Day 2 - Narita to Nagano

After a good nights sleep in Narita, we boarded the shuttle back to the airport. Exchanged our JR east passes, grabbed a 7-11 breakfast and caught the 9:18am NEX to Tokyo. Then onto the shinkansen bound for Nagano, arriving at 12:07pm.

We went on a search for Baskin-Robins as birthday treat for our new 10yr old. Then went off to find our hotel - the Nagano Mash Cafe & Bed. The quad bunk room was ¥12,400 for the night. Check in was at 4pm, so we dropped our backpacks and wandered up to Zenkoji Temple.

At the temple we paid the ¥500 for the main hall admission. One of the guides gave us a personal explanation and walked us through the main hall, explaining each step. Then he directed us to basement - where you walk through total darkness to find the key to enlightenment. We hit a human traffic jam, but found our way.

It is freezing in Nagano, so after 4pm we checked in and then set out to Maisen for a Tonkatsu dinner. Then turned in for an early night.Read more