to a nearby bar for a drink. There was no English menu but after talking with the owner we all decided to have a kamikaze cocktail. The place was small and we were the only customers. Classical music was playing in the background and it was a lovely atmosphere.

I felt quite tired after that and headed back to the hotel on my own. The others are out partying somewhere. 

I need my sleep!

Japan Day 4 - Tokyo

Although I had already been to the Tsukiji Fish Market on Saturday, I decided to see it again with the group, then take the tour I had missed yesterday by going to Mount Fuji. 

By going to the market earlier and with our guide, I was able to see a major area I had not visited on Saturday. Open to the public only after 10 AM, there is a huge building filled with various vendors preparing their fish for market. We saw every kind of sea creature imaginable being chopped, packaged, and sold.

The level of activity was hectic and one had to always be mindful of staying out of the way of the men working. The forklift and small vehicle traffic outside of the buildings and inside kept you on guard. I was fascinated by the sheer variety of fish, squid, shellfish etc. that were being processed. 

Rather then having to wait in long lines and eating lunch right at the market, we went a little further away and had a great experience at a revolving sushi bar.

Everyone sits at the counter and the food revolves around on a conveyor belt. Not being a sushi fan, I wondered if I would maybe take a pass on lunch, not that that would hurt me much! 

The first thing I chose was a lovely cream-filled cake dessert.

Then I found out I could get the fish grilled so I ordered the salmon wrapped around rice. When it came it looked like it had been on the grill for maybe 30 seconds or so - not quite what I was expecting! But when in Rome, or Tokyo as the case may be, I decided to go with the flow and try it at least.

With soy sauce it was quite good actually. I wanted to order another one but our guide wasn't nearby and I didn't know how to get the waiters attention, never mind order grilled salmon so I took one that wasn't grilled. Not bad for somebody who doesn't like sushi!  I quite enjoyed the tea that was available. There was a tap between every two people and you pushed your cup against it to get hot water.

I couldn't see any teabags but I noticed the older gentleman beside me definitely had green tea so I asked him for help. Well, asked isn't quite the right word,  more like pantomimed. He pointed to one of the containers on a very small lazy Susan in front of me. It had green tea powder which I had never tried before. I really liked it and have to bring some home! It has the taste of green tea without having to dispose of the tea leaves afterwards. It is akin to instant coffee which is kind of cool. 

After lunch all of the group wanted to do different things so my guide took just me on the subway to Yoyogi Park to visit the most important shrine in Tokyo –  the Meiji Shrine.

Otorii, the great gate to the park, is built from massive logs that came from a 1500-year-old Japanese cypress tree. The surrounding trees are also huge and it was a peaceful place to be despite the many people wandering around.

Before we entered, Susie showed me how to 'purify' myself before entering the main shrine. There are long handled bamboo scoops which you fill with water. First you pour a little on your left hand to wash it,  then your right hand, then you wash your mouth by putting water in your hand and rubbing it on your mouth (without drinking any of it). Finally, you dispose of the leftover water by letting it run down the handle back into the pool of water from which it came. 

I saw quite a few children dressed up in exquisite traditional costumes and realized it was because of Shichi-Go-San. That is a festival day in Japan for 3, 5 and 7 year olds to celebrate the growth and well-being of young children. My guide asked the parents of these two beautiful young children if I could take their photo.

I was needing a break from walking and standing so Susie told me of a place she knew where we could have some refreshments. We walked quite a ways then went up three escalators to a place called the Kawaii Monster Cafe. Google tells me that Kawaii is an adjective in Japanese meaning " pretty; cute; lovely; charming; dear; darling; pet" It's origin is two kanji meaning "can love" and is commonly used by anime and manga fans. 

I had absolutely no idea that such places existed. We were given the choice of four different cafés and we went to the "Milk Room". To say that the decor is over-the-top is the understatement of the year. Pink was a dominant colour and the room was girly and filled with wild, imaginative sculptures, lighting and seating arrangements. The menu was on this iPad thing stuck in a thick weird case. The prices matched the decor, meaning they were over-the-top so I just ordered a dessert as Susie said it was her treat. 

Suddenly the music got louder and Susie said to come to the centre where there was a 'show'. Three women dressed in the weirdest get up you ever did see danced on this big plastic thing about the music was playing. They also came down to the audience to encourage them to clap along. Some people were chosen from the audience to participate by dancing along with the performers. I couldn't believe my eyes and ears. I still can't! To go from the quiet of the park and the ancient shrine over to this café was as opposite as two places can possibly be. 

After that experience, we separated as I wanted to do some shopping. I found a 4 floor variety store with all kinds of amazing things and bought some interesting art supplies as well as household items. My plan was to do more shopping but my feet could hardly take one more step. (It was a 16,600 step day.)

I grabbed a quick bite next-door at a McDonald's. I know there were lots of interesting choices nearby but I was extremely tired again and had to sit. McDonald's is clean and has free Wi-Fi. Sometimes that's all you really need. 
After four nights here in Tokyo we are leaving tomorrow morning so I must pack up as I have really settled in here, haha!