Birthday trip - Matsumoto (Day 2)

 

Birthday trip - Matsumoto

Day 2

Kiso bridge, the widest wooden arched bridge in Japan

The day started off with a quick soak in the communal bath, followed by a cup of complimentary coffee. Since I wanted to get an early start on my day, I didn't go to breakfast but grabbed a couple of rolls from the bakery next to the station to munch on during my train ride to the Narai-juku, a preserved post town from the Edo period, retaining much of the original architecture. The thermometer at the station said it was -7 degrees C 🥶

The train I rode was like a bus on tracks. The fare was displayed on a sign above the driver's cab, and you pay the driver when you get off. It's one of the trains where you can't use chargeable train cards. I bought a paper ticket from the Matsumoto Stn so I didn't have to fumble around my bag to dig out my wallet when I got to Narai Stn. The closer I got to Narai, the more snow there was on the ground. Uh-oh . . . I kinda started to regret not wearing my boots. I decided to wear my light sneakers since it'd be another full day of walking. But then, my feet would've been sweltering on the train. It turned out that I was fine in my sneakers. Although there was snow and ice on the ground, the snow wasn't deep and there were tire tracks I could walk on. I'm pretty proud of myself for not landing on my fat ass 😂

It was like slipping into the Edo period. The difference being there were cars parked on the street. My first stop was to go see the Kiso bridge. The arched bridge is made out of Kiso hinoki cypress and is the widest wooden bridge in Japan. The bridge was covered with snow so was closed off due to icy conditions. The entire area was covered with snow. It was cold, but made for a lovely sight.

Since I got there a little before 9am, all the shops were still closed, but I had plenty of time to explore before I had to catch the train back. Now, the trains are few and far between along this line. I gave myself about 2 1/2 hours to see the sights and take pics, maybe pick up something for myself if the shop is open by the time I head back to the station. Getting there early meant that there were fewer tourists roaming around. I could take pics without people in them. Apparently, there's a hiking trail starting at the end of the shopping street, which looks like for more serious hikers, not for people like me who prefer the less strenuous nature hikes. I saw stairs leading to one of the trails, and I was like, nope!

There were a few shops open by the time I headed back to the station. This area is known for wares painted with "urushi,", a lacquer collected from urushi trees native to Asia. I found myself a beautiful pendant made by the shop owner. He told me he painted on urushi, polished, added another layer of a different colored urushi, polished, and repeated that about 16 times. The end result was a beautiful and colorful pendant. It made for a great birthday present for myself. A little restaurant opened just as I was passing by. I had some time before I had to catch the train, so I stopped in for a "goheimochi," a Japanese sweet made with mochi that's grilled over an open flame and coated with a soy sauce and sugar mixture. They gave me hot tea to go with it. A hot drink was nice after walking around in the cold for the past couple of hours.

The next stop was the Hiraide Heritage, an open-air museum featuring settlements from the Jomon, Kofun, and Heian eras that were excavated and restored. It was a good walk from the station and not exactly scenic, either. I stopped by the information center first, to see the best way to tour the park. I was told that there was a pond just up ahead filled with spring water and never freezes over. Spring water was what supplied water to the villages back in the day. So I decided to head for the pond, then come back towards the area where the homes were. There was a museum further beyond the pond that displays the stoneware and pottery artifacts that were discovered during the excavations, but I didn't feel like walking further uphill. The pond was pretty clear and peaceful. There were "beware of bears" signs posted. Since it's winter, I didn't think I had much to worry about. I made my way back to where the restored homes were. The homes were more like huts with really low doorways. Just how short were the people in these eras? Despite the huts supposedly being from different eras, they all looked pretty much the same and primitive.

I noticed grape vines here and there in the area and later found out that I was in wine country. Apparently, there were several wineries in the area. The closest one to the station was closed and I was too tired to seek out the other one on the other side of the station. There was a wine bar at the station where I could enjoy a couple glasses of local wine while waiting for the train. I tried a red made from concord grapes. This one wasn't as sweet as the other one I had the other day, but it was pretty good. The wine was made by a winery relatively new to the region. I also tried a white made from niagara grapes. The niagara wines I've had before were all sweet, but this one was crisp, the kind you want really chilled to enjoy on a hot summer day.

I got back to the Matsumoto Stn a little before 5pm. Since all I had was the goheimochi, I decided to have an early dinner. Fried chicken using locally sourced chicken is also a popular regional dish. The chicken is fried in a batter seasoned with soy sauce, ginger, and garlic. The chicken was crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside. It wasn't overly salty, either. Dinner was good.

Stuffed and happy, I dragged myself back to the hotel and promptly collapsed on the bed. I so needed a nap after a long day of walking before I went down to take a bath. After the nap, I took my Kindle down to the public bath and had a nice relaxing soak while reading on my Kindle. After enjoying a nice soak, I went to enjoy a bowl of ochazuke before I turned in for the night.

It was another good day of sightseeing 

. . . continued to Day 3