Matsumoto Ryokan

A long train ride today from Aizu and several transfers takes me to Matsumoto, only to arrive in really bad weather. Actually I arrived in really bad weather at Nagano by bullet train--I wonder if the only reason there's a bullet train was the 1998 ...

... , thank you for the wonderful tour, really!!   We wandered into a temple and past some nice old streets in Matsumoto before getting back on the train to our next destination, which was Yudanaka, near Nagano (where the winter Olympics were ...

... ). Somehow I managed to forget 50% of the reason for going, and missed out on basashi. So disappointing! We chose Matsumoto because Himeji castle is currently under reconstruction, and it also meant a small break in the long train journey from Hiroshima ...

... -- probably need to slow down the pace a bit for the next few to recoup :) Spent the last two nights in a city called Matsumoto which has a beautiful old castle and served as a great base for a couple of days of hiking and exploring the mountains. The ...