We arrived in Matsumoto, a much larger city of over 200,000, about 1 p.m. and thought we would check out email. The only internet café we found near the bus terminal was closed until 6 p.m.! So instead we went for lunch, only to find that most restaurants were also closed! In the end, we opted for the 6th floor of Inoue Department Store where we enjoyed some sushi and some ebi tempura and soba noodles! An expensive taxi ride (2300 yen) took us out of town to Asama Onsen where we spent two nights at another ryokan called Onouenoyu. The innkeepers were very kind, speaking a little English and offering to do our laundry for us…twice, in fact! Here is our room:
After dinner, the table and chairs are set aside and futons for sleeping, covered with duvets, are placed on the floor. The pillows were small and filled with buckwheat kernels...a little uncomfortable! As a colleague of Pat's remarked, where else but in Japan can you sleep in a traditional inn, on the floor, with hard mattresses and harder pillows, for about $200+USD/night?!? It's an experience, for sure!
We were told that there was to be a parade for the annual Torch Festival that evening and it would pass by our ryokan at about 7:30 p.m. Before dinner, we decided to wander around and came across various food and game stalls getting ready for the evening’s fun. Pat is checking out a fried apple ring at this booth.
Sausages anyone?
Or how about a decorated banana?
Sure enough, the excitement started soon after supper in our room and not to miss out, we followed along with the parade goers. The first groups were the music makers, complete with sooty faces, which appeared to be the order of the day!
Following the band came various groups in town (staff from a shop, service groups, etc.), all dressed alike and pushing or pulling huge stacks of rice stalks, all bound tightly together with rope and set on fire at the top, providing much smoke. The merry-makers found it great fun to dirty their hands (usually clad in not-so-white gloves) with soot and rush to rub it on the faces of those who were still clean!
Below you can see the thick ropes used to pull the burning stacks of rice-it was no easy feat!
Even the local cops got in on the action!
The procession ended up at the local shrine where the stacks of rice were placed onto a huge controlled bonfire (the fire brigade was on hand to supervise this). The participants then climbed the steps to the shrine and rang the bell, receiving in kind a glass of sake. From there they descended to the food and games stalls and partied on awhile longer!
By the time we walked back to our ryokan for a much-needed bath and hair wash, the town had been swept clean by those who lived along the procession route. Except for the smoke in the air, you never would have known there had been a parade with burning stacks pass by earlier! It looked like the whole town came out to celebrate and there was a huge festive spirit in the air!
In the morning we took a local bus into Matsumoto and got off at the castle. It is one of four castles declared National Treasures (we’ve seen the one in Himeji, the others are located at Hakone and Inuyama), This one was built in about 1595 in contrasting black and white, which gave it the nickname Karasu-jo (Crow Castle). Steep stairs lead up six storeys for an impressive view of the town below and the Alps in the distance. The huge moat is filled with carp and when we first walked by, there was a class of school children at work drawing the castle from various angles.
Another school class posed for us on the top floor of the castle and in true Asian style, gave us the peace sign!
Below are the beautifully manicured gardens around the castle.
From the castle we wandered into the downtown core and had a lovely lunch at Kura Restaurant, which was recommended in our LP Guide. We spent some time exploring the Nakamachi District and its narrow streets where former merchants had their shops. Below is a typical example, now most of the shops are art or craft galleries and cafes.
We bussed it back to Asama Onsen and to our ryokan in time for supper. It was already dark outside by 5:30 p.m. Dinner in our room consisted of WAY too much food: sashimi, miso soup, eggplant, various pickles, cucumber salad, tofu, fish, then a huge plate of sushi (which we couldn’t even tackle), small Arctic char, steak and salad plus pear for dessert! How do the Japanese stay so slim…?!? We told our innkeepers that in the morning for breakfast we wanted only fruit and coffee!
Two things we’ve noticed so far on our trip to Japan: the children all wear uniforms to school and bicyclists don’t wear helmets!
Stay tuned for Part 3, Nagano…
