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Japan

December 2016 - January 2017
This was the trip that was conceived by the kids (Dylan and Foop) and promoted by Bort and Foop and attended only by Jen and I. Read more
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  • TravelerJapan
    Day 3

    Aokusamachi & Plum Wine

    December 31, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    Food market and general walk around.
    Plus a sample of plum wine which has been a favourite of mine for a long time.

    Umeshu (梅酒) is a Japanese liqueur made by steeping ume fruits (while still unripe and green) in liquor (焼酎, shōchū) and sugar. It has a sweet, sour taste, and an alcohol content of 10–15%. Famous brands of umeshu include Choya, Takara Shuzo and Matsuyuki. Varieties are available with whole ume fruits contained in the bottle, and some people make their own umeshu at home.

    Japanese restaurants serve many different varieties of umeshu and also make cocktails. Umeshu on the Rocks (pronounced umeshu rokku), Umeshu Sour (pronounced umeshu sawa), Umeshu Tonic (with 2/3 tonic water), Umeshu Soda (with 2/3 carbonated water) and the Flaming Plum[citation needed] cocktail are popular. It is sometimes mixed with green tea (o-cha-wari) or warm water (o-yu-wari). Umeshu can be served at different temperatures; chilled or with ice, room temperature, or even hot in the winter.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan
    Day 4

    Yamanochi-Machi

    January 1, 2017 in Japan ⋅ 5 °C

    We stayed in Yamanochi-Machi in a quaint little ryokan run by a very happy and welcoming Japanese man.
    We went for a walk around the town and experimented with some local food which was cool.
    This was the closest village to the snow monkey park which we planned to visit the next day.Read more

  • TravelerJapan
    Day 4

    Jigokudani Monkey Park

    January 1, 2017 in Japan ⋅ 6 °C

    Jigokudani Monkey Park is located in Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the Joshinetsu Kogen National Park (locally known as Shigakogen), and is located in the valley of the Yokoyu-River, in the northern part of the prefecture. The name Jigokudani, meaning "Hell's Valley", is due to the steam and boiling water that bubbles out of small crevices in the frozen ground, surrounded by steep cliffs and formidably cold and hostile forests.

    The heavy snowfalls (snow covers the ground for four months a year), an elevation of 850 m (2,800 ft), and being only accessible via a narrow 2 km (1.2 mi) footpath through the forest, keep it uncrowded despite being relatively well known.

    It is famous for its large population of wild Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata), more commonly referred to as snow monkeys, that go to the valley during the winter, foraging elsewhere in the national park during the warmer months. The monkeys descend from the steep cliffs and forest to sit in the warm waters of the onsen (hotsprings), and return to the security of the forests in the evenings.

    However, since the monkeys are fed by park attendants, they are in the area of the hot springs all the year round, and a visit at any season will enable the visitor to observe hundreds of the macaques.

    Jigokudani is not the farthest north that monkeys live. The Shimokita Peninsula is at the northern part of the Honshū island and the northwest area of this peninsula, latitude +41°31' longitude +140°56', approximately 500 km (310 mi) north from Jigokudani is the northern limit of Japanese macaque habitat. No (non-human) primate is known to live in a colder climate.

    The Jigokudani monkey park became famous after appearing in the documentary Baraka.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan
    Day 4

    More Snow Monkeys...

    January 1, 2017 in Japan ⋅ 6 °C

    The Japanese macaque is sexually dimorphic. Males weigh on average 11.3 kg (25 lb), while females average 8.4 kg (19 lb). Macaques from colder areas tend to weigh more than ones from warmer areas. Male average height is 57.01 cm (22.44 in) and female average height is 52.28 cm (20.58 in). Their brain size is about 95 g (3.4 oz). Japanese macaques have short stumps for tails that average 92.51 mm (3.642 in) in males and 79.08 mm (3.113 in) in females. The macaque has a pinkish face and posterior. The rest of its body is covered in brown or greyish hair. The coat of the macaque is well-adapted to the cold and its thickness increases as temperatures decrease. The macaque can cope with temperatures as low as −20 °C (−4 °F).
    Macaques mostly move on all fours. They are semiterrestrial, with females spending more time in the trees and males spending more time on the ground. Macaques are known to leap. They are also great swimmers and have been reported to swim over half a kilometer. Lifespan is at the high end of what is typical for macaques, up to 28 years for males, and up to 32 years for females.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan
    Day 4

    Quirky little cafe...

    January 1, 2017 in Japan ⋅ 12 °C

    We visited this little cafe after visiting the monkeys for a coffee. The coffee culture is very different in other parts of the world and helps you realize just how fortunate we are in Australia with the general quality of coffee and the general coffee culture we experience every day.Read more

  • TravelerJapan
    Day 4

    Still tripping...

    January 1, 2017 in Japan ⋅ 11 °C

    Some of the places in Japan are so beautiful as was this tiny little cemetery that we came across. Everything in Japan is so orderly and structured from cemeteries to vending machines and by the way these is almost nothing that you can’t get from a vending machine in Japan.
    We also had a cool looking desert that was delicious and from memory it was cream with pastry and biscuit crust. We are now ready to travel to our next destination.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan
    Day 5

    Nagano

    January 2, 2017 in Japan ⋅ 8 °C

    Nagano is the capital and largest city of Nagano Prefecture, located in the Nagano Basin (Zenkoji Daira) in the central Chūbu region of Japan. Nagano is categorized as a core city of Japan.
    Nagano City is the highest prefectural capital in Japan, with an altitude of 371.4 meters (1,219 ft).
    The city is surrounded by mountains, near the confluence of the Chikuma River - the longest and widest river in Japan - and the Sai River. The total area of the city is 834.81 square kilometres (322.32 sq mi). As of 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 370,632 in 160,625 households, and a population density of 444 persons per km². A The total area of the city is 834.81 square kilometres (322.32 sq mi).    Read more

  • TravelerJapan
    Day 5

    Matsumoto Castle

    January 2, 2017 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    We were privileged to visit this castle on such a beautiful day with the sun shining and crisp fresh morning.
    This castle is quite majestic and is surrounded by a moat which is the first one we have seen in Japan.
    Matsumoto-jō is one of Japan's premier historic castles, along with Himeji Castle and Kumamoto Castle.
    The building is also known as the "Crow Castle" due to its black exterior.
    It was the seat of the Matsumoto domain. It is located in the city of Matsumoto, in Nagano Prefecture and is within easy reach of Tokyo by road or rail.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan
    Day 5

    Matsumoto Palace (cont’d)

    January 2, 2017 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    The keep (tenshukaku), which was completed in the late sixteenth century, maintains its original wooden interiors and external stonework. It is listed as a National Treasure of Japan.

    Matsumoto Castle is a flatland castle (hirajiro) because it is not built on a hilltop or amid rivers, but on a plain. Its complete defences would have included an extensive system of inter-connecting walls, moats, and gatehouses.

    The castle's origins go back to the Sengoku period. At that time Shimadachi Sadanaga of the Ogasawara clan built a fort on this site in 1504, which originally was called Fukashi Castle. In 1550 it came under the rule of the Takeda clan and then Tokugawa Ieyasu.

    When Toyotomi Hideyoshi transferred Ieyasu to the Kantō region, he placed Ishikawa Kazumasa in charge of Matsumoto. Kazumasa and his son Yasunaga built the tower and other parts of the castle, including the three towers: the keep and the small tower in the northwest, both begun in 1590, and the Watari Tower; the residence; the drum gate; the black gate, the Tsukimi Yagura, the moat, the innermost bailey, the second bailey, the third bailey, and the sub-floors in the castle, much as they are today. They also were instrumental in laying out the castle town and its infrastructure. It is believed much of the castle was completed by 1593–94.

    During the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate established the Matsumoto Domain, of which the Matsudaira, Mizuno, and others were the daimyōs.

    For the next 280 years until the abolition of the feudal system in the Meiji Restoration, the castle was ruled by the 23 lords of Matsumoto representing six different daimyō families. In this period the stronghold was also known as Crow Castle (烏城, Karasu-jo) because its black walls and roofs looked like spreading wings.    Read more

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