At 3 pm tabi-tabi staff and guests piled into the van ready to experience a little culture. First stop was Oyaki Mura in Ogawa. Oyaki is a veggie filled bun popular in Nagano prefecture, and mura means village. According to the oyaki maker (man in blue), in the old days people who lived in the mountains made these everyday. Due to a shortage of flat land, rice paddies were limited, therefore rice in short supply. The mountain people of Nagano grew wheat for flour, that could be made into dough and shaped and stuffed into oyaki. On this day we got to do the shaping and stuffing ourselves. We all made 2 varieties of oyaki. First, the standard nozawana which is a green leafy vegetable that tastes a little like spinach but is actually from the turnip family. Then, the unohana variety, which is a dry roasted tofu pulp mixed with veggies. We shaped and stuffed, and the the obasan (auntie) helped us close up our little pockets of veggies before the ojisan (uncle) cooked them up for us on the irori (open fire). After we had our fill of handmade (and very tasty!) oyaki, we climbed back into the van and headed off to Nagano city for the Tomyo Festival..... (see part two for the rest of our little adventure).

With bellies full of tasty treats, soba tea, and a lesson in Japanese culture, we headed off  to Nagano city for the 9th annual Tomyo Festival. This incredibly beautiful festival of lights is held every year at Zenkoji Temple to commemorate the Nagano Olympics  "and to pass on to the future generations the Olympic spirit of praying for peace. In this event, the message for peace is conveyed through lights with the aim of reaching out to the world". The main buildings of the temple are lit up in different colored spot lights, while smaller temples (Zenkoji is made up of 41 temples and shrines) put on their own more intimate candle lit displays. There were also streets filled with lanterns crafted by various artists, while another cobble stone road was filled with boisterous vendors selling hot sake and local festival food. I'm already looking forward to the 10th annual Tomyo Festival. See you there next year, and peace be with you until then...

紅葉 (pronounced koyo) means fall colors. I know there is still a lot of green in there but actually I took the pic of few weeks back.  I suspect that all the green leaves have long changed color and fallen on the ground... soon to be obliterated by meters of white snow.

If you are taking the shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo, you will have to transfer to the Alpico bus in Nagano city. If you are joining us at Lodge tabi-tabi, please get off at Hakuba Goryu bus stop. You can find the rest of the Alpico Bus schedules here.

We got married last year on April 1st so April Fools is our wedding anniversary! After tying the knot a year ago by handing in some papers to our local town hall we headed off for a romantic night at Chujokan Ryokan at Hoshi Onsen in Gunma prefecture. I have always wanted to visit Hoshi Onsen because our private bath at tabi-tabi was inspired by the enormous wooden baths at Chujokan Ryokan, the builder's favorite onsen.

          Hoshi Onsen's famous 1000 man bath                             tabi-tabi's Private bath

Chujokan was built in 1875 and is considered by many people to be one of the most beautiful ryokan in Japan. I highly recommend it too! The service, the food, the onsens, the location, the history... all was superb! It was so great in fact that we quickly decided that we should treat ourselves to a night at a ryokan on April Fools every year.

This year we stayed in Bessho Onsen at Hanaya Ryokan in Nagano prefecture. Hanaya Ryokan is Japanese by design but is decorated in the wayosechuyoshiki style. Basically "wa" is for "wafu"(or all things Japanese) on "yo" is for "yofu" (all things "yoropean"). Hanaya Ryokan was originally built as someone's private mansion during the Meiji period. It was at this time that Japan opened its doors to the outside world and wealthy people started buying European clocks, lighting. and tableware.  Much of which can still be found in historical houses, museums, and antique shops throughout of Japan.

Here are some more pics of the beautiful Hanaya Ryokan:

*click on the pics for larger images in flickr.   N~joy!

Actually the morning started at the doctor's office. There is a great sports clinic in Nagano city that uses their own (painful) version of osteopathy to get people back on their feet as quickly as possible. I have been going there twice a week for the last 3 weeks to treat a bad knee from a snowboarding injury. Yasu came along to have his back adjusted as well. Walked out of there stronger, staighter, and ready for another onsen. Not far from Nagano city is an old town famous for temples, pottery, and.... onsen. We have been to Matsushiro Onsen before and have recommended their rich yellow waters to friends and other lovers of onsen.

The place we chose was new, and big. I suspect it's government run and felt a bit like a hospital or "silver house" (retirement home). Lots of baths; indoor, outdoor, hot and cold. Plenty of space for everyone seeking a relaxing soak in iron rich waters.

With so many bathers about I couldn't take any pics so I have added a photo of their flyer.