Nakasendo Trail, Day 4

Today was a day of train rides and short walks.  It started with another Japanese breakfast in Narai, which I finally remembered to photograph.

There is seawwed in the cellophane package;  and no rice has been served yet.

After breakfast we walked to Kisohirasawa, about a mile down the valley on roads to the train station.  We caught an earlier than suggested train to Matsumoto, since the shops in Kisohirasawa were not open and there wasn't much to see.  Matsumoto on the other hand is a rather large city with several interesting sights.  The biggest sight is the Castle, which is surrounded by a moat, has a grand Guardhouse and two gates.  It is also the site of two palaces, one inside and one outside the moat.  

We next wandered to a short touristy street, crossed the river (which was nicer than the typical drainage canal), hit a few blocks of another street known for the local architecture (black and white boxes) and then back to the station.  We had aobut an 2-hour layover between trains.  We stopped into a "French" style bakery for coffee and snacks.

We caught the next train that took us from Matsumoto to Nagano, then with a 10-minute layover, caught the Shinkasen bound for Tokyo.  We got off at the thrid stop at Karuizawa.  We traveled quickly through flat valleys in between tall mountain ranges, some with snow along the highest ridges.  We also saw another steaming volcano, Mt. Asama, which is claimed by Karuizawa.  Karuizawa is at 3,100 feet elevation and was founded by a Canadian missionary who liked the climate.  There is a church named in his honor - Shaw Memorial Church.  The town is also known as a place to escape the summer heat.  Two interesting facts - one, John Lennon and Yoko Ono came here every summer until John's death, and two the current emperor met his wife-to-be on a local tennis court.  

From the train station, we walked to a convenience store to get supplies for tomorrow (as recommended by OKU Japan) and then up about 2 miles on the main road to our inn for the night - Tsuruya Ryokan.  The route started out as a typical city street but got more and more touristy as we went.  The number of people walking the street increased as well.  The city shows a number of non-Japanese eateries including English pubs, Italian restaurants, German Sausages Places and French bistros.  

After checking in, we went for a stroll around the neighborhood, which took by the church, numerous summer cabins and homes (some of which looked like what one would see in New England with fall leaf color), the Mampei Hotel (where John and Yoko stayed), St Paul Catholic Church (a favorite site for weddings, which is strange in that Christians were persecuted during the Edo period), and the famous tennis courts.

Mampei Hotel

An example "weekend" home.

We bathed and then had dinner.  For the first time, we got a "menu" in English of the food courses we were served.  I thought the king crab salad was a hit, given it was the first time for real crab.  Also, we got instructions on how to cook the thinned sliced beef on our personal grill.  We finished with green tea ice cream.

Tomorrow is the finale hike up, then over Usui-toge Pass and down a gentle slope along one of the most beautiful sections of the Nakasendo.  Ten mles to walk, then 2 trains into Tokyo and to our final hotel, back to sleeping in beds.