From Mount Fuji we headed to Nagano, home of the 1998 Winter Olympics. I am a huge Olympics nerd and record them every night, so I thought Nagano would be a great stop, especially since the Winter Olympics are coming up here so soon!
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| The manhole covers in Nagano |
We first took a bus and then a train to Nagano and arrived in the rain. We were able to catch the trolley up to our Ryokan, which was owned by the nicest older couple. We had some of the nicest rooms in the hotel on the top floor. The hotel had dozens of little staircases all over the place; it reminded me of being in Gryffindor Tower with all the ways we could go.
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| Having our snack at our amazing ryokan |
After we dropped our stuff we headed out into the rain to see the city at night. Our hotel was just a block or two from Zenko-ji, a beautiful Buddhist temple and as we approached the temple we saw hundreds of red lanterns strung across the streets, glowing in the rain. We decided to explore and discovered that we had walked into a Buddhist festival in which treats were handed out as you went from temple to temple. It reminded me a lot of Halloween Trick or Treating.
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| My dad and mom at the festival. |
As we approached the main temple, we were invited to join the festivities by one of the men overseeing the flow of traffic. Zenko-ji is known to be one of the most welcoming Buddhist temples and it was exciting to experience the celebration first hand. I get why people are drawn to Buddhism with it being so welcoming and inclusive.
The following morning, we returned to to the temple to see it in the daylight and it was just as magnificent. At Zenko-ji, you have the option to enter the inner temple and travel through the tunnel beneath the temple in an attempt to find the golden handle and reach peace and enlightenment. It was a really cool experience and fun to do as a family.
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These were amazing macaroons. The flavors included: black sesame,
green tea, lavender and more! |
After our visit we headed off to train station to head for the Samurai Trail and one final night in Tokyo. The Samurai Trail is a stretch of road near Tokyo that literally transports you to another world. You feel as though you are back in 16th Century Japan without any modern conveniences. Zucchini grow off the awnings of the buildings and the town is full of artisans working in traditional Japanese crafts. It was a quick stop but one I will never forget.
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| Felt like we were on the set of The Last Samurai. |
From the Trail we headed back to Tokyo to spend the night in Roppongi and experience some famous Tokyo night life. We ended up at an expat bar called Geronimo's with a bunch of US fighter pilots and Japanese business men. It was definitely a crazy night and we were all moving pretty slowly the next morning but I am still so glad we were able to experience it.
From Tokyo we headed to our last stop, Nikko, where we hiked around the town and had some of the best Shabu-Shabu ever.
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