Here's a joke for you that rings all too true - what kind of hotels do art teachers stay in? Sketchy ones! It's been a while since I've stayed in an actual hotel, and I wasn't really planning on doing it now. AirBnBs tend to be a better room for a better price, but the one I booked myself into in Nagano turned out to actually be a hotel...which just happened to be a few blocks up from a red light district. I've done this on more than one occasion (notable exception: Amsterdam) and it never fails to amuse me that I can be so adept at it.
This has been a strange sort of trip for me, as evidenced by my inability to keep up my blog. I ran around a lot, and saw some stuff, but most of the things I saw and did I've seen and done before. Since I didn't want to bore all six of my faithful readers with the same old stories, it took me a little longer to come up with a different way of approaching this trip than "Lemme tell you all the stuffs I did."
The whole point of my Golden Week travels was to go to Toyama, but once I got off the Willer bus there, I stuck my bag in a locker and immediately caught a train for Kanazawa. This was kind of dumb, because the bus goes on to Kanazawa from there, but I didn't realize that when I booked the ticket. Anyways. If you can believe the hype, Kanazawa rivals Kyoto for its beauty and intact old buildings, which is a nice thought but untrue in my opinion. Kanazawa was nice enough (except for the tourists and the hot sun beating down), but unlike Kyoto, I feel no need to go back.
For me, the highlight of Kanazawa was the gardens. Ain't nobody does a water feature like the Japanese. All throughout the place you could hear the laughter of water over rocks. I wished I could have seen it back in late February, when the plum grove would have been blooming. Instead I got to witness clouds of pollen launching themselves off thousand year old pines. I went through a lot of tissues that day.
I headed back to Toyama that evening. This was a city I actually liked quite a bit, and it's kind of strange. I didn't actually do a lot there. I went because I wanted to see the firefly squid light up the bay, and sadly, I missed it. The hostess of the second place I stayed said they'd been on the beach the night before I came to stay with her, and though I went out both nights I was at her place, they didn't come back. It was disappointing, but I wouldn't mind trying again next Golden Week.
Instead I got to see them in the Hotaruika Museum in nearby Namerikawa, but it felt like a bit of a cheat. Since that quest was ultimately a failure, my favorite thing about Toyama - besides watching Avengers without having to book in advance or share armrests - was the Glass Art Museum. Or, to be more precise, their "garden" of Chihulys. These days I don't go full fangirl every time I see his work, but they had some amazing pieces, curated beautifully. I looped around and went through the exhibit again after I finished the first time. It was great.
I also made a side trip to Takayama. Although I went there for the folk village, that wasn't the best part of Takayama. What I loved most about it...okay, the thing I really loved the most is that someone made a theme cafe right across from the station based on erotic ukiyo-e prints. I didn't actually go there - too many questions about what's in the secret sauce for this girl! - but I looked at the photos on Google maps and it was accurately named. Besides that, my favorite thing was the temple district. After finding a place for a late lunch, I wandered downstream to a huge torii, and found my way uphill to its shrine, then wound my way through old streets - the setting sun cast a golden light on everything, making me wish I had a little longer to explore everything. Instead, I had to catch the train back to Toyama.
It actually turns out I really love the train. It should seem like a huge waste of time to chug along the tracks on a local train. Instead, I find it really relaxing. You get to think, and read, and enjoy the scenery. For about two hours I was planning to keep things simple and just take the shinkansen to get to Nagano. It would have saved me four hours, but cost twice as much. Since I don't get paid that kind of money, it's just as well I like the train.
Nagano was...not what I was expecting. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, other than the fact that my distant cousin had been living there and seemed to like it a lot. It once hosted the Olympics and grew out of a temple district, and that seemed good enough to justify a trip. Also, the bus back was half the price of getting to Toyama, and should have taken half the time, although I've now been on this bus for longer.. it turns out the traffic getting back from Golden Week is a pain, and I maybe should have splashed out on the Shinkansen this time. Oh well, we're almost back to Shinjuku now, and it's given me time to work on this blog.
The final flavor in my sampler of cities is Matsumoto. I argued with myself as to whether or not to spend the time and money to see Matsumoto. The main draw there was their castle, which unlike most of the castles I've seen, is black, and yes, that IS a legit reason to want to see a castle.
But when I went looking for what else there was going on in Matsumoto, I found out they had an exhibition of Kusama Yayoi's art...which I'll talk about in a later post. Suffice it to say that this was enough to decide it for me, since her museum in Tokyo is still sold out three months in advance. Instead, I want to take a break here to talk about food. I'm giving my very brief time in Matsumoto top honors, because it had something that none of the other places I visited had - easy access to fast food. When I walked out of Matusmoto Station McDonald's was waiting right across the street. Macca's is my breakfast of choice when I'm traveling, mostly because I'm lazy AF and usually it's convenient. Not so on this trip - there NEVER seemed to be one close by. Since it was too late for breakfast, I stopped for lunch at the Coco Curry that was just around the corner before hoofin' it up the street to the art museum. This had been another rarity, even though in Tokyo I can almost use it as a landmark. Which just goes to show that traveling is all well and good, but sometimes it's just nice to stay home.
I also made a side trip to Takayama. Although I went there for the folk village, that wasn't the best part of Takayama. What I loved most about it...okay, the thing I really loved the most is that someone made a theme cafe right across from the station based on erotic ukiyo-e prints. I didn't actually go there - too many questions about what's in the secret sauce for this girl! - but I looked at the photos on Google maps and it was accurately named. Besides that, my favorite thing was the temple district. After finding a place for a late lunch, I wandered downstream to a huge torii, and found my way uphill to its shrine, then wound my way through old streets - the setting sun cast a golden light on everything, making me wish I had a little longer to explore everything. Instead, I had to catch the train back to Toyama.
It actually turns out I really love the train. It should seem like a huge waste of time to chug along the tracks on a local train. Instead, I find it really relaxing. You get to think, and read, and enjoy the scenery. For about two hours I was planning to keep things simple and just take the shinkansen to get to Nagano. It would have saved me four hours, but cost twice as much. Since I don't get paid that kind of money, it's just as well I like the train.
The final flavor in my sampler of cities is Matsumoto. I argued with myself as to whether or not to spend the time and money to see Matsumoto. The main draw there was their castle, which unlike most of the castles I've seen, is black, and yes, that IS a legit reason to want to see a castle.
But when I went looking for what else there was going on in Matsumoto, I found out they had an exhibition of Kusama Yayoi's art...which I'll talk about in a later post. Suffice it to say that this was enough to decide it for me, since her museum in Tokyo is still sold out three months in advance. Instead, I want to take a break here to talk about food. I'm giving my very brief time in Matsumoto top honors, because it had something that none of the other places I visited had - easy access to fast food. When I walked out of Matusmoto Station McDonald's was waiting right across the street. Macca's is my breakfast of choice when I'm traveling, mostly because I'm lazy AF and usually it's convenient. Not so on this trip - there NEVER seemed to be one close by. Since it was too late for breakfast, I stopped for lunch at the Coco Curry that was just around the corner before hoofin' it up the street to the art museum. This had been another rarity, even though in Tokyo I can almost use it as a landmark. Which just goes to show that traveling is all well and good, but sometimes it's just nice to stay home.
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