Travel Log - Japan 2018 Day 7

Click here to read from the 1st post of this travel log! 😄

9 November 2018 (Kamikochi-Matsumoto)

A gloomy morning, we set off early back to the Hirayu Onsen Bus Terminal and ended our group itinerary as we saw MX off to Nagoya and us to Matsumoto.
(I don't think I can forget how difficult it was to lug my bil's green luggage through the rain alongside hay/little stone pathways from the lodge to the bus terminal. Everyone was helping me wipe the luggage at the bus station... *touched*)

Arrived in Matsumoto
Map: 1 Chome-3-21 Fukashi, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-0815, Japan

The bus dropped us off near our hotel for the night, Alpico Plaza Hotel, which was quite convenient.

With less than 24 hours in Matsumoto, we set off immediately to explore the town.
First stop, Nawate Street [Map: Japan, 〒390-0874 Nagano, Matsumoto, Ōte, 3-chōme−4−３ 松本Ｍ―１].

Autumn colours!!!

It was in Matsumoto that I truly felt that it was Autumn... 😍 [it was pretty much winter everywhere else, esp. in Kamikochi]


Lunch @ Soba Club Sasaki
Map: 4 Chome-8-3 Ote, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-0874, Japan

GOMA-TOFU. That is one of our takeaway memories from Matsumoto ❣❣ I don't know how to describe the goodness of this awesomely dense sesame tofu-but-not-tofu (if that makes sense). 

And of course, the main dish, SOBA.

They only had cold soba when we visited, I believe this was Mori Soba. 

Autumn colours in Matsumoto ❣

Former Kaichi School Musuem
Map: 2-chōme-4-１２ Kaichi, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-0876, Japan

[No shoes were allowed into the school museum but they had slippers available for visitors to change into before entering.]

The autumn colours... ♡

Matsumoto Castle
Map: 4-１ Marunouchi, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-0873, Japan

With the day almost over, we brisk-walked to the last stop for the day, Matsumoto Castle! [brisk-walked and zoomed around the town the whole day 😎]

After a day of gloomy skies, the SUN!

If there's one thing I note about the castles, its definitely the steep stairways between floors. 😅


Streets of Matsumoto

All the colours in one picture 💘

Motte, Kaeru (持って帰る) meaning take-outs... I don't really remember what we had for dinner that night, but I remember, the Carbonara fries & being taught how to eat cup noodles by Chef Jole. 😆

Next post: Travel Log - Japan 2018 Day 8-9
Previous post: Travel Log - Japan 2018 Day 6

Photo credits: S9 Galaxy & my travel pals @Jole @mx

Travel Log - Japan 2018 Day 6

Click here to read from the 1st post of this travel log! 😄

8 November 2018 (Kamikochi)

A day of hiking through the woods~~! Starting the day with a hearty breakfast provided by the lodge... ❣

(I didn't capture the full meal, this was just the initial set-up)

With a cup of tea & our take-away apple pie for mid-day munching... we set off in the direction towards Myojinikeichino Pond (明神一之池) [map]

すごく綺麗だった。。。

We paused here to do an expectation vs reality "take my hand" pic 😅

After approximately an hour and a half, we reached Myojin-ike pond... (an admission ticket is required to visit the pond)

On our way out, it was really cute seeing an old Japanese couple trying to take a wefie while on these boats. They were shifting around to get a good angle... #relationshipgoals 

[Jole decided that we needed to help this cute couple get a nice picture together 💖]

Break time at noon (almost 3 hours since we started the hike)! 

Just around the area of the Myojin-ike pond, was this bridge and rocky shore. We took a pit-stop here to rest and recharge with our snacks and pie! 

Noting that we are short of time (since the sun sets early during this season), we continued our hike towards Shinmura-Bashi Bridge.. Hikers in the area are really nice. What really amazed me is how almost everyone would say "Konnichiwa" to you when passing by.

Along the way before finding this sign, we met a pair of female hikers who told us to be careful in our route ahead... With our limited capabilities of the language, I couldn't really make out what they told us in full but I figured we caught the gist of it when I saw this sign. 😂

We came to the conclusion that Shinmura-Bashi Bridge was still quite a distance away, so we decided that we would turn back since it was already past mid-day. 

Surprisingly.. the hike back didn't take as long as we thought it would (reached back town around 2.15 pm). Since we were all going to be leaving early the next day, we settled our souvenir shopping and went back to the lodge. 

And.. out we went again to explore the hiking trail in the opposite direction (a shorter trail). 

すごく綺麗でしょう？Every single moment felt so surreal... A picture-prefect place. Not forgetting, the awesome weather we had that day, with the occasional warmth from the Sun. ♥♡

Dinner @ the Lodge

Next post: Travel Log - Japan 2018 Day 7
Previous post: Travel Log - Japan 2018 Day 5

Photo credits: S9 Galaxy & my travel pals @Jole @mx