Well, we’ve liked Nagano. It’s modern, it’s open and spacious, and the facilities for everybody are terrific, but it’s time to move on.
Before we go, it’s time for a little recap. It’s now a week since we arrived in the land of the rising sun and in that time we have walked over 142,000 steps, which equates to somewhere close to 90 km, and have climbed 186 flights of stairs. Our calves are going to look pretty good by the time we get home.
So, has it been like I expected? Well it seems that Japan has changed a lot over the last 10 years, some of it no doubt due to COVID, and it’s getting more and more like any other country influenced by the west, so it’s been less different than I expected (if you get what I mean).
Credit cards and ATMs – despite what people have said, credit cards are very widely accepted everywhere we’ve gone. Just like in some small establishments back home where credit cards aren’t accepted, some ma-and-pa establishments here don’t accept them, and occasionally they haven’t been accepted when we have bought the lunch (discount) deal, but our Aus credit cards have been accepted in restaurants, cafes, convenience stores, motels, train stations, and even on some buses. ATMs are plentiful in convenience stores, and we’ve had no problem withdrawing cash. You do need to use cash when topping up your Suica card to use on public buses, but apart from that…
Rice – I thought I’d be consuming rice by the bucket load for breakfast, lunch and tea. I could if I wanted to, but I think I’ve only had rice once so far.
Food – there’s a wide variety of food choices just like home, and food has been surprisingly cheap. There are often ‘sets’ available, so our favourite cafe serves a ‘breakfast set’ where you get coffee, toast, yoghurt and salad for AU$7. A bargain! Beef is expensive, but in general we are paying less to eat out here than at home, so we really haven’t resorted to cooking for ourselves yet.
Crowds – Yes, there are lots of people about, and local trains have often been reasonably full, but we have only been crushed on to a train once, and that was in peak hour, so it wasn’t unexpected. Most times we’ve got seats, and on a number of occasions I’ve actually wondered where everybody is. Not at all the frenetic crush I expected.
Coffee – well, I can’t put my hand on my heart and say it beats Melbourne baristas, but there are cafes everywhere, and the coffee is very acceptable, on par with most other countries we visit. Certainly better than Dunkin Donuts. Cappuccino is considered a boutique variety but a Cafe Latte is on every menu. And pastries are sold everywhere.
So, after our ‘breakfast set’ at our favourite chain, we stood on the almost empty platform, and boarded the Shinkansen to Kanazawa. Didn’t see as much as we expected as lots of the journey was in long tunnels through the mountains, but we finally got to see fields of rice paddies nicely irrigated by the water from the mountains. We’ve now traversed the country, starting in the middle of the country on the east coast in Tokyo, crossing the spine of the mountains at Nagano (hence the Winter Olympics), and now arriving on the west coast at Kanazawa.
Our Airbnb hostess was very helpful, and let us drop our bags early so we could go for an explore. First stop was a huge department store with a mega food mall for some lunch, exiting back on to the street to find ourselves in the middle of a Taiko drumming festival. Nice of them to turn that on for us.
Further down the road we came to the unique attraction of the city – an authentic original Samurai Warrior House and garden – tatami mats, sliding doors, paper walls, carp swimming in the pond, heated toilet – the whole works. You’ll remember that back in the day, each area of Japan was ruled over by a different Feudal Lord, and each had a Samurai Warlord who was the guy in charge of his army. This house was home to 12 generations of Samurai, right up until the feudal system was abandoned around 1870.
Then a short walk to the remains of the Feudal Lord’s castle. To be honest, there is very little of it that is original. Most of it is a recent reconstruction, so it didn’t feel very authentic, but you can see the remains of the double walls and moat.
On the way home we walked through Higashi Chaya Old Town, which is an original chaya district and as authentic as you’ll get. A chaya is an exclusive type of restaurant where guests were entertained by geisha who perform song and dance. During the Edo Period, that 250 year period where Japan was isolated from the rest of the world, chaya were found in designated entertainment districts, usually just outside the city limits. Today there are only a few left, and there you can experience a tea ceremony and performing geisha, for a fee of course. Due to the showery weather, most of the geisha were standing around clutching Starbucks cups.
Back to our one room, tatami floored accommodation. We ate tea sitting on the ground, and have to get the futon out of the cupboard at bedtime. I’m getting too old for this.
Taiko Drumming Festival
Samurai House
Samurai House Garden
Higashi Chaya Old Town
Kanazawa Castle
Airbnb Kanazawa