Nagano; North to the Sea (almost)
In the morning, after a great Japanese
breakfast (miso soup, several pieces
of pickled somethings, a couple chunks of
freshly cooked sushi-style slabs of
omelet-egg,*
a packet of several 3 by 9cm sheets
of nori seaweed, bowl of
rice, a hunk of grilled salmon, and tea)
I went out to explore the village.
In order to make the early train (the
next one wasn't for hours) I had to
hurry, and a lot of the little shops
weren't quite open when I left;
on the other hand I figure I got out
just in time because the members of an
Australian group hiking the Nakesendo
(which sounds like fun) were starting
to emerge from their lodgings, and when
I got to the station a couple big buses
of native tourists were just arriving - in
short, this village was about to be
overrun, and its illusion
of antiquity spoiled.
Rode the local back to Matsumoto, where I could've stayed on; but I wanted to get maximum value out of my railpass so after just a few minutes there I boarded the next express back to Nagano, thinking vaguely that I might catch a train to the coast - perhaps catch a glimpse of the Japan Sea. The next train north, to Naoetsu, didn't leave for a while so I walked around exploring the station's immediate environs. Some fruit merchants had some stands set up outside, saw Fuji apples for sale the size of grapefruit - why aren't these jumbo specimens exported? Rode north through apple orchards on an empty express train heading towards the Japan Sea. Far off, misty mountains were visible, closer ridges showed the beginnings of the autumn color changes. On a whim I got off at a town named Takada, a couple stops shy of the coast; afternoon was getting on and I doubted that I'd be able to see the ocean once I reached it. A pictorial map on the wall outside the station showed a castle with a moat in the center of town, I decided to check it out but increased rain and gloom made a business hotel I walked past seem extremely inviting; I inquired as to vacancy at the Town Hotel Joetsu counter and was soon upstairs in another little room, shaking out my umbrella and changing into dry clothes. The room's television wasn't free, had one of those annoying meters which demand coins for operation, so instead I watched nothing and just read in the evening.
Next: MatsumotoNote: * I'm wondering if I
got a cooked egg because I wasn't a native. If
an egg is served with the Japanese breakfast it's
often raw - the user breaks it into the bowl and
either slurps it up or pours it over the rice,
hopefully it's hot so the egg cooks a little.
Occassionally the egg's boiled - I always give
it the spin test to check, before cracking or
passing on it. (Raw fish, fine, great; but raw
egg? Please. Ain't they heard of Salmonella?
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