Japan : Tokyo, Kawagoe, Nagano, Matsumoto, Hakuba, Osaka, Mount Inari, Nara
Winter 2023
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| Day 11: Mount Inari Trail hike. (My record: 1:36H>top, 4.5 km, 12000 steps, 10000 torii-gates) (jan, feb-2023) |
Journal Entry... Cheers! to a post-pandemic travel reboot out of the country. Slowly, but surely; need I add, safely? Mask, or no mask, let's head back to Japan - land of the rising sun, even in the coldest of winter, plus a whole lot more of animation! The hubby lives to travel, especially in celebration of his birth day. He had celebrated his 50th in Brugge (Belgium), his 52nd in London (England), and three pandemic years later, his "55th" in Tokyo (Japan). Quite logically, his treat every time.
30-jan: Arrival in Tokyo... via #JapanAirlines that least expectedly gave our choice of carrier, ANA Airlines, a run for the money in terms of in-flight service and flight fare, by the way. Check-in: Hotel Century Southern Tower, Rm. 2866, offering grand Westside views of Tokyo, night and day, day and night, from high up on the 28th floor. To begin with, hotel lobby was already on the 20th floor.
31-jan: Revisiting old familiar cravings... 'ebi furai' meal set for me at Takashimaya food court a footbridge across the hotel, and 'tsukemen" ramen dish for the hubby at Fuunji, also near the hotel. But playing the 'claw machine' was a first... all for curious George! How many attempts does one make?-- Never give up, patience is a virtue.
1-feb: Day trip to Kawagoe... Happy Birthday, le poupee, and you're "55!" Day trip to Kawagoe, and first-try, 'yakiniku' food trip in Shibuya for hubby's celebratory meal. Celebration would have been complete had the hubby grabbed a Swatch x Omega's "Mission to the Moon" watch for purchase either at Ginza or Shibuya outlets. Here's wishing you an overload of cheers!!!
2-feb: Ginza shopping... Hubby was still searching for his desired Swatch x Omega's "Mission to the Moon," and dragged me off to Ginza. The Swatch pop-up store at Ginza had none, but unexpectedly, there was one-- Swatch x Omega's "Mission to the Sun" in bright yellow face, smiling up at me from its nest box. FYI, I had no intention whatsoever to buy one. I have formal, dress Omega auto-watches (two of them!), but only a left wrist to wear it at a time. A third Omega watch, collaborating with Swatch, made it somewhat toy-like, and not my idea for a watch collection, if I even had one to begin with. But... BUT... the search for missing missions had overtaken my self-restraint. After all, it was a "Mission to the Sun" lording over all other missions, and there was 1-in stock (according to sales talk!) Swiped my credit card, and fell victim to 'impulsive buying syndrome.' What have I just done?!! I was thinking, perhaps I could sell the yellow watch later, and make a profit from it if it was so much in-demand. Huh?
3-feb: Transit, Tokyo to Nagano... Riding the shinkansen at Tokyo Station for next destination city: Nagano. One-and-a-half hours later, I had to be in "fur & boots." Winter in Nagano area was biting cold. Check-in: Chisun Grand Hotel 5-minutes worth of walking distance from Nagano station. Past 3PM, I was really hungry. I had a checklist of Nagano's local foods and delicacies in mind, all of which converged in and around Nagano station. [facepalm to walking]
Checklist 1, local foods to eat-- "Udon"/thick noodles in broth, paired with deep-fried ebi (shrimp) tempura, at Sanuki Udon Hanamaru
Checklist 2, local foods to eat-- "Sauce Pork Loin Cutlet", at Meijitei Restaurant
Checklist 3, local foods to eat-- "Sanzoku-Age Fried Chicken", also at Meijitei Restaurant
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Checklist 6, local foods to eat-- "Spicy Miso Ramen", at Ramen Misoya
For sweet treats, I got a selection from Ringonoki Patisserie: Noa Noa Shinano cake with walnuts & almonds; Apple pancake; Apple sable; and Apple pie filled with seasonal Nagano apples. Yup! All apple-based dessert in the apple town of Nagano.
4-feb: Day trip to Matsumoto... which is known for the "Matsumoto-jo," and dubbed by some as the "Black Crow Castle." Seeing it up close is to believe.
It is one of the five castles in Japan designated as a National Treasure. All stairways inside the castle rise at a steep incline, which most definitely are not for "seniors" to hurdle. You climb up the stairs either wearing socks, or barefoot; the "stairs" are steep and narrow, and slippery, and cold to the feet! Hubby says, "It's painful for the feet to step on." Half-way thru, hubby was hurrying to get down from the castle.
The castle structure is made up entirely of wood, its pillars made of hemlock, cypress & pine. "The castle's beauty awes visitors throughout the seasons." Imagine... the summer greens, the fall colors, the winter scene, and the spring blossoms... surrounding the castle. "In spring, the cherry trees around the moat create tunnels of flowers." Fabulous!
4th and 5th-floor stairway incline at 40 degrees. Go, Grandma! Go, Grandpa!
"The topmost floor-- the 6th floor -- of the tenshu (Donjon Tower) was used as a borou, a watchtower for enemies during wartime." North, south, east, and west views can be admired from safely-screened openings. At the same Donjon tower, the ceiling revealed a god named "Jijuroko-ya-shin," the god of 26 nights, who protects the Matsumoto Castle.
On the way down was the castle's "Moon-Viewing Wing," an area to gaze up to the moon, supposedly. But the sun was still up over in Matsumoto. Currently, only two castles in Japan: the Okayama castle and Matsumoto castle, have moon-viewing wing.
Walking back to the train station, there were frogs here, there and everywhere at the frog-themed Nawate street. "This street is an old-fashioned alley, lined with a variety of fun shops, and is loved for its nostalgic and festive atmosphere. You will find plenty of Japanese food to indulge as well." Quick snack, 'karaage' (fried chicken) for the hubby, and fish-shaped America dog for me. Over in Nawate, the story goes: there was once a strong typhoon that hit Matsumoto; the Metoba river overflowed, and flooded nearby Nawate street; Metoba river had turned muddy for its resident frogs, and drove away the frogs to seek higher ground, upstream. Nawate street was since dedicated into a "frog street" as beacon for the frogs to return home. Oh, how sweet!
5-feb: Journey to Hakuba snowmobile... Good morning, Nagano! Woke up to a snowy morning. Snow is significant for today's snowmobile activity in Hakuba. The Japanese alps is living up to its winter promise. A snow-filled day means, "Snowmobile fun ride for two!" c/o #LionAdventureHakuba So what's the best comfort meal to cap that snowmobile ride and wintry outdoors when in Nagano? Checklist no. 6, local foods to eat-- "Spicy miso ramen"... nom, nom, nom! Just a pedestrian crossing from Nagano station, it's where most locals eat, tourists like us included.
6-feb: Walking 2.5km in 1-hour to visit the Zenkoji temple... Konnichiwa-good morning Nagano! Day 8 of the trip, devoting it to the city of Nagano. Today, we are walking all the way to Zenkoji temple.
12:54pm, starting point was from the corner of Lawson. Wooden lanterns line the road, also serving as guides/markers to Zenkoji temple. There are "47 lanterns" that light the pathway to the temple. Mid-February, the city of Nagano holds a lantern-light festival. To commemorate the 1998 Winter Olympics that was held in Nagano. This year, it was happening in five days, but we will not get to see it. It was our last day in Nagano, and we're transiting to Osaka the next day.
Distance to Zenkoji temple was about 2 to 2.5km, which they say takes 30 minutes on foot. But it took us 1 hour... with our stopovers at Mos Burger for a quick lunch, and Arteria Bakery two blocks from it. A leisurely pace is how one should walk to visit Zenkoji temple, especially in cool, winter weather and sunny day. The city of Nagano is laid-back, unlike Tokyo, which I was beginning to like. 2:01pm, reaching the Niomon gate, the first gate to Zenkoji temple grounds, at last! This first gate is guarded by "Ungyo" on the right, and "Agyo" on the left -- statues. Past the first gate was Nakamise Dori, the temple shopping street. Hungry? There's always food en route to the temple. Don't worry. Every temple visit in Japan includes a food trip for the road. There were a lot of eateries and things to buy... on the road to Zenkoji temple. Just one thing the hubby had noticed, that it seems everything he saw in Kawagoe: "kamote, pudding..." were also being sold in Nagano. He preferred to see more Nagano delicacies, than Kawagoe's.
Zenkoji temple. "Zenkoji temple was built in the 7th century, and around it, the city of Nagano was born. Zenkoji translates to temple of benevolent light." Inside the temple was a statue of an old man, all his body parts can be rubbed coinciding with one's own body parts that needs healing. "The Healer" is how he is called. I hesitated, and did some observing of every temple goer rubbing their hands all over the old man statue-- rubbing the head of the old man statue and rubbing their own heads, rubbing the eye of the old man statue and rubbing their own eyes, rubbing the belly of the old man statue and rubbing their own bellies, and so on and so forth. What visible toll it made on the wooden statue, poor old man. Tsk.
7-feb: Transit Nagano to Osaka via Kanazawa... Konnichiwa-good morning! Leaving Nagano, today. Rushed to the train at Nagano Station that will leave at 10:47AM. We had 15-minutes to spare, but the hubby was "salamander-ing"-jittery. Shinkansen's route will be from Nagano to Kanazawa, connecting at Kanazawa to Osaka, our "14-Day JR Pass" on its 8th day of use. The Shinkansen (Nagano-Kanazawa), and the Thunderbird-express train (Kanazawa-Osaka), both departing on schedule. Train ride was close to 5-hours, till we've arrived at the Shin-Osaka station, thank God. From there, hopped on the Midosuji line swiping that circa 2014-Suica Card for the subway/metro, to get to the hotel, and proceeding to Exit "12"-access to hotel's B1 level elevator. Check-in: Hotel & Museum Royal Classic, Room 1905 offering a view of Osaka's Namba district high up from our 19/F-premium guest room. Hotel location used to be the site of the "Shin-Kabukiza Theatre" in Osaka's Namba district.
Konbanwa-good evening! We are back in Osaka, and for Osaka's night life and food trip. I was craving for Harijyu's 'sukiyaki', but the restaurant was closed-for-the-day at an early hour. Next meal option was 'yakiniku' at the restaurant with a "hanging cow" outside, which for the five years or so that we've frequented Osaka, we would pass by and see the "hanging cow", but every time, we had skipped the restaurant. Thinking, it's a tourist trap, or it might be expensive, whatever. But, the restaurant turned out to be okay, one imbued with that traditional Japanese restaurant vibe, hubby says. Bill was 7000-plus Yen for some premium beef selection, including the cow's tongue and entrails, for that yakiniku-style over the 'konro grill'. It was an interesting dinner to say the least; the grilling interactive. Since the Yakiniku-Like (restaurant) celebratory dinner we tried in Tokyo, the yakiniku-style meal had made its way into our diet on this trip for certain.
8-feb: "Day's Agenda: Solo Walking Tour"... Hubby wandered off ahead, and cannot wait for me. When I left the hotel, it was around 1pm already. We were staying in a nice, premium room (19th floor), I wanted to stay in if I had my way. But, I could not just stay-in, I need to explore the city of Osaka on this travel. Besides, I had a personal errand to do-- to buy makeup at Daimaru which has a Nars counter. Metro-Namba Station was annexed to the hotel, but I preferred walking the streets, and turning it into a 'solo walking tour'. (Note to Self: Bicycle riders abound, don't swerve left or right and walk a straight line, so as not to hit a biker. Dang! i've lost my bicycle count.]
Let's start walking: Namba-Dotonbori-Shinsaibashi... Daimaru stopover... Shinsaibashi-Dotonbori-Namba... on repeat... till meet-up time with the "Missing-Le Poupee" (Mr. Pasaway, grrrr!!!), at Harijyu Restaurant, for late lunch-early dinner of "sukiyaki" meal I have been craving, since arriving in Osaka.
But wait, who is the spotted: 'Japanese-TV Personality' also, up and about in Osaka's main drag, pulling a 10yen-cheese coin?!!
9-feb: All systems go! Mount Inari trail hike... The Special Rapid JR-train to Kyoto timely arrives on Platform 8 at Umeda Station, in Osaka. Still, using our '14-day JR Pass', which was on 10th day of use and with 4-days remaining credit, hubby and I easily hopped on the train, and took a day trip to Fushimi Inari-Taisha-- head shrine of the kami Inari. It is the kami of rice and agriculture, also commerce. Inari was enshrined by the Huta clan, in 711. The shrine sits at the base of a mountain, also named "Inari." Here, foxes abound, regarded as messengers and keeper of the key to the shrine. Next to the shrine was an area map on a marker post: the Mount Inari Trail.
Mount Inari is 233-meters above sea level. The mountain trail spans 4-kilometers. There are 12,000 steps to climb. Passing through 10,000 torii gates. All systems go! for an impromptu hike to the TOP. Hike to the summit takes 1-2 hours. My record: 01:36H.
3:06PM, Start of Mount Inari Trail.
3:09PM, Torii Crossroad.
3:42PM, Big Pond.
4:09PM, 1st View Deck.
4:14PM, 500-meters to Summit.
4:18PM, 2nd View Deck.
4:42PM, Top of the Mountain.
Along the mountain trail, one can hear the sound of nature: birds chirping, and calming flow of water. At some point, the call of the wild. Yes, there are monkeys around. The sign says, "Do not feed the monkeys. They are aggressive." "Or take photos. They [monkeys] are not friendly, unlike the spa/snow monkeys of Nagano," hubby added. I'd say, "The Inari monkeys are like [ungkler]-- aggressive! Kawaii!"
Many small shrines dotted the trail. Hi ho! Hi ho! Up the torii gates of Mount Inari we go! A never-ending tunnel of torii gates. Amidst lush forest, wild boars & monkeys. "10,000 torii gates. 12,000 steps to climb." It was a spontaneous hike-to-remember, indeed. "Hingal!" Cardio exercise. A long trek up. Whoooo! Raaaawr! I only ate 500-yen worth of "xiao long bao" (5-dumplings), while the hubby ate a stick of steak barbecue, down at the market-- "PANTAWID GUTOM."
Mount Inari Trail hike, motto: Don't quit. One step-at-a-time. Paved steps notwithstanding, it's no joke to climb 10,000 steps. I thought to myself, the Mount Inari summit better be worth it.
The Mount Inari view decks (1st, 2nd) opened up to a panoramic vista of the city of Kyoto, and dramatic sunset hours... to "Golden Hour" and "Twilight".
Remember the donkey asking Shrek: "Are we there yet? Are we THERE YET? ARE WE THERE YET!" One cannot help acting out the donkey, on the hike leading up to the summit of Mount Inari. 500-meters to go... 5-minutes to go... At 01:31H, "That's the summit!" hubby announces. "No, it's not the summit," I counter. At 01:32H, "That's the summit!" hubby declares. "Where is the summit!@#$%^" I retort back. Dear Lord... give me strength. Homestretch to summit...
After a long trek up through the torii gates, which took us a hike record of 01:36H climbing the steps, we made it to the very top. The mountain top. The SUMMIT of Mount Inari. And on that summit sits the Kami-no-Yashiro Shrine, 233-meters above sea level. We've reached the very top of Mount Inari, and there's a shrine there-- I'm claiming my REWARD!
"Nakakahingal! A lot of cardio! And we're done! It's time to go back down. Thumbs up! Great!"
5:13PM, Descending from Summit.
5:16PM, "Golden Hour" - 2nd View Deck.
5:59PM, "Twilight".
Walking down was easier, than going up. Now that I'm not busy catching my breath, I could start counting the torii gates. 1.. 2.. 3... Night has set in. Lights are open. We're still descending from "Station 4." Three more stations to go to reach the foot of Mount Inari. Hurry down, before it gets too dark, and the monkeys and wild boars appear in surprise. To think, there was a "wild boar" trailing behind me. "Bruto!" the hubby-wild boar. Lol
Downward trail seemed shorter. Hike to the summit took 1:36H, and only 45-minutes on return. We went on a different loop on the way down. Because I did not see the "torii crossroad" anymore. The downward loop led to a road to the market, and the torii gate of the Fushimi Inari shrine, where we started.
My thoughts: One can only endure the Mount Inari trail hike during a cold winter, and not a hot summer.
6:08PM, Inari Station.
6:39PM, Kyoto Station.
8:06PM, Namba-Osaka Station.
10:21PM, Late-night Dinner at Yakiniku Horumon Ryunosu Restaurant, in Shinsaibashi. We ran out of meal options for late-night dinner. We've been walking back and forth, it was exasperating. Hubby could not decide. I said, "We're dining here. Period." A restaurant grill with a private door access to every table, from the alleyway; it was a charming concept. The restaurant uses a "stove grill" for yakiniku, filled-up with ice cubes for smoke control. It was difficult to pick a meal when one is super hungry. I ordered a bowl of noodles in broth, with cow parts. Foodie verdict: Tastes like Pinoy-bulalo! A meal fit for winter season. Hubby ordered a meat-set for "yakiniku", cow and chicken parts. Foodie verdict: Meat slices were disappointing. It came with 3-kinds of dipping sauce. We also ordered a side dish of "kimchi." But, WAIT-- !!!CAUTION: 2-extra side dishes of "cabbage" were served to our table. We thought it was complimentary cabbage, and ate it all up! ("Cabbage" was not free; the same had cost us, plus 1500-yen! which we did not order in the first place.) Meanwhile, the stove grill was ready, after prepping it with meat fat to be non-stick. The "yakiniku" was chewy to the bite. Have we been short-changed with the meat slices the restaurant had served? (Watch the video, and be the judge.) Tsk, this is what we get for dining late-night-- "scraps of meat." Oh well, goodbye restaurant! Peace out! P.s. The restaurant overcharged the bowl of noodles in broth, by 980-yen, too.
11:43PM, Midnight stroll in Namba. Got ice cream for midnight dessert, for two. (Hubby continues to grumble against that yakiniku restaurant...grrrr! Never again. Foodie tip: Avoid touristy restaurants-trap.)
10-feb: Today is deer-feeding time... Let's go to Nara to feed the deer, again. It's our second visit to Nara; first visited Nara, in 2015. It's a short train ride to Nara, from Osaka, via the Rapid Express train.
Wild deer freely roam in Nara Park, and are not afraid of humans. Wild deer had taken on the culture of bowing their heads, when fed. In Nara Park, deer take priority. Traffic comes to a halt for deer crossing.
Every deer want a piece of cracker! Everywhere I walked, I came face-to-face with a deer, young and old, big and small. Every deer speaking out, "I want cracker! Feed me cracker! Go buy me a cracker!" Oh deer! Some were quite an aggressive bunch, too. Not a second from buying the "deer cracker" from the store selling it, the aggressive bunch of deer immediately followed and surrounded me, nudging me from behind, and reaching to bite that cracker from my hand. LOL
(to be continued...)