Magome

While some may find Magome too perfectly restored, we loved this small, charming village built on a hillside with great views over nearby rice fields and mountains.
Today, it’s full of restaurants, ryokans and souvenir shops, but still manages to help you imagine what it must have looked like hundreds of years ago. We think it may be the cutest town we’ve seen in Japan. And while tiny, we managed to spend an entire day wandering around the shops and sitting in cafes. After about 5pm the tourists cleared out so we felt like we had the town to ourselves.
Because we had the freedom of a rental car, we decided to drive to nearby Nakatsugawa - the town where John was posted 24 years ago. My how it has changed! A huge shopping mall, free wifi and many new buildings make it feel so much more cosmopolitan than it did in the 90’s. Though visiting John’s old apartment and school, where he taught, showed us that some things have become a bit run-down.Read more