One thing we don't often get in Japan is fat and lazy flowing rivers. but the Chikuma River flowing through Nagano is one such. It's broad river bank and sedate wide flow reminded somewhat of my boyhood along the South Saskatchwan River in Canada.  I stopped on the road down into the town itself to again, take in the wide fields spreading out along the valley floor.

The town itself, and specifically the "hot spring" portion of the town is a lovely mix of temples and beautiful onsen buildings backing right onto the ski lifts.

Flowers, especially the rape blossom, were in full bloom all through Nagano when I went, and Nozawa was no exception.

After a couple of hours of walking around the town, poking my head in here and there, I was ready to head back through Nagano City and to Hakuba. On my way out of the valley I noticed a side road which a sign indicated led to a lake and boat landing. The road itself was tiny and twisted, so I thought that
promised good things for the lake itself. And wow... after winding around the mountain a ways, the lake indeed lived up to it's promise.  An absolutely beautiful setting nestled into the valley. Pictures don't quite do it justice but...

Matsumoto is a lovely town.  Population of  210,000, it's about a half hours drive from Hakuba and is also the main transfer station if you're taking the Azuza Express Train up to Hakuba from Shinjuku.  Well worth a days, or at least a half day stopover, especially if the weather cooperates.

Matsumoto Castle is the main tourist draw and for good reason.  It is still, for the most part, in it's original state, and it gives a fascinating insight into what the real meaning of these kind of places were.  Europeans probably know better I suppose (and other people cleverer than I), but as a Canadian and not having many castles close at hand to refer too, I grew up thinking that castles were kitted up with all sorts of amenities, or at least as much as was possible in those days.  Sure, I thought they must have been fairly drafty and cold, but still, people proceeded with their lives calling the castle...home.  Matsumoto Castle (“Matsumoto-jo” as it's referred to in Japanese) is for the most part,  strictly utilitarian.  There are a couple of rooms where you could take in the surrounding area in a more leisurely fashion, but for the most part it's full of steep steep staircases (easy to defend against enemies coming up from below) and wide corridors so as to facilitate the running to and fro of fully armoured warriors.   And, lot's of places to drop rocks on people.  Exactly the kind of place I was looking for as a clubhouse when I was a boy.  If only I had know where to look!

As you would expect, the castle serves as museum as well, so you can also see  interesting displays of the armour worn at the time and the weapons used, including some quite beautifully decorated guns. 

As it was not always wartime in feudal Japan, and certainly hasn't been in recent days, the area immediately surrounding castles is usually an immaculate garden or park land.  Matsumoto-jo is no different, and some of the loveliest views of cherry blossoms in the spring (usually, the middle of April) can be had along the moat surrounding the castle.

The Metobagawa River is one of a few rivers running through Matsumoto ....    situated casually along it's banks is a lovely “shopping street” (“shoten-gai” in Japanese), where you can find all manner of tradional Japanese snacks, toys and gifts and a sense of what it must have been like strolling around “downtown”, circa feudal Japan era.  It certainly doesn't compare to the hustle and bustle of the Asakusa area in Tokyo for example, but that's one of it's charms I think.  I strolled and strolled on that warm afternoon, and then sat down on a bench with a friendly old lady who insisted that I share her tea from her thermos.  Which, I promptly did.  Usually prefer coffee myself, but it wasn't bad.

Just off this shopping street is the Yohashira-jinja Shrine (“jinja” means “shrine” in Japanese).  As is quite common in modern day Japan, it's the sense of contrast that is perhaps the most interesting to westerners.  Directly behind the shrine is a, well, not so lovely communications tower.  First time visitors to Kyoto are often faced with similar scenes, temples of breathtaking beauty, sometimes surrounded by, well, the willy nilly of daily modern life.  The Japanese are especially adroit at focusing the mind's eye on what should be seen, and away from the less attractive surroundings, and I have a feeling most visitors to Japan quickly develop this gift.  Life is not a museum piece after all, and these temples and shrines still form an important part of modern Japanese life.

One of the charms of Japanese temples is the chance to take an “o-mikuji” or “fortune”.  They usually cost 100 or 200 yen, and  give fairly generic fortune cookie type advice about the near future.  In, dare I say, a not atypical Japanese attitude towards fate, the Japanese themselves are somewhat ambivalent about it's true meaning...   if it's positive, or “dai-kichi”, great!  If the fortune points to a negative future, the thing to do is to tie the actual paper the fortune is written on to the line you can see in the picture and then ...  all bets are off.  Get out of jail ... free!  Nice!   The fortune I drew was not all that positive, so that's what I did.  Ah, no worries!

My final walk on this trip into Matsumoto was along the river bank itself, which depending on the season, can be a snowbank, a treacherous mudslide, or, if your timing is right, it can be a serene slice of riverside life, complete with blooming cherry trees and a family of ducks.  (or, perhaps they were just friends, I didn't think to ask).

Links
Matsumoto Welcome Page
Matsumoto Castle
Matsumoto Maps

A friend's birthday celebration provided the occasion to put the pedal down and let loose for some go-kart action… at Circuit Azumino (about an hour or so outside of Hakuba, or on your way up from Matsumoto).  The competition was fierce, there can be no doubt…   I have to say I'm not entirely satisfied with my 7th place showing, but what can you do… not all of us are cut out to be speed demons.

 

Great fun though, and they really do it up right.  The cars are powerful enough that you get a real feel of the g-force when cornering.  On the straights, you may feel the desire for a little more oomph, but soon enough you're into a turn again.

 

We paid 9,000 yen each for a solid half days outing and left genuinely feeling we had gotten our moneys worth.  You get a chance to go through a warm up circuit (5 laps??), a number of qualifying time trials (10 laps each??), and then down through various semi-final heats to the championship race.  By the end, these somewhat old bones, not used to all the g force had had enough to be certain.

 

The champions were saluted with a podium presentation, complete with bottles of sparkling wine.

 

There are various options and pricing plans depending on how long you want to be there, whether you have a proper license or not (go-kart license that is), and there is a chance to rent the entire circuit out for your party if you so desire.  Will certainly go back again…   hopefully all the way to the podium next time.

 

http://www.circuit-azumino.com/

Last week, on the way back from Hotaka, I took the time to stop in at the Alps Azumino Park. Was more of a short lark to be honest, as I was alone, and the place is more suited to families (especially those with young children) but was a good couple of hours spent nonetheless. The park is immaculately kept, from the fully paved walking paths, to the sturdy playground equipment. There are several "science" or "nature" based activities for kids, including scavenger hunts and nature quizzes (though, all written in Japanese only unfortunately) scattered along the various trails. You'll also find all matter of listening devices, kaleidoscopes and detailed info on each species of plant or animal life you're likely to come across. Probably the highlight of the day was the indoor climbing area, where a full elementary school class was going absolutely mental over the climbing apparatus… to be fair, I felt like jumping in and joining them… There is a day camping facility attached to the park, and I would highly recommend it if you have youngsters who are hankering for the outdoors, but you still feel it's best to keep in a somewhat controlled environment. Have fun!