Matsumoto trip

Last month in July, I went for a 3-day trip to Matsumoto at Nagano. Well, I loved the place, it was so green and serene. I think Nagano is a great place to visit during summer. It is still hot outside though, but the moment you see the greeneries and cold water in the river, you will be delighted.

So, how to get there? There are several ways: one way is to take shinkansen from tokyo (the most expensive), take the special express train (middle) or taking the bus (the cheapest). Let me tell you, if you do not book the bus ticket early, you would not get the seat during peak season. We booked pretty late and have to be satisfied with the special express train.

As for accomodation, there are many hotels and youth hostel too. We lived at the youth hotel. I forgot the link, but will post it soon because the hostel is exceptionally clean and the owner is really friendly and helpful. The house is also next to the river, so it is just a nice place.

Where to go? Actually I never planned for it. Sigh. C’mon, I do not really like travelling in the first place. Thankfully, my friend planned for the iteneries really really well. The places we visited are really beautiful place.

On the first day, we went to matsumoto in the morning, from there we put our luggage in the locker on the train station and headed to hatako, where the wasabi farm is. At hatako, we rented bicycles and cycled through the city. The wasabi farm was really cool because wasabi does not grow on soil. It grows on clean water. The place is really serene. I loved it. After the wasabi farm, we visited a wine shop and basically trying all the wine that were on display. Hhehe, when something comes free, dont hesitate! Anyway, from there, we went back to matsumoto and visited the matsumoto castle, which is one of the important castle in Japan, in fact it is one of the 4 national treasure. Well, after looking at sooooooooooo many castles which look almost the same,  I could not figure out whether this one is really better than the rest. Anyway, the thing that surprise me the most is how it is possible to make everything the same. It is like, one they see something is nice, they will just replicate it. Well, I guess that philosophy is apparent on the locales’ live here.

On the second day, we went to this high mountain, kamikochi. THe name means God came to earth. How true is the name. The place is basically a natural reserve with 2 beautiful lakes. Oh ya, we need to take bus to get there, the bus journey is almost 2 hours. I loved the lake, it was very clear and it reflected the blue sky. yeah, it is really beautiful. worth going.

On the third day, we went to Utsukushigahara highland. It was a beautiful place. Slightly on the highland, with all the grass and many cows. The sad thing was my camera was broken and because of the intensive trip for the past 2 days, the last day I was already exhausted. Thus, despite all the beauty scenery, my body was struggling to meet the demand of the terrain.

Anyway, I have to say that nagano, eventhough not as popular as hokkaido, osaka or sendai, is a place worth visiting. The only drawback is the food. Hehhehe, the food is just average.

Ok, that is all