Day 14 - Tokyo

Distance Walked: 13.5km

Slept in, because I could.  No rush to get anywhere/do anything today.  Packed everything, after first taking everything out.  It all fitted in easily this time.  Checked out, leaving my suitcase at the hotel then went in search of breakfast.  Went to a Cafe Doutor for coffee and sandwiches.  The sandwiches were made of the whitest of white sandwich bread with the crusts cut off.  There is a serious lack of fibre in the Japanese diet.

After breakfast I headed out to Ueno Park.  The itinerary for today is to amble around the park, sit & chill or read in the sunshine and visit the odd museum.  I'm enjoying Tokyo today.  I went down a minor street, parallel to the main drag,  to get to the metro station today.  Went past half a dozen places where I could have gotten a reasonably priced dinner last night.  Still, being a solo diner on a busy Saturday night is often not fun.

I entered Ueno Park at the southern end and visited a beautiful temple.  Still can't figure out if it is Shinto or Buddhist.  Paid 100 yen to get an English language fortune.  It didn't tell me what I wanted to hear but I guess you can't ask for your money back.

The temple was on an island and the bridge to it was lined with food stalls.  I could have bought breakfast from there, but most seemed to be fish-based so perhaps not.

I ambled about the lake surrounding the temple.  I came across a small museum about the Tokyo entertainment area.  It has a recreation of a traditional house.  I was tempted to go in but it would have required removing my hiking boots and I couldn't be bothered.  I could always visit it later (but I didn't of course).

Back in front of the temple there was a flea market set up.  I looked for presents for Mary & Jim but couldn't find anything.  Instead, for myself, I bought a tiny statue of a Chinese dragon for my lararium and the most amazing padlock in the shape of a carp.  You push aside on the of the fins to get to the keyhole and press one of his eyes to release the hasp.  I unintentionally haggled with the stallholder.  His original price for the padlock was 3200 Y but he couldn't get it to unlock at first so he dropped the price to 2000Y.  Eventually, he managed it and put the price back up to 3000Y.  I agreed provided he threw in the dragon statuette too - these were priced at 800Y, which he agreed to.  Jim would have been proud of me.

Flush with success I ambled about the park some before reading a little of my little of my latest book.  The Story Bundle collection of paranormal romances are mostly crap but I finally landed on one that was readable - no love interest.

Afterwards I went back to the metro station to grab some lunch.  I'm getting seriously short on cash and don't want to have to get anymore out of an ATM.  I went to a soba noodle joint where I was the only non-local and there was no English.  Thanks to Tom's guidance on the hike I know what to do.  The only awkward moment was they gave you a numbered token and called out your number when your meal was ready.  I cannot count in Japanese but I was the last to order from a clump of diners so I was able to work out when my order was ready.

After lunch I went back to the park and bought a ticket to a special exhibition on the human body in the Science Museum.  This was a disappointment as it was insanely busy and very little of the signs were in English.  It was all the more disappointing because it looked as if it would have been fascinating if I only knew what it was all about.  The museum shop saved the day as I was able to buy some cute presents for Jim & Mary.

I then went and sat outside a Starbucks to use their WiFi to checkin.  The seating configuration is 2-3-2.  I had picked an aisle seat on one side but the window seat was vacant so I got to sit by the window and still have easy access to the loos.  Score.

I started ambling back to the museum I had seen earlier but stopped to watch an insane busker, who was juggling and doing incredible acrobatic tricks.  He stacked piles of chairs at unstable angles and then climbed up and did handstands.  He looked like a weedy guy but was obviously very strong.

I gave up on the museum and went back to the metro station to wander around the pedestrian shopping mall/streets nearby.  I am still looking for a decent black leather belt but no luck.  I did buy 4 strawberries on a stick from one stall.  This cost the grand sum of 200Y but they tasted divine.  Fruit may be expensive here but it is so worth it.

It was time to head back so I took a different metro line back to my hotel - just because, and picked up my suitcase.  I walked to Tokyo Central Station as I wasn't in any rush.  I then spent 30 minutes wandering around the enormous station trying to find where to get the Narita express train to the airport.  Thank goodness I wasn't in a hurry to catch a plane.  I was getting flustered enough as it was.  Eventually I worked out I needed to buy a ticket for the express from the JR station office and this would get me into the main body of the station, instead of leaving me wandering around the periphery.  Obvious in hindsight.

I got to Narita about 6:30pm and checked into the capsule hotel.  I got a locker key and a bag with 2 towels, sleeping gown and, of course, a toothbrush and slippers.  I dumped my suitcase in my locker and headed out to the terminal for dinner.  I went to a tonkatsu place - no more fish!  It wasn't outrageously expensive which was a pleasant surprise for an airport terminal.   I had a fried, breaded pork cutlet (of course), shredded cabbage, pickles, rice & miso soup.  The only thing I didn't like was the miso soup as it had baby clams in it and they were a little gritty.

After dinner I browsed in the groundside shops.  I bought some seriously cool five "fingered" socks with all sorts of hi-tech features such as arch support and grippy toes to help you exercise.  I hope they fit.  Socks here are sold based on the length of your foot and I've never bothered to measure mine.

I then went back to the capsule hotel.  I took a shower and changed into my sleepwear before getting into my capsule.  There were two layers with about 30 capsules each.  Mine was on the bottom row which was a disappointment.  It was all so futuristic.  I really liked it. 

The capsule was a decent size.  I could stretch out fully.  I could also touch both walls and the roof if I made an effort.  They had a noise generator that made the sound of waves to help drown out surrounding noises.  it didn't do that very well but it was soothing.  There was only a canvas blind to pull down at the end of each pop, which did nothing to block out noise.  You could hear every cough, sneeze, snore and mobile phone ringt.  However, people were generally pretty good about keeping quiet.

I had a decent night's sleep but woke earlier than planned - 6:30am rather than 7:30am, as too many people were getting up.  I gave up by 7am and got up too.  I took another shower and headed out.  The holiday is over now.   I'm not sure if I'll visit Japan again, at least not on my own, but I'd definitely use a capsule hotel if I did.

Day 13 - Tokyo

Distance Walked : 14.5km

Met up with the group one last time at breakfast before we all said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways.  First stop for me was the Tsukiji Outer Market.  However, since it was a public holiday long weekend half the stalls were shut.  Also, since it was a public holiday long weekend it was heaving with tourists.  It was so crowded I could barely get to see any of the open stalls which was disappointing.  I didn't end up staying very long.

Next stop was Kappabashi Street - kitchen town.  Again, half closed but not nearly as many people so I had a good long browse.  There were several shops selling replica food.  I bought a half eaten rice cracker fridge magnet at one.  Another shop had the cutest silcone tea "bags" for holding loose leaf tea that hung over the edge of your mug.  I was sorely tempted to get one in the shape of a walrus but I don't drink tea!

The shops here are very specialised.  One just sold brushes of all sorts - for make-up, for cleaning, for use in cooking, even horse hair toothbrushes.  Another shop had 5 different gadets for making miso soup from miso paste.

I had lunch (burger & wedges plus iced coffee) here before heading back into the centre of Tokyo.  I wanted to see an exhibition of cat photos at the Misukoshi department store.  This is a very upmarket shop.  I went to the Nihombashi store.  The main store has lions at the entrance (the original one).  An annexe across the road has domestic cats in the same posture.  So cute!

There was a sign in the window about the exhibition.  However, the only part in English was the name of the exhibition.  The rest was in Japanese with just the odd arabic numeral.  I couldn't tell if these were giving the dates of the exhibition, the floor it was on or the entrance fee - assuming there was one.  Not having a clue about what is going on is getting old.  I've been spoilt travelling mostly in Europe.

I eventually found out where it was and had a pleasant hour browsing through all the cat-related items for sale, including flipping through the exhibition catalogue.  I didn't end up going to see the exhibition itself as I was farely sure there was a fee but had no idea how or where to go about paying it.  Instead, I bought two postcards and a calendar.

Next stop was the Imperial Palace East Garden.  This is the site of the old Shogun's palace.  However, it is all gone now and some very ordinary gardens are in its place.  There are some impressive walls and an odd gate or two but nothing like Nijo Castle.  I sat on a bench in the sun and read a book.  My back is killing me using just a shoulder bag rather than a backpack.

Last stop for the day was Uniqlo in Akihabara.  I was curious to see if they sold a broader range of items here in Japan than they do back in Melbourne.  However, the store I went to was smaller!  The maps.me app siad it was the closest but Google Maps later showed me one 10 minutes from my hotel.  

I called it quits and went home, getting back to my hotel around 6:30pm.  I passed a 7-Eleven one street over on my way back.  Again, maps.me had said the closest was a good bit further away.  Must remember to use Google Maps to find things when I have WiFi.  The only advantage of maps.me is that is doesn't use data.  Not the accuracy of its information.

After resting for a bit I tried to convince myself to go out and find myself somewhere reasonably priced (in this neighbourhood!) for dinner that would accept a solo diner on a Saturday night.  I failed and just went to the 7-Eleven instead.  I bought a bowl of cold noodles with toppins & dressing to make into a salad/noodle dish, plus jelly with fruit chunks, roasted chestnuts and rice crackers.  I am now pleasantly full after having spent all of about $10.  It would have been nice to watch trashy TV while I ate but the only English language channel is CNN so I settled for reading trashy books.  I started and abandoned 3 paranormal romances from a Story Bundle collection.

Day 12 - Karuizawa to Tokyo

Distance Walked - 20km

Breakfast today was a buffet so I had as much fresh vegetables as I could.  I also tried to have bacon and scrambled eggs, but the eggs turned out to be creamed corn.  I finished with yoghurt topped with crunchy granola (just a topping as there wasn't enough to eat) and some poached apple.   No more fish!  Although I did kind of miss rice with nori.

Then we set off.  First stop a French  bakery where I bought two savory rolls - one cheese topped and the other with roasted veg through it, plus a chocolate croissant.  Proper bread too, not a Japanese interpretation.

Next we started our last hike for the trip.  It was sunny but very cold and with a strong wind which made it colder.  I finally got to wear my fleece vest and gloves.  We first climbed to the top of yet another pass.  This one was again gentle and slow and not very high.  Again, at the top the views were spectacular.  If ther had been fewer clouds we might even have been able to see Mt Fuji.  We certainly got to see several snow capped peaks.  There were a lot of tourists at this look out as many people get a taxi to take them to the top and then either walk down or even get driven back down.  We stood our a little in all our hiking gear.

Next we left the tourists behind and went on a long, slow descent into the next valley.  This stretch was about 8km long so we sopped in a small shelter for lunch.  It didn't do much to cut the wind so we only stopped briefly.

Once we got to the next town we were going to get 2 trains to Tokyo.  We almost got there in time to catch the 2:10om but Tom has his first guide failure.  We had to cross a busy road winding up the mountain.  Tom and the first bunch went across, while the rest of us got stuck waiting for a gap in the traffic.  Once across to a small flat area we took the obvious path to the left.  Once we got to the bottom and couldn't see anyone we realised we'd gone the wrong way.  Diane tried to called Tom but his phone wasn't accepting calls (turns out he was in a tunnel).  By some miracle Paula was in the lead bunch but Doug was with us so were able to make contact.  We had to head all the way back up to the road and then down to the right and through tunnels following the path of an old, disused railway.  Tom should have made sure we were all safely across the road before heading off.

Finally, we rejoined the group at a rest stop with covered seating, toilets and vending machines.  I went to buy myself a coffee but just as I'd put my money in the machine some horrid toddler (3 or 4 at a guess) randomly pushed as many buttons as it could reach.  I ended up with a grade flavoured bubble tea that even Bruce wouldn't drink.

We then walked on.  We never got to see bears but we did get to see monkeys.  There were several near and on the path who basically ignored all the cooing and photographing tourists.  The mother with the baby clinging to her was just so sweet.

When we got to the railway station we all got soft serve ice cream.  I had the wasabi flavoured one which was just as expected.  A lovely contrast between cold ice cream and spicy, hot wasabi.  Then we all piled on the 3:10pm tain to a bigger town where we got the shinkansen to Tokyo.

Tokyo is nowhere near as busy and crowded as I expected.  In particular, there are surprisingly few cars.  it is a public holiday long weekend and we did see a long line of barely moving cars leaving Tokyo earlier in the day.  I arrived at the right time.  I had been worried.

We walked a very short stretch of the Nakasendo Way here until we got to the end/start point.  We all took photos and then piled on the subway to our hotel.  I have two nights here with my second night being in a superior room, rather than a standard.  However, I've chosen to stay in the same room both nights.  I can't face the fuss of packing up yet again when I can avoid it.  My room is perhaps a little cramped but otherwise perfectly comfortable and I won't be spending much time in it.  A Western room with a comfortable bed!  What more could I want?

Dinner was in the Italian restaurant in the hotel.  Antipasto was mortadella, proscuitto, baccala with mashed potatoes on bread (!) plus fugu (?) sashimi.  Then came French onion soup - delicious, followed by linguine with clams (sigh).  Next were two slices of margherita pizza (good but out of place) followed by some roast pork with one think slice of potato as the only veg.  Dessert was ricotta curd pudding with orange pieces.  We washed this down with 3 bottles of Chianti.  I have a hangover now.

Finally there were lots of hugs goodbye and then we all toddled off to bed.  No nightclubs or bar hopping for us.

Day 11 - Kaida-Kogen to Narai-Karuizawa

Distance Walked - 12km

After a "Western" breakfast, which had two skinny frankfurts (from a can?) rather than bacon but fresh, plain (!) bread with butter, we set off again in the bus.  This took us oout of the volcano and down again to rejoin the Nakasendo Way at Yabuhara.

Here we climbed over the Torii Toge pass and down to Narai.  This is apparently the toughest pass on the Nakasendo.  However, as it was only an ascent of 200m over a distance of 2km we thought it easy after yesterday's two efforts.  I was very glad it was an easy day as I felt like I had a sinus infection coming on and was decidedly queasy.

Narai is another picture postcard pretty post town, with all the phone and electricity wires buried and most of the buildings on the long (700m) main street still built in the traditional style.  There were mainly noodle places for lunch but I didn't feel very hungry.  I settled for some street food.  Rice flour balls on a stick with a teriyaki sauce (horrid except for the sauce) and rice flour buns stuffed with eggplant (OK) and red bean paste (yum).  I spent the rest of our time there browsing in the shops.  I'd like to buy some souvenirs but it was all either made out of wood or was food.  I didn't fancy trying to get either in through Customs.

After lunch we took a series of trains to our destination for the night.  First a local train, then a local express, then a shinkansen.  I sletp for most of the longest (2nd) train trip - about 1 hour.  After a visit to a comfortable loo before catching the shinkansen I felt a lot better.

Our town for the night is another post town but it is a major tourist trap and not in the traditional sense.  It was heaving with tourists as it is Golden Week now.  The streets are full of fancy shops and restaurants with all different sorts of cuisines.  There are lots of bridal places too.  Apparently it is a popular place to get married.  We are definitely not in a village in rural Japan anymore.

Our inn for tonight is the same mix of modern and traditional.  It is a big, two storey building.  The couples have traditional rooms but us singles have Western rooms.  My room is a twin room with frilly French provincial furniture.  There is an onsen and we are supplied with yakuta but most of the hotel guests are in their street clothes and we were allowed to wear our shoes up to our rooms.  The floor is carpeted rather than tatami mats.  We have our own ensuite bathrooms but I used the onsen.

Dinner was a multi-course feast served very quickly.  I have a copy of the menu.  It included fugu - poisonous puffer fish.  Tough and tastless.  I guess it gets eaten for bragging rights.

Tomorrow is our last day.  I will actually be sorry to say goodbye to everyone but glad to be going home.

Day 10 - Kiso-Fukushima to Kaida-Kogen

Distance Walked - 14km

Only a short day of walking today for which I was very grateful.  We started by visiting a museum at the barrier station at Kiso-Fukushima and getting the history of how/when people could travel during the Tokugawa Shogunate.  It was a very controlled society.

Afterwards we were bused to the base of a beautiful waterfall.  We took a detour from the Nakasendo Way today to climb up to the Kaida plateau.  This is actually the caldera of a dormant/extinct (I hope) volcano.  It was huge - about 12km in diameter.  We climbed up to the plateau over the Jizo Pass.  It was tough - 300m ascent over about 2.5km.  I was really struggling after yesterday.

After getting to the top there was an easy, level walk to our lunch stop at Kanda-Popoya.  This is a restaurant/gift shop in a small village run by this mad couple who have retired from Tokyo.  There were spectacular views of the snow capped peaks of the nearby active Mt Ontake volcano from their patio.

They fed us salad (chopped, raw cabbage) and bread (!) rolls - made with walnuts and raisins.  Then we had pizza (!) - alsmost a biscuity textured base topped with miso, mushrooms, tomato and too much cheese.  For dessert we got to have either apple cake or chocolate cake.  While we were eating dessert the husband played us a tune on a traditional 3 stringed guitar-like instrument.  Then we all sang (the chorus) of a traditional folk song.  After that the wife played us a couple of songs on her harmonica - she was very good.  Finally the husband turned on his model railway that ran through the garden.

After this mad experience we hiked on to stables where they rear the local Kaida ponies, stopping to pat them and take many photos.  Then on to a local bus stop.  We took this bus to the base of a peak which I think was the remains of a volcanic plug or perhaps just a lump of harder rock left over after our volcano collapsed.

Climbing this peak was even tougher - 300m ascent again but over only 1.5km.  It had become overcast and drizzly but we all did it.  We all even took the 400m detour from the path over the pass to the very peak.  Even though the clouds were coming down the 360 degree views of the rim and the surrounding mountains with all the villages in the plateau were superb and well worth the effort.  Then it wa a quick, downhill walk through the rain, to our inn for the night.

Again, I have an enormous room with "just" an ensuite toilet and sink.  The onsen here are real mineral springs.  All of us, except Paula, went immediately for a good, long soak before dinner.  Paula waited until we were all done.

Dinner included the traditional whole trout (I'm getting very tired of it) plus beef cooked in miso over a hot cube of ethanol (yum - the beef not the ethanol) plus grandma's homemade soba noodles.  And so to bed.

Day 9 - Tsumago to Kiso-Fukushima

Distance Walked - 22km (today was supposed to be our long day of 24km)

Today was our best day yet.  Warm and sunny and the scenery was spectacular.  We started later than made Cathy comfortable - 8:30am.  However, we didn't have to reach our destination, Nojiri, until 5:30pm so we had plenty of time.  Doug carried the camera too, so Paula didn't get too far behind.

Today's walk wound up through a river valley and over several passes.  We walked mainly through forests and along mountain paths.  It all looked like something out of a brochure.  Still didn't see any bears.  Must stop ringing the bells.

Our first section was to a post town called Nagiso.  Here we stopped for coffee and lunch supplies.  Those who didn't want to walk the whole way could atch a train to our destination from here.  Nola & John (73) had been considering it but decided to walked the whole way instead.  We visited what is now a spectacular footbridge over the Kiso River (it was originally used for logging trains).   We got the chance to watch a foursome play the local version of golf here - it is a cross between golf and croquet.  It looks like a lot of fun and doesn't take up nearly as much space as a regular golf course.

We then set off for the main route up through the mountains.  We stopped for a snack at 1pm and lunch at 2pm.  I was really struggling by then.  I'd bought chees, beef jerky, rice crackers and jelly with mandarine segments.  Not enough carbs to replenish my glycogen stores I suspect but you just can't get bread here.

After lunch we did a final push to the post town of Nojiri.  This required a long, brutal ascent of over 200m before a final drop into the town.  We got here about 4:45pm, bought welcome snacks and then caught a train to Kiso-Fukushima for the night.  Nojiri appears to be a commuter town.  There are a few shops and no inns.

Our inn here is the plushest we've stayed in.  I have a huge, 10 tatami mat room with its own ensuite bathroom and toilet.  There is also a proper onsen bath on the top floor.  There has been an inn here for hundreds of years but this is clearly a modern building.  I'm getting the hang of the whole sitting on the floor, slippers on / slippers off thing but I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed!

I had a quick shower in my room and then did some much needed laundry before heading down to dinner in my yakuta.  Dinner included the usual whole trout but also some beef (?) and shredded veg that was individually cooked/steamed over a hot stone.  After the first set of dishes, out came soba noddles with a dipping sauce.  Then came eggplant with miso and sesame seeds.  Then rice (I was the only one who ate this - see previous note about gylcogen stores) then finally some fresh fruit for dessert.

Everyone else tottered off to bed but I went to the onsen for a good long soak to rest my weary legs.  I had the place to myself.  Lovely.  The water wasn't as hot as last time but I preferred it as I didn't need to worry about passing out.

Tomorrow's inn is giving us the choice of horse or fish sashimi.  I opted for the fish but a few people have picked horse - raw (ugh!).  We also were given the choice of a Western breakfast or a Japanese one.  I would have preferred the Japanese one as they don't do Western food well as a rule but the majority vote was for Western, so that is what we will all get.  I'm really looking forward to porridge, fruit, yoghurt and fresh vegetables.