Yamanaka Ryokan

We really wanted to stay in a traditional ryokan after reading about it in our 1,000 Places book. Of course the one in the book was $750 per night, not exactly in our budget, so we found one out by Mt. Fuji - only $200 per night. It's a very traditional ...

... , so off I went. I took the little local train through the mountains to Kaga-Onsen, which is a little town just outside Yamanaka. Yamanaka is the town which has close ties to Salt Spring Island, and is famous for its Laquerware artists, and its 1000 ...

... The practice is great to watch, especially with an 8th dan hanshi (as good as it gets for the non-kendoka reading this) Yamanaka-sensei having a play underneath where I'm watching. Afterwards we head back to Gibbo and Emis' place, have curry and play ...