Welcome to Here!

Today, Jen, Arron and myself were off on our own for the first time. We were a bit nervous but we got around just fine, thank god for English on the train and subway stations. We took the subway also for the first time, we have been taking the train so far. The train and subway system will blow your mind! Toronto and Montreal are absolutely tiny in comparison. You also have to be careful because some are rapid or local trains, it can be a bit confusing. So were off early to the famous Tsukiji Outdoor Fish Market which is the largest in the world. We got there too late to see the auctioning but we walked among the business of the merchants packing, cutting and gutting all the fish. This is not for everyone’s stomach, I saw the largest tuna fish head ever!!! I think it was half my size! We also saw tons of fish I have never seen before or this like oysters but have never seem anything that size!!! It was quite impressive and I got some interesting photos… you did have to be careful where you walked and Arron was unlucky to almost get a full bucket of ‘water’ on his foot. yuck. We then walked around the Tsukigi Fish Market that is partially covered, it has tons of restaurants and merchants selling all kinds of fish and produce and dried goods. I loved this place. We then had sushi and again thank god for an English menu. It was ++ yummy and I had a lobster roll that was very good but a lot of mayonnaise, Japanese love lots of mayo! We then set off a main dori (street) to the Imperial Palace. There is still an emporer living there but you are not aloud on the grounds, only a glimpse from the outside. What we saw was impressive and there are beautiful parks all around it. We then set off to Akihabara station that has an electronic neighbouhood and it was crazy. I have never seen so many electronic stores but it had a bit of a flea market feel and we weren’t really impressed. So we found a Yodabashi, which is the crazy electronic department store, only 6 floors and I wanted to buy an external hard drive for all my photos but they tell me it is only compatible for Japanese computers so I opted for a 4gb usb drive and it works fine.

July 24 was this first day we saw a blue sky, it was beautiful. We were up at 5:30 am to take the train to Matsumoto, a gorgeous city in the Japanese Alps. I was really excited to come here as I have decided no to go to Mt Fuji as I won’t have time, so this was a really nice compensation. However, I do think I saw Mt Fuji from the train. Despite it being much less humid for a change up in Matsumoto, it was still ++ hot, the sun was grilling us but we had a beautiful blue sky. We ate lunch at our arrival at Vie de France which is a chain that has everything you can think of in a bun. These bun type meals are really popular in Japan . I tried one with chicken and leeks, spinach and cheese and even one with edimome beans, which I love those beans! We then set off to the Matsumoto Castle and got a tour from Mr. Imamura who was a great tour guide, he has been doing it for 10 years and this castle is quite impressive. How cool is it to be in a building were hundreds of years ago samurais were battling… It is a beautiful castle and from the top of the main tower, you have impressive views of the Japanese Alps that surround. We then walked around the town and then ate at a local restaurant where I ate katsudon which is a bowl of rice with onions, a breaded pork cutlet and an egg cooked on top. It is quite tasty and a popular dish here in Japan. Once again thank god for Joanne’s Japanese and the fact that outside every restaurant, they have fake plastic food of all their dishes so if worse comes to worse, we just point at what we want to eat. We then went to our first hotel room, Ryokan-sifu-so hotel. We had two beautiful rooms Japanese style which means a tutami floor and thin futons set on the floor. They were beautiful rooms and well comfy.

We then went to a local ounsen spa. This is a real Japanese experience that we really looked forward too and so did our bodies from the amount of walking we have done. An ounsen is a bathhouse of sorts. You put your clothes in a locker, get naked , you go into a large room and sit on a stool and wash with a small towel. Then you dip into a hot and I’m talking hot huge bath, many can sit in it, inside or they even have one outside. Most then rinse with cold water and then you wash yourself again. I loved this experience because it is rare that you can be in an establishment where women are together and naked and its ok. its also a place where class is unknown as we are all naked and we are all there with our bodies of different shapes and sizes. I saw a grandmother washing her granddaughter and it was really sweet to see. Anyway we felt great and slept soundly…and at 9:30pm.

Our second day in the Japanese Alps, we took a bus to Kamikochi which is a small town up in the Alps. On the way there, there is numerous tunnels we have to take and we went threw probably the longest I have ever been in in my life and it was on an 11% incline…crazy. Again, beautiful scenery on the way there. At Kamikochi, it was much cooler and misty which was much appreciated. We took a 3 hour walk around the area that had many ponds and lakes and rivers. It was ++ beautiful and peaceful. This was truly a great escape from Tokyo. Again another beautiful day. We headed back down to Matsumoto and ate at an Italian restaurant for a change, however, it still had a Japanese twist. I ate a prawn and mushroom (some kind of Japanese mushroom) spaghetti with a salad (its hard to eat raw vegetables here, almost all are cooked), it was really good. We then went to see the ‘Okterberfest’ near the castle but it wasn’t that exciting – beer and food so we didn’t stick around. We were so tired from our day that we didn’t have the energy to walk to the ounsen so we opted for the smaller version at the hotel which was still nice and we again went to bed early and slept so well.

Our last day in the area, we took an again beautiful bus ride up to the top of the Japanese Alps to Utsukushigaharakogen that has a famous pasture land and cows! Coming from Canada, cows isn’t a big deal but in Japan it is. It was a beautiful area of lush green that reminded me of farmland in Ireland. It also had an Irish feel as it was very misty and foggy up there that we could barely see at times 20 feet in front of us. It was very quiet and peaceful up there. We then took a very windy road back down to Matsumoto and we had dinner at a local restaurant and I had probably the equivalent of Japanese fried chicken, it was probably however the best quality white chicken I have had but also 3 large pieces, I think I’ve had enough for the week. Last night we headed back to Tokyo.

So this morning I write to you from Joanne’s on our day off. It is well needed as we haven’t stopped since we arrived. So we are e-mailing and doing laundry for the third time already. All the clothes we have worn are unwearable for a second day as it is so humid and hot. Did I mention it is humid, so humid here. Thank you for sleeping in air conditioning. Anyway I best be off as this is a very long e-mail, are you still with me? and the gang is making fun of the fact that I am still writing to you all. We are off to a baseball game tonight which is one of the most popular sports here so it should be real fun.

Take care and hope all of you are well and not too tired from reading this e-mail.

Sayonara,

Chantal
xo

Dam Water!

Today(July 22nd) we took the train to a slightly different part of Tokyo. Although you see misty mountains the signs assure we have not left the Metropolitan areo of Tokyo. You'd never know it. The train dropped us off in a sleepy little town and we took a bus to Ogouchi--a man-made lake that provides Tokyo with 20% of its drinking water. We took a bus up into the mountains and did some hiking. It was absolutely stunning. I have never seen such a variety of greenery. Fir trees mixed with bamboo and palm trees. And we spotted the most beautiful lily any of us have ever seen.


On the way to Ogouchi Dam

I think I drank some of that today!

This I flushed.

Here we are at the most dangerous bus stop ever! Look how pleased we are!

aRRon.

Little Dogs and Lotsa Walking

Dog Salon on the way to the Open Air Architectural Musuem


Open Air Museum


Open Air Museum


Local Festival we passed on the way home.