Summer Road Trip . Day 2

We got an early start today and headed out of Matsumoto into the mountains towards Kamikochi. We had planned on spending time hiking up at Kamikochi but we changed plans while on the road. Since POV's aren't allowed to drive into Kamikoochi you have to park in the closest town and either take a bus or taxi to the entrance of the park. We missed the town and decided to keep on driving towards Takayama and explore that area today since it was the farthest west we would travel on this trip. It was a good thing we changed plans because we spent all day exploring Takayama and Shirakawa-go. We would have been pressed to do this on our way home. First we drove into the old town of Takayama which sits in the mountainous Hida region of Gifu Prefecture. Two of the main sites to see here are the beautifully preserved old town streets and the Hida Open Air Folk Village. First we spent time walking up and down the old streets and browsing the shops. The boys found some cool Gassho house piggy banks and I kept my eyes peeled for a red traditional paper umbrella. It was a bit hot and extremely crowded but nothing that a good ice-cream cone couldn't take care of. We saw some cool rickshaws and wanted to go for a ride but it was a bit pricey for all six of us to go on them so we enjoyed them from below instead. We didn't shop for very long knowing that it wasn't really something the kids would be interested in for very long.

After getting some souvenirs in town we headed to the outskirts of Takayama to explore the Hida Folk Village. This was definitely the highlight of the day for the kids. Everything in the village was hands on and FREE. The kids got to try on traditional hats and robes and pull carts. They also got to have fun with water pistols and traditional stilts and other wooden toys. Then we headed over to the main part of the village where there were a number of gassho-zukuri houses. The massive farmhouses with their steep, thatched roofs which look like praying hands ("gassho-zukuri") were moved here from the nearby Shirakawa-go region. The kids had such a blast going from house to house, up and down all the stairs in each house, and looking in each and every room. The village wasn't crowded at all and it felt like we were the only ones there which was really nice. Every gassho house had a description of the familly it belonged to and what livelihood was done primarily in that house. We got to witness a man taking big logs and chopping them down and making thin wood slats. It was really impressive. Another house had a huge rice pounder and Andrew and Emma had fun trying to get it to go up and down like a see saw.

After getting our fill of fun at the village we decided to head out so that we could drive even further to the town of Shirakawa-go where one of the original towns of gassho houses still exists. This little adventure was really for me as I desperately wanted a photo of the cool gassho houses. It was afternoon and the lighting was really good. I just had to be patient and wait for the right moments when the tourists were out of the way. I am so grateful for a good husband who dropped me off and then drove up and down the town looking for just the right houses to photograph. I have to give him credit for finding the perfect spot. I was completely enamored by all the perfectly green rice fields. It was a long drive back to the campsite but I couldn't complain after such a great day!

Summer Road Trip . Day 1

Our summer road trip to the western side of Japan was such a blast.  Our good friends had recommended most of the places that we traveled to.  I was super excited to see a different side of Japan than we are used to seeing.  Little did we know when we were planning this trip (a bit last minute) that the week Mike took leave was also the same week that EVERYONE in Japan takes leave for their summer break called Obon.  We knew that we would probably hit traffic on our way out of the city but we desperately needed a family vacation before school started so we went anyways.  We spent an additional 1 1/2 hours on both ends of the trip because of traffic but it was well worth it.  We were so glad that we had rented a van from the base because the rental came with passes to all the tolls and a newer and bigger car to ride in.  This definitely made our drive more comfortable!  The first day we drove to Matsumoto to see the castle there.  Matsumoto Castle is located in the city of Matsumoto in Nagano Prefecture and was built in 1504.  It is Japan's oldest castle tower and is known as the "Crow Castle" because of its black exterior.  It was originally called Fukashi Castle.  It is a unique castle among Japanese fortresses because it is built on flat land beside a swamp, rather than being on a mountain or between rivers. It's lack of natural defenses meant that it had to be extremely well-constructed in order to protect the people living inside.  For that reason, the castle was surrounded by a triple moat and extraordinarily high, strong stone walls. The fortress included three different rings of fortifications; an outer earthen wall almost 2 miles around that was designed to deaden cannon fire, an inner ring of residences for the samurai, and then the main castle itself.  We were in awe of its pure awesomeness when we entered the grounds and saw it up close.  The boys were especially excited to see a black castle.  Of course we had to wait to get inside.  Once inside we got to go all the way to the very top of the castle.  The kids loved it.  I thought it was interesting but didn't love the wait as we got closer to the top, and Abby at first was scared because it had some dark places but then she was ok with it.  While we were in the castle it started to rain outside.  We were happy to be inside because we didn't have any umbrellas.  Once we made it through the castle the sun came out and we could finally see the blue sky.  It was beautiful.

After we finished exploring the castle grounds we headed up into the mountainside on the outskirts of the city to find our camping site.  Since trying to stay anywhere in Japan burns a major hole in your wallet we opted for the cheaper route which ended up being way more expensive than most camping sites in the US but way cheaper than staying in an old Japanese inn and paying $500-$700 for 1 night... wowzers!  In Japan you pay by person to stay in a hotel rather than by room.  It kind of stinks for a family of 6.  We were lucky to get the very last camping site when we made our reservations.  It was a bit different than we were used to because we were in the "communal" camping area.  Basically we pitched our tent on a big field of grass.  There was no fire pit, no picnic table, and no trees over our campsite.  It was not like we were used to but we made the most of it and it turned out just fine.  Afterall, it was just a place to sleep.  We still got to roast marshmallows on a coal grill that we had to rent because we didn't bring our own grill (thinking there would be a fire pit).  Thank goodness I didn't forget the marshmallows and chocolate because I forgot the hot dogs.  We ate bagels for dinner instead.  I don't usually sleep that well when we are camping because I am always worried about the kids being warm enough but it was plenty warm.  I was shocked at how pleasant the weather was where we were...no humidity and it was not hot at all when we were sleeping.  It was the best sleep I have ever had when camping.