Nagano-ken Travel Blogs

Yesterday was a rainy, dreary day in Matsumoto.  Famished from not eating the day before, I made a beeline on my (borrowed) bike to the grocery store.  Being housed in the mall, it didn't open until the absurd hour of 10am.  Soaking wet and cranky, I battled my way through the ridicu…

We had a big breakfast (Oh, I love Japanese breakfast!!), and checked out of the inn. The first item on our itinerary for the day was a boat ride on Lake Suwa. My son found these touristy boats on the lake yesterday and insisted that he wouldn’t go home without riding it. This boat, in a sh…

We arrived at our hotel, the Hotel 1-2-3 in Matsumoto in the early afternoon. After we freshened up, we walkd towards Matsumoto Castle, where we spent 1 hour exploring the Castle and small garden, before I and someone from the tour group walked back through the streets of the city b…

Yatsugatake is famous for a climbing mountain in Japan. Its altitude is high, and we can enjoy a beautiful snow scene because of clear weather is a lot in winter.

Japan is such a well organised country that although we had to take 4 trains which took 7 hours to get to Matsumoto it all went extremely smoothly.  We also saw some great scenery along the way.  The hostel we stayed at was wonderful and the people running it were very friendl…

At Nagano city, Iiyama and Togakushi I visted. Especially Togakushi was the best place in my trip! Togakushi Shrine is a power spot. I felt and saw the beautiful nature very much:D Moreover I felt a lot of special energy!!

Got to visit the Nagasaki museum while I was there, very nice place. Alittle to crowded for me though.

After another night and day of getting stuffed by multiple course ridiculous meals, we headed off to Matsumoto.  We arrived just in time to catch the Teiko drum festival, which was pretty intense. But before we talk about some crazy drumbeats, we'll touch on a few local specialties! In o…

i've finally managed to escape the oh-so-fascinating world of hedge fund finance, and am now decadently indulging my long-suppressed wanderlust with 15 months on the road and around the world... *note: apart from the odd review (generally of something not found in your standard guide book), this is really more just a map of my travels than a proper blog, but if you want more information on anywhere i`ve been or what i`ve been up to, send me a message and i`ll see if i can rustle something up.

A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both.