Weather: sunny with puffy clouds (especially designed to obscure Mt Fuji) 20°C, high 28°C
Accommodation: Woke up at Kawaguchiko Station Inn; went to sleep at Ryokan Matsukaze.
Trains: Kawaguchiko 10:06 am –> Otsuki 11:15 am
Otsuku 11:31 –> Korfu 12:05
Korfu 12:32 –> Matsumoto 13:46
We relaxed at the ryokan a bit in the morning. I walked to the 7-11 for breakfast and snacks to have on the train, and on the way back bought a Fuji flag and bell! I would have LOVED to get a Fuji stick, but I don’t think I could have fit it in our bag. We also got some post cards. (We were also given 2 postcards when we checked out of the ryokan.)
At the train station we finally saw rubber stamps!
Eskil bought a train badge from a vending machine. And we saw a couple fun painted trains and a bus.
The first train was from Kawaguchiko to Otsuki. It was a slow commuter train with a wooden floor. It was a rather lovely ride.
We had 2 changes to make, but neither was very hard or involved many steps. The countryside was stunning. There were lots of veggie patches and rice fields in varying stages of harvest.
Eskil ‘wrote’ postcards to friends while we were on the train, mostly by stamping them and telling me things he wanted to tell his friends.
We arrived at Matsumoto just before 2 pm and took the west (Alps) exit out of the station. It was a hot walk to the ryokan; Eskil slept in the carrier on Scott’s back. The ryokan host spoke no English, however it was a lovely place. We left our bags in our room and walked back to the train station to visit the information centre. I found information about getting to Kamikochi the next day and information for the city bus. Scott was in the queue to get coffees at Starbucks, but I quickly grabbed him so we could get a bus that would be headed to the castle. We got there just in time to make the bus. People found it amusing when we got off, realised Scott’s hat was still on board, and I rushed back on to rescue it.
Matsumoto Castle was stunning, but it was a LONG wait to get in! Damn Silver Week!
There was a long wait to get in, then it was VERY crowded once we were in. It’s an old castle, so the stairways are as steep as ladders.
It was so packed and hot that I let Scott head to the top floors; I was just too hot and claustrophobic. Back outside we saw a stunning sunset from the castle grounds, and there was a craft beer festival as well!!!
There were even nice dogs to pat. Eskil was starving, and unfortunately the food vendors were packing up, so we couldn’t stay and enjoy nice beers and food. We wandered and eventually wound up at a strange place that looked kinda like an American restaurant but had very odd Japanese food. Eskil had fried chicken (kagaage) and hot chips and was very happy. We found a 7-11 to use the ATM and get beer and walked ‘home’. We all had showers. The ryokan was lovely, but unfortunately it failed the towel test!
More photos can be viewed at https://www.flickr.com/photos/cragg-ohlsson/archives/date-taken/2015/09/22/.