The Super Azusa at Shinjuku Station.
Our departure from Tokyo was via Super Azusa from Shinjuku Station, a 2.5 hour trip in a very fast train to Matsumoto in Nagano Prefecture. The train is named after Matsumoto's river, Azusa. We felt relieved that we were able to get our bulky Osprey Shuttle bags on board without having to navigate a single flight of stairs. Our Green Car was nearly empty the entire trip, and we snacked on sandwiches bought at the railway station. Once we left Tokyo's massive urban area, we seemed to be climbing slightly and passed through long tunnels from one valley locality to another. At Matsumoto, we were pleased to find escalators and lifts.
This floral clock in Matsumoto probably looks better in spring.
Matsumoto is a regional city at an altitude of 600m and with a population of 250k. It fills a broad valley and is surrounded on all sides by snow capped mountains. The downtown area is very walkable, and we set out for our Buena Vista Hotel, only to (happily) discover a hotel shuttle bus waiting at the railway station - just a fluke we saw it. Most of our hotels are within walking distance, but we'll keep an eye out for shuttle buses now!
Hotel Buena Vista was opposite a tiny park atop a car park.
A clear morning from Buena Vista Hotel restaurant.
Know nothing about this Stingray, but it looked pretty cute on matching truck.
Dog for sale in Matsumoto pet shop.
Poster seen about town.
This city's main claim to fame, and it is a substantial claim indeed, is Matsumoto Castle. This 29m tall castle, right in town, was completed in the 1590's and (unlike most others) is an original, it has never burned down. It is a "plain" castle, so was defended by a series of walls, gates and moats radiating out some distance, only remnants of which still exist in downtown Matsumoto. Only the keep is intact, and some inner gates and buildings have been reconstructed. Magnificent grounds have been preserved around the castle, but because it is built on the plain, it is all but invisible from the streets of Matsumoto CBD.
Matsumoto Castle in spectacular sunset light.
Golden hues of Matsumoto Castle seen from the west at sunset.
Koi, we assume, in the castle moat.
The castle, which is also called Crow Castle because it is black, was essentially built in the Tensho Era by lord Kazumasa Ishikawa. It includes features common to many castles including special provisions for warfare (stone-drops and archers' holes) and warriors, luxurious quarters for the lord, food-stores, watch-towers etc. We saw examples of armaments and armour in the castle, and also at the Matsumoto City Museum.
Decoration in gate to Masumoto Castle.
The castle is open for visitors, and it was fascinating to climb up the 5 or 6 stories and see all these features in the dark interior. The stairs were steep and narrow, it was pretty crowded, but they have a clearly marked route and facilitators on hand.
Horrendously heavy looking armour.
Upper-level interior of Matsumoto Castle.
Matsumoto from the castle.
Looks as though the defenders of Matsumoto had access to modern weaponry.
Dad helping son with interpretative materials about this steam pump in the City Museum.
Seven Gods of Fortune aboard the Treasure Ship.
We particularly liked the (certainly reconstructed) masugata or square-shaped gate which was possibly the main, secure entrance to the castle compound, consisting of two huge misaligned wooden gates set into a square of massive rock walls.
Twin doored square style gate controlling access to Matsumoto Castle.
Map of Matsumoto Castle with its moats, and Metoba River at the bottom.
Apart from the castle, we were able to explore downtown Matsumoto pretty well. It is a flat, compact, highly walkable town, bisected by the Metoba River (also the outer moat of the castle), which was at a pretty low level.
Very cute bookshop jammed between two hopelessly unsympathetic buildings.
Springs abound in Matsumoto, made into special features, and their water flows in very pleasant aqueducts all around the town.
Frog sculpture in need of a paint touch-up at Nawate Street.
View along Nawate Street.
Yes, real gas lights on this old bridge across the Metoba River.
Narrow and pretty, Nawate Street is a pedestrian mall, runs along the river and is packed with tiny, interesting shops of cafes, crafts, antiques and even hardware. Everything in Nawate Street has a frog theme.
Footbridge across Metoba River in Matsumoto.
Nearby Nakamachi (which means central area), is a one-way one lane boulevard of interesting buildings containing shops, cafes and other traps for visitors. We're late lunch eaters, and found we could nothing in this area after 2:30pm when all cafes seem to close. But we did find Tully's Coffee in Agatanomori Street open long hours and know how to make cappucino, so we patronised this friendly cafe frequently during our stay. We could even pay Tully's with our Pasmo card.
Shop and shopper in Nakamachi.
Lovely detail in Nakamachi 2nd Floor.
Complicated awning components in Nakamachi.
And we also had our most formal Japanese dinner of this visit so far, shoes off, on tatami, in Matsumoto, at a restaurant called Furashima. It was exquisite, as you would expect, but we had tremendous language problems negotiating the menu. The kimono-clad staff tried, but their English matched our Japanese and it was very hard going.
Alan Gibson from Trans Orbit in Sydney had recommended that we take a day trip from Matsumoto to a town called Narai. Narai is along a valley road called Kisoji which itself was part of Nakasendo, the road between Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto in the Edo Period (1603-1867), and near a difficult crossing. Looking at today's map, this would have been a "long way round", but maybe topography made more direct routes impractical.
Narai is one of the few orginal post (toll?) towns still inhabited. It has reinvented itself with inns, cafes and local craft souvenir shops, and the narrow main street overhung by old buildings make it a very pleasant place to visit. At Narai, the valley is just wide enough to hold a one street town, a railway, a river and the main road (which bypasses the town, thus saving it).
Train winds through Narai in its narrow valley.
Our visit there taught us a lot about how JR operate small local train services, and how small towns can make themselves appeal to visitors. Our JR Pass paid for our local train trip to Narai. The train was just two carriages, absolutely immaculate inside and out. The floor was polished lino, and sparkling clean. It was 80% full on our outward journey, and standing room only coming back. The driver managed everything: on arrival at a stop he leaned out of his cabin to activate the doors (front doors only), then opened his window to the main cabin to collect tickets or fares. Naturally, the train was exactly on time at every stop.
Kiso Ohashi big bridge is one of many pedestrian bridges spanning the Narai River.
From inside the local train to Narai.
Local train passing through Narai.
On arrival at Narai, the station-master greeted us personally, gave us a town map in English, and made sure we knew the times of the return trains, which he had marked on a huge card.
One of many springs in Naria, in a shady, frozen spot.
Statuesque tree with shrine on a Narai side street.
This cafe is not open yet.
The main street is about 2km long ("Narai of 1,000 buildings") and the town is one of Japan's Nationally Designated Architectural Preservation Sites, with the buildings much like they were in the Edo period. The town was indeed as pretty as a picture, and a delight to walk through, exploring some of the side lanes to the river on one side and up into the hills on the other. The shops sold mostly locally produced crafts like laquered chopsticks and various kitchen utensils.
The Taiho-ji Temple and bell in Narai, backing into the hill.
Famous painted ceiling dragon in the shrine at Taiho-ji Temple, Narai.
Cemetery in Narai.
Tori gate, tree and shrine in Narai.
Finally in this Matsumoto post, it's amazing how you quickly start to take certain Japanese peculiarities for granted, and notice when they are absent. Once, the Buena Vista had a long scheduled power-outage overnight. That quintessential feature, the heated toilet seat, went cold! It was very distressing!
One of many craft outlets in Narai - this a display of beautiful lacquered chopsticks.
Steam engine exhibit in Narai.
Colorful family of cultural statues in Narai.
The train home from Narai proved to be "standing room only" with many passengers carrying ski gear.
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