Pension Rustic Otari-mura

first day; we had to catch a bus from shinjuku to hakuba which took us 4.5 hrs to get there. when we arrived at hakuba we've arranged a pick up from the hotel that we will be staying for the next 5 days. (hotel phoenix wing) we were greeted by a nice young guy at the happo bus information centre from the hotel. we were surprised that the guy who greeted us is also from australia as well. anyway, we've booked a room for 2 adult for 4 nights without ...

... since it was all in Japanese. So the next day we took a train to Nagiso and then a short taxi ride to the post town of Tsumago. The town was part of a route that linked Tokyo with Koyto during the Edo Period and survives along with Magome. Tsumago is government protected so the street and buildings remain the same from long ago ...

... ont garde leur architecture traditionnelle permettant de se plonger 200 ans en arriere (en dehors des touristes et des magasins bien sur). Le sentier reliant les 2 villages est plus calme, tres agreable, serpentant dans les collines boisees. Le paysage est magnifique ; plein de montagnes de differentes tailles, tres touffues et regroupant tous les tons de vert imaginables.

... Kyoto. Other assure me that it's because of sakura, but I'm not certain that there'd be any fewer gaijin even a few weeks down the road. I'll call Kyoto a must see becuase you just have to, but I would totally draw the line at waxing poetic about grasping Japan's history through Kyoto--in some ways, a museum could achieve the same task. It's about pictures, monumental scales and saying you've done it in Kyoto. Next up: Kanazawa, the Kyoto of the northern coast. -mike

... speedy bullet train which began whizzing through the concrete jungle that is Tokyo. In minutes, the man-made monoliths began to shrink in size and frequency. Soon after, civilization was struggling to keep up with lush farmlands and cherry blossoms in full bloom (for those who may not know, the sakura trees, or cherry trees, are famous in Japan for their beautiful pink, white, and red blossoms). Suddenly, I jumped in my seat, and started fumbling ...

... you with sirens blaring), but despite our prayers to the snow gods, there wasn't really enough fresh snow to reset the conditions and it was deemed a little unsafe by Scott's boss, who knows this area like the back of his hand. Our prayers did bring us up to two feet on top of the mountain on our last night however, so we had to go up for a few runs before we headed back to Tokyo the next day. Experiencing Hakuba with our mates was brilliant!

Nozawa Onsen: 26 January - 1 February Snowboarding followed by bathing in natural onsens (hot springs) has to be the perfect combo. The picturesque village of Nozawa Onsen has 13 public onsens maintaied by the locals who live around them and after a long day of snowboarding, it was such a treat to be able to use any one of the onsens (free of charge) to soak our tired muscles. The village also has a dedicated onsen where the locals cook food ...

July 30 to August 5, 2008. Solo cycle trip through the Kiso river valley in rural, mountainous Nagano prefecture, Japan. I also hiked part of the old Nakasendo Way, a stone path created for walkers in Edo era, so they could get through ...

If I was not from Japan, where I would go? If I visited Nagoya as a tourist, where were attractive? I had visited a lot of foreign countries as well as tourists sites in Japan didn't know much about my neighbourhood. Just for now, I defines my neighbourhood as places where I can reach in a day excursion without taking an airplane or bullet train. I used Lonely Planet Japan guide, not a guide in Japanese, and checked it out, because I need a foreigner's point of view. Then, I fortunately ...

2-day orienteering competition http://orienteering.com/nagano/event/19 94/n15/index.html 第15回長野県オリエンテーリング大会 成績 1994年8月 1日目「信州大芝高原」 2日目「信州伊那高原ますみヶ丘」（チェイ シングスタート）