Never say never to an onsen. Do you remember me saying “I didn’t get”. Well I get it now. I visited the onsen in our hotel, it was lovely. Not to mention the cute robe I wore to the onsen. Very relaxing and a lovely view. (onsen=warm water bathing with a bunch of strangers, and maybe some friends) That’s partly why I’m so behind on my blogging. And it’s a very busy tour.
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We started our day in Matsumoto which is a lovely city. My research identified it as the gateway to the Japanese Alps. Surrounded by mountains, really beautiful! Just before checkout I ran up to the rooftop terrace for some photos. (We’ll see if they make the blog)
We started out the day at a miso factory. The president of the company is the 6th generation of miso makers. Our host (company president) said miso is good for you and you should have at least 3 cups a day. Tangent: I did find out that marmite is good for gravy (and shepherd's pie) from the British ladies I was sitting with, they never had miso soup. They also said you should not put milk in your Earl Grey tea :o
Next a visit to Matsumoto Castle. Really castles in Japan are fortresses. I don’t remember if I said this already. They are built to defend. Windows used to shoot guns. Windows to drop rocks. Windows to shoot arrows. Matsumoto Castle has 6 stories. The stairwells are more like ladders. I really can’t believe they allow so many people in a national treasure that have to hang on to handrails and haul themselves up. The stairs (ladders) cause many people jams. And most of stairways are up & down! And no shoes allowed. I took my socks off to come down, I didn’t want to be the tourist that slipped.
We ended our day at Hida No Sato (folk village). There are several Houses of importance to a folk village, farmhouse, traders house, silk home, head of the village. There are also hands-on game and items to partake.
Lunch at 7 Eleven and a stroll along the river. The 7 Elevens are a bit different from ours. They have quality food at decent prices. They have smoothie machines; you buy a cup of fruit or veg, unwrap it and put it in the smoothie machine. Of course they have the usual stuff too.
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