Eight days in Japan - Part 1

Do you know what happens when you take two cameras on a holiday?

You end up with 1,982 photos - and that's after I've deleted shots that made me look like a troll. All taken over eight days. That's an average of 247.75 photos a day - or more, including the bad shots. No wonder our fingers were feeling sorta wonky on this holiday.

The holiday had been a great experience for the husband and I. We must have enjoyed ourselves so much that almost every service staff we met asked if we were honeymooners. And with great pride we would reply that we've been married since 2007.

We arrived in Tokyo's Narita International Airport just past 1pm on Saturday. Taxis are an indulgence in this country, so we had to take a bus into Shinjuku and walk to our hotel. It was easy identifying the counter at the airport that sold bus tickets to take us into the city. But it was difficult identifying the right direction to our hotel once we alighted at Shinjuku Station.

The city is a hive of massive activity. Everyone marched with purpose and anyone (that's the husband and me) who halts indecisively and suddenly were regarded with disdain. It was stressful trying to find our way around these frowning, marching people.

We lost our way and ended up dragging our luggage through a network of alleys filled with shops that sold entertainment and companionship with lovely, doe-eyed girls. 

"This must be the infamous red-light district," the husband panted - not out of excitement, but out of exhaustion. It was no joke dragging a 15kg bag round and round. That's why I told him to pack light. But the newly-minted vainpot insisted on bringing with him all his favourite new clothes.

It was past 3pm by the time we found our hotel - Best Western Shinjuku Astina Hotel. And the sky was already starting to darken. 

There was no time to rest. We were hungry and we wanted to see a bit of the city. Plus, we had to trek back to Shinjuku Station to get our Japan Rail Pass and reserve our train tickets for the next few days.

The Japan Rail Pass is brilliant for free-and-independent travellers who need to take several train rides to different cities across Japan. Our pass, which offers unlimited rides over seven days, costs us some S$480. I'm sure buying train tickets without the Japan Rail Pass would cost a hell lot more. For instance, the ride from Tokyo to Nagano on the Nagano Shinkansen alone costs 7,970yen per adult, or S$133.

We walked around the retail cluster surrounding Shinjuku Station, and chanced upon Yakitori Alley. It is a long and narrow alley with many tiny yakitori shops packed side-by-side. The air there was fragrant with the scent of cooked meats. However, we did not want to stop and eat, as we were sure our clothes would end up stinking.

Soon, we gave up trying to shop in Shinjuku. It was too busy for our liking. We did not escape Singapore for yet another busy-bee city.

So we found a quiet ramen shop to sit down for dinner. It was one of those shops where diners had to buy a meal ticket from a vending machine outside, then hand the ticket to the cook behind the counter and wait patiently for your number to be called. I love such shops!

I ordered a bowl kakiage soba, hoping it would be as wonderful as the bowl I had when I first visited Tokyo.

I was not disappointed. :)

WIth our tummies nicely warmed and filled, and our spirits calmed, we proceeded to explore the lust-filled alleys of Shinjuku, where shopfronts were plastered with posters of cutesy girls wearing impossibly tiny school uniforms that showed off their butt cheeks or girls who were plain nude. Men who slid quickly into such shops wore business suits and hardly looked the sort, if you know what I mean.

"So pretty. Such big eyes," the husband murmured. I heard that and decided it was time to get him out of that area. So I pulled him by the ear and slid into a noisy izakaya near our hotel.

I love izakayas because they are like a good cross between rowdy bars and stiff wine lounges. At an izakaya, I could bask in the energetic vibe of other diners and yet have enough privacy to enjoy a casual conversation or hearty laugh with my companion.

We had quite a bit to eat and drink, but the bill came up to only just over 2,000yen. Brilliant!

It was almost 11pm when we emerged from the izakaya and into the chill of the night, and the area was just starting to get busier. There were a lot more men on the streets, as well as beautifully made-up women in the shortest of skirts and the highest of heels. If I were a man, my loins might burn.

We were back at our hotel in mere minutes and sleep came fast.

The next morning, we were up and about by 8am. Had a quick breakfast, checked out and caught our train to Nagano, the capital city of Nagano Prefecture.

We had enough time to explore one attraction and have a quick lunch before catching our train to Yudanaka, a small onsen town within the prefecture.

So the one attraction we went to was Zenkoji, a 7th-century Buddhist temple. It was not difficult to get there, as a retro-looking bus plies regularly between Nagano Station and the temple. The ride costs 100yen per person.

At the entrance of the temple was a fat cat, who sat most serenely, with his eyes looking calmly into the distance. He completely disregarded the number of humans who oohed and ahhed around him. Some reached out to touch his soft fur, others snapped a million photos of him.

When his admiring crowd dispersed, he strutted away slowly, with his head proudly in the air. What a cat! :)

Zenkoji has many sprawling spaces, some with tombs. There were many spots perfect for one to stand and daydream. If only we had more time to spend.

Exiting the temple, we decided to walk back to Nagano Station and see the streets along the way.

As it was nearing winter, most trees have shed their beautiful autumn leaves and were bare. Hence, we rejoiced when we spotted this tree.

Along the way we came across an interesting cafe. It occupies an out-of-service bus, where diners enjoyed their coffees and cakes on the upper deck.

Back at Nagano Station, mothers with young children started a feeding frenzy for the pigeon community. The kids loved the birds and many stood as still as possible to allow the birds to come real close. Hmm, did they not know that pigeon poop can cause health risks?

Lunch was had at a restaurant that specialised in freshly-pulled soba. Diners can choose to have just soba, or pair it with saba or tempura.

It was A LOT of soba. I knew right away that I would not be able to finish it. Surprisingly, the many petite locals around us were able to clean off their plates and we wondered if it was deemed rude to waste food. Didn't help that the husband said the Japanese took great pride in their work and the chef might weep if we don't finish his food.

So, we forced everything down our throats and had a couple of smokes after that to aid digestion. :(

Our Yudanaka-bound train took off at 1.38pm, and it was almost 3pm when we checked into Yorozuya Annex Yurakuan hotel. We were told it was the biggest hotel in the onsen town, and one of the oldest too. If I remember correctly, the hotel existed since the 1930s. It underwent renovation and expansion later, and we stayed in the newer Annex wing.

Yudanaka is a truly quiet town. When the sun set, the silence was palpable and the only lights were from some houses and an inn in the distance.

Although Josh loves quiet environs, he found the silence at Yudanaka too much to bear. He told me after we checked out the next day that the absolute silence frightened him and he could not sleep all night. Poor boy. I had been too exhausted to be scared and had fallen into a deep slumber the night before.

Anyway, we had dinner at the hotel. The spread was a feast for the eyes but not for the tongue. And having walked so much, we needed more meat. Alas, the only meat was a few slices of beef and a dry piece of pan-fried salmon. The husband was miserable. :)

Thank goodness for the bag of snacks I carried with me. We hit the vending machines (hurray for vending machines everywhere in Japan!) for some drinks and returned to our room for a snack attack.

We were up by 8am the next morning. We had to hike up a mountain to visit some relatives.

To be exact, we went to Jigokudani Monkey Park, part of the Joshinetsu Kogen National Park in the north of Nagano Prefecture. It was a cool four degrees Celcius that morning, hence I was all wrapped up like that.

The irritating thing was, while I was all wrapped up, the elderly locals who were also there for a stroll, came dressed in only a windbreaker or light cotton cardigan.

And while I huffed and puffed throughout the upward trek, the elderly skipped past me and had enough air in their lungs to chirp, "Ohayou!"

Darned healthy buggers!

While the concierge at the hotel said the trek up should take about 20 minutes, we took almost 45 minutes.

Anyway, we succeeded in making it up to the monkey park, which is very much a spa for happy monkeys.

They get to have a soak in a hotspring.

They get to be groomed by another monkey.

And like some spas, they get special services at the end.

It tickled me no end whenever a monkey pair moved from frenzied lice-picking to frenzied banging. :)

Life is so good for those monkeys.

We hung around our relatives for half an hour and then made the trek down. A car took us to the train station, where we caught trains to Nagano and onwards to Matsumoto.

It was a whirlwind trip around Matsumoto, as we had to take a three-hour bus ride to Takayama in Gifu Prefecture at 5.05pm. We arrived at Matsumoto at 3pm, hunted for the bus station, bought our tickets, walked as quickly as we could to Matsumoto Castle (it took us 20 minutes to walk from the train station to Matsumoto Castle) and admired it from afar.

Very pretty. There's a large garden facing the castle, where one could sit on a bench and sip from a flask of hot ocha. If we had more time, we would have done that.

Very soon, we hurried off to the bus station and started our journey to a town that became one of our favourite places on earth.

That story will come in my next post. :)