Today we headed out on our annual road trip out to the western part of Japan. This year we decided to explore the gorges and the northern Japan Alps. On our way to Matsumoto to camp we stopped at Nezamenotoko gorge. The weather was about to turn stormy when we got there so we hurried down to the gorge to take pictures and enjoy the beauty. I foolishly hiked down to the lowest point with my keens on slick rock, holding my tripod and my camera bag. When I got down there I had maybe a minute before it started coming down. Luckily I had my umbrella but I had wished I was more prepared for wet weather photography. Oh well. Andrew came down and helped me back up. We did enjoy the views even though we were only there for a short time.
On our way to Matsumoto we stopped at one of the little post towns to take a look around. We couldn't resist the zip line along the way and the shot of Emma' crack. The little town of Naraijuku was so cool. It was authentic with cute little shops all along the road. Every shop had a decorated tree outside which made us think it must have been in preparation for an upcoming holiday. A cute old man stopped us and had our kids write their names on a piece of paper to hang on his tree. The older kids wrote their names in both English and Japanese. The man was super impressed that they could write their names in Japanese. The little town was not that long and when we got to the end we just turned around and walked back to the start. The boys loved looking at all the chopsticks and everyone loved washing their hands and drinking the water from the water shrines. The little water shrine, meant to purify you before entering the town, was a temptation for my kids to play in the water. Luckily they weren't too disrespectful. Still, it was REALLY humid so even the slightest water was a pleasant treat.
After finally getting to Matsumoto and to the campground we set up the tents. The boys set up their own tent and the girls happily helped Mike set up our new tent. We said goodbye to our other 8 man tent and said hello to our brand new 4 person tent. The girls were a little sad that they didn't have their own tent to sleep in but were reassured that when they got to be a little older that we would get them their own girl tent. The campsite was just right with a gorgeous view of Matsumoto city through the trees. This was a much better spot than our spot last year in the grassy meadow. The only thing we miss here is having a firepit to build a fire and roast marshmallows. We don't know why they don't do that here but we made do with our little stove and we happily roasted marshmallows over that instead.
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