Today we said good bye to Nagano and made our way on the super awesome train network to Kiso-Matsumoto (Photos below). Very thick history relating to Minamoto no Yoritaka and Minamoto no Yoritomo his cousin, the master/student Samurai code and Shogun of the past here when Matsumoto/Hojo clan was in power after defeating the Taira. An interesting read on the poeticness of the people here. History of heroes and legends all around you is great (especially if you're a boy at heart). Matsumoto was/is kind of a gateway through to the East/West I believe. It has an airport these days and the city is pretty and well kept. Alot of it looks modern and clean. The japanese style houses are amazing. Erin loves them.
We started out by buying Erin a pretty skarf and I bought a failbrella....yeah... and an awesome pair of converse for cheap ez hehe. We took a bus that did a tourist circuit of the area and even though it was cold and showery today we still enjoyed it. We visited Matsumoto Castle which is very impressive. Best photos are on camera though, phone went flat. Sigh.
In the afternoon we hit the shops while we waited for our express bus to Takayama for our hotel stay. We had heard that the bus trip there is good and hells yes it is. We've never seen anything like it, not even on TV/media. We went through many mountains, snow, rivers, valleys and natural springs, resorts and lakes with amazingly coloured mineral waters. It took 2 hours 15 and was worth it. Was pretty hairy in some spots but the driver and bus were very good. Sorry no photos, we were glued to the windows and there were droplets on the glass unfortunately
We are now safe in our hotel in Hida Takayama. Tomorrow is morning markets and old town. Lots of walking. There is a world heritage site here that we'll be checking out. I want to start scouting for a Katana and Erin wants a fan. I want to get her a Yakuta but she won't let me.
Peace and take care!
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