Some Smaller Cities

A Quick Summary

From Tokyo, we took the train to Matsumoto, a small city in the mountains. We spent two nights there exploring, and also took a day trip to Nagano to see the snow monkeys! Then we took the train down to Kyoto, where we spent four nights. We took a day trip to Osaka to see the World Expo as well.

Highlights

Matsumoto Area

Matsumoto was such a big change from Tokyo. It is really quiet there, less crowded, and everything closes really early. It was super nice getting to spend some time there and see a totally different side of Japan! We tried some soba noodles (the area is known for them), toured a local miso factory (apparently 55% of the miso in Japan is produced in this region), and also explored a castle.

Matsumoto castle

Cold soba with dipping sauce

Castle grounds at night

The castle has a 24/7 livestream, so we found ourselves on YouTube while we were there

Miso factory

Snow Monkeys

We went to a national park where you can see snow monkeys! They come down the mountain each morning to bathe in the hot springs (although it was too warm while we were there, so they weren't really interested in the hot water). It was so fun seeing all the monkeys! They have very strict rules about not feeding or scaring the monkeys, so the monkeys would just ignore the people around. It felt like you were almost invisible to them and could walk by and observe them doing their own thing.

The adult monkeys were always sleeping or grooming each other

Grooming session

The young monkeys were always chasing each other around or wrestling

Funny young monkeys

Super cute babies

The monkeys were everywhere and very close!

Kyoto Area

Kyoto was very different again from Tokyo and Matsumoto. Walking around downtown Kyoto almost felt like being in Vancouver, since there were so many tourists and western shops. Also, there are so many shrines and temples and culture things to see in Kyoto. We got to hike up a hill with hundreds (or probably thousands) of red Torii gates, which was really neat. 

Torii gates on the hike

Torii gates at the top and along the side

More Torii gates

It was hard to capture just how many Torii gates there were. They continued for the whole hike (which was a few kms long) and were everywhere.

Cool rock gardens

Walking tour of a Gaisha neighbourhood. We learned about the history of the Gaisha, they are artists and performers for the upper class in Japan

Temple lights (we learned that these are actually all just sponsors of the temple)

World Expo

Seeing the world expo was a really cool experience, and a highlight for both of us. The pavillions for the different countries were all futuristic and interesting, and just walking around was really neat. Some highlights for me included an exhibit on future housing designs, an engineering showcase of new green technologies, and a water and light projection show!

Future housing concept

Getting scanned by an AI mirror (it told me I needed more sleep)

Cool wooden ring structure that circled the expo (many kms long)

Canada!

Light and dance exhibit with a vibrating floor

Cool buildings

Water flow exhibit

Water and light projection show

Also, one highlight was when we were leaving, there was just a constant mass of people heading towards the subway (and only one subway line out of the expo grounds). I kept expecting to hit a bottleneck somewhere and be waiting in line for the subway, but in typical Japanese fashion, there was no line! Both Kira and I were shocked, but they really know how to handle crowds and move people around efficiently. 

Expo crowds

Food Review

Miso Ice Cream

At the miso factory in Matsumoto, I tried some miso ice cream! The miso flavour was really nice, but it was salty and overall not my favourite thing. I'm glad I tried it, but probably wouldn't order it again.

Okonomiyaki

I tried a Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki (savoury pancake) at the recommendation of my grandparents. It was really good, and had so many different layers in it! I've been trying to not eat the same food twice, but I might make an exception to get this again when we visit Hiroshima next week.

Layers in the okonomiyaki

Local spots

I've been making an effort to try and eat at small local mom-and-pop style restaurants. So far, we've been able to find so many nice tiny spots, with super friendly owners and really good food. Hopefully we can continue finding good restaurants to try!

Tiny soba shop in Matsumoto run by a older couple (husband cooking, wife serving)

Tiny okonomiyaki place, this photo shows the entire space. It was just 4 seats around the stove where the owner cooked the okonomiyaki right in front of you! She was super friendly and chatty and thankfully there was someone there who spoke both English and Japanese and could translate for me!

Tiny Japanese curry spot in Kyoto. This was run entirely by an (amazing) old lady, must've been at least 60. She did all the cooking, serving, cleaning, and was super friendly and happy while she did it!

Small restaurant/bar in Nagano, with dad cooking and two kids serving.

At the spot in Nagano, this guy sitting at the bar was super friendly and was talking to us even though he barely spoke any English. After dinner, he asked if he could walk us to the train station even though he wasn't going there. This is me trying to talk to him via google translate and a lot of hand gestures. 

Next Week

For the next six days, we are doing a multi-day hike following an old pilgrimage route called the Kohechi Kumano Kodo. Hopefully we get good weather (right now its looking a little wet), and I will share some photos when we are back in the city!