Narai: a step back in time ⌚

I had a restful sleep in my own room. Lake Kawaguchi was calling my name, so I laced up my runners for a jog. Not many people were out at 6am, except for a few walkers and fishermen along the lake shore. I meandered along the south bank and noticed a trail up a hill. This was Mount Haneko and the Akiba shrine at the top. On my run I enjoyed pretty bird songs, drumming from a temple, a pheasant crossing the road and some large fish feeding along the water's edge. It was a wonderful morning!

I was almost back to the hotel when I glanced up to the clouds. Above the fluffy whites was a mountain peek, Mount Fuji, in all its glory!! Very beautiful 🗻❤️

The breakfast was very cafeteria-style at this basic hotel. Impressively the dining room was quiet and relaxing. The "Middle School potatoes" were an interesting dish I had never heard of.

The motorcycles hit the road on this sunny day. Our journey took us north west to SuwaTaisha Kamiya Honmiya. It is one of the four main shrines of Suwa Taisha, and one of Japan’s oldest Shinto shrine complexes mentioned in ancient texts like the Kojiki (712 CE) and Nihon Shoki (720 CE). It is renowned for its ancient rituals and serves as a spiritual centre dedicated to the worship of the Suwa deity which is associated with wind, water and agriculture.

Then through the mountains into the Kiso Valley, home to one of the more famous sections of the Nakasendo Trail. Our next stop was the postal town of Narai. This is a beautifully preserved town and was once a key stop along the Trail, which connected Kyoto and Edo (modern-day Tokyo) during Japan's Edo period (1603 -1868). Known as "Narai of a Thousand Houses," it features traditional wooden buildings, inns, and shops that reflect its historical role in accommodating travellers.

The area is known for excellent soba noodles, and we had to endulge. Like yesterday's dinner this restaurant only had three more servings for the table after us. One of the other tour riders, H, joined for the meal. Four Japanese ladies sat next to us, and made devoured their meal. When ours arrived they were out of sorts with how H was eating his noodles. With the language barrier, they came over to mime about the bowls, and I realized their technique of dipping the noodles into the broth was the missing step 😋. They were very happy we understood!

We wandered the town and a few of the shops. The photos of the soft-serve ice cream was too much to resist on this warm spring day. The cantaloupe melon flavour was scrumptious!

We left town driving the narrow main road, which I thought was only for pedestrians. It was a fun experience and almost felt like we were in a mini-parade of motorcycles.

The castle city of Matsumoto was our destination. First we past a series of hydroelectric dams in the mountains and many wild monkies! They were along the side of the road and in the trees, unfazed by the traffic.

Our accommodation was right in Matsumoto. The map directions was to another Super Hotel. We tried checking in before the van arrived with the luggage, but there was much confusion about the reservation. The guides talked on the phone and realized the map was not to our hotel, but the side road to allow for parking the bikes away from the busier road one block away where our real hotel was located 🤣

The Onyado NonoMatsumoto Natural Hot Spring hotel had a shoe-free policy and lockers at the entry. They took it up a notch, washing suitcase wheels in a special tray. It is a great idea, as the water tray had a fair bit of dirt in it. All these standards help to keep the tatami mats in the hallway clean. I was happy we each got our own rooms! No snoring noises 😴👍

The three of us found a place for dinner,but it was dark and not open 😕 My brother suggested an Izakaya place. It had nine restaurants all in one space. Dad and I were tired and not feeling the bumping loud atmosphere. He stayed, but we ducked over to This Is B, a quiet "western" Burger restaurant for a Japanese take on the classics. The onion ring Burger with avocado and bacon added was delicious. The grilled ceasar salad was different, using iceberg and no garlic in the dressing. 🥗🤔 Sharing both dishes was a perfect meal!

Day 5 was great 😃Read more