As the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) started to approach speeds of almost 300km/hr things had started to settle down a little. We were becoming comfortable in our Green Class (First Class) seats and staring out of the train into the infinite mass that is Tokyo. Tokyo seams to go on forever. Indeed the built-up area doesn’t stop between it and the cities surrounding it. A sea of urban sprawl. We had to travel a long distance to even catch a glimpse of what could be called country side. We had been organising this trip for a long time and it was a relief that we were all on the train and that nothing had gone wrong. We started chatting to John and Allyson about the regularities of flying and travelling. We were all excited about the trip before us and John was already particularly excited, as riding on a Shinkansen meant he could scrub off a dream that had been on his to-do list for over 30 years. But the Shinkansen was only 1 of over 15 different changes of transport we would travel on over the course of our weekend.
Changing trains at Nagoya we caught an express train to Takayama, a small village nestled at the foothills of the Japanese Alps that has seamed to escape the modernisation that the rest of Japan has gone through, retaining a rather traditional charm. We had a wander around and found ourselves in the Inro Museum. Traditional kimonos do not have pockets so fashionable Japanese used to carry inro (medicine boxes) on strings held in place by netsuke (toggles). Both are elaborately decorated and carved creations in wood, bone, stone and ivory, and are among Japan’s most celebrated works of art. Some of them were quite garish and had strange goblins and goules on them. The infinite detail was just amazing.
We had to take our shoes off and sit on the floor in a tatami mat room while we dined at a traditional sobu (think noodles in broth) restaurant. Our legs couldn’t hack sitting Japanese style (on the knees) so we resorted to sitting cross-legged. The food was divine and cheap. After leaving the restaurant we headed to our Hostel. Along the way we took a deviation and walked up at large hill where a temple was perched. To get there we walked though the most wonderful, captivating cemetery I’ve ever seen. Japanese people are cremated and therefore the need for large casket sized graves is not necessary. Once you enter under the canopy of the towering trees, you are exposed to a lush forest with small tombstones, scattered throughout. Light trickling through the forest and hitting headstones randomly. There was a nice view over looking the town and a sense of serenity rustled through the leaves.
Continuing on our way to the Hostel we were once again interrupted by the noise of a large drum being beaten. Excited, we scurried to the source of this sound and found ourselves at the front of a Temple. A huge drum, about 3m high was suspended in a little open shelter at the front of the temple. A monk was silently standing under a large log fixed to the roof with chains, that he would swing backwards and let go, striking the drum with a large force and producing a very loud beat. He would then look out over the town as the sun disappeared and after a few seconds swing the huge log again.
Our first night away was spent at the local Youth Hostel, which was part of a Temple. The hostel was incredibly beautiful, the surprising part being its really low price. From glass walled walk ways looking into dense forest to toilets with seat warmers and so many buttons you could spend a day working out what they all do. We were in a tatami matt room almost twice the size of our apartment and folded out our futons and promptly fell asleep.
Our third train for the trip was to be a short trip as a Typhoon had swept through the valley a few months earlier and rendered the line unpassable so we had to catch a replacement bus for the majority of the trip to Toyama. The damage the typhoon left was just staggering to see. It tore down large bridges and washed away large stretches of track. I can’t possibly describe it, take a look at the pictures for yourself.
Departing Toyama on a local train (transport #6) we started to climb the great Japanese Alps and entered into the feature of the entire trip, The Tateyama-Korobe Alpine Route. Over the course of the day we were to scale 2700 vertical meters, with 9 transport changes using various modes of transport to cross the top of Mt Takeyama, one of the many mountains that make up the Japanese Alps.
After departing the local train and catching cable car (a train towed up the steep slope) we hopped onto a bus. Because the Alps are permanently snow capped, the road is kept clear and the snow on either side of the road creates a cutting that can reach 20m high. At the top, there is a 360° view of Alps. Despite being spring, there is still an abundance of snow and we even saw some very game people climbing to the top of some mountains armed with snowboards and skis.
From here we caught a trolley bus (with overhead wires like the met) through the centre of the mountain, this 10min trip is 3½ times the price of a Shinkansen. Arriving on the other side of the mountain there was a rope tow (cable on top of it, suspending the carrage in mid air) to meet us. A cable car and a short walk over Korobe damn, another trolley bus, a cable car, a local bus and a local train. That gets us to Matsumoto.
Whilst in Japan we wanted John and Allyson to experience and onsen (natural hot spring) and what better timing than after a long day like that. We finally found an onsen, which was a feat in it’s self, said goodbye to our loved ones and separated into boys and girls. Inside the hot water, staring through the trees to the canopy of stars above, our aches and pains were washed away with the water.
Upon waking thee next morning we had just enough time to see the Castel that Matsumoto is so proud of. It’s said to be one of the four best castles in Japan and plausibly so. My personal favourite bit about the castel was the secret levels, they have no windows and are carefully hidden between two other smaller levels so that from the outside, they are unnoticeable. From here it was a quick train trip home with just enough time for Alexander to get changed and head off to work.
It was our first trip outside of Tokyo and sharing it with John and Allyson made it a truly amazing experience. Seeing the Alps and indeed travelling through the foothills before scaling the mountain is something we won’t forget soon.
Take a look at the photos, apologies for the poor photos; they were only taken with the digital camera as I still haven’t got a scanner to upload my real pictures. Don't forget to leave a message in the guestbook!
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