Too Long

I know, I know. I haven't blogged for ages which is massively my bad as I don't want to turn anyone off visiting here or commenting as I love it so please keep on reading and I'll give you textual lapdance of what conspired during Golden Week.

What is Golden Week you ask? Well for those too lazy to click on the above link it's essentially 3 holidays in a row that give the average Japanese person 5 days off (inc. weekend). Frankly no one REALLY knows what the holidays are except for May 5th which is boys day and that's remembered as it's supposed to celebrate childrens personalities ... personalities that then proceed to be crushed upon entering into anonymity at whatever school they attend. Bleak.

Earlier in April I had been talking to my pal Stephanie about a plan to do something during Golden week as I didn't want to be stuck around Otawara doing nothing with my life. She mentioned this hiking trail in Kiso Valley down near Nagoya/Gifu that she was interested in and I remembered it from my perusals of the lonely planet guide so I was keener than that tangy spread occupying space in my fridge and luckily for me - Steph pretty much planned everything.

We would leave Sunday, catch the regular train to Shinjuku, then catch a bus from Shinjuku/Tokyo to Nagoya, hire a car in Nagoya and then drive to Kiso Valley. It sounds complicated and indeed it is quite, but the reason we did all this is because it was cheeaaap. Sunday morning I had to go visit the family of the girl I hit on her bike with my car as part of tradition and it was all pleasant. I don't remember if I mentioned the fact I was in a car accident? It's all alright, no one was injured as I was going slow and technically I was in the right (she didn't stop at a stop sign) but I wasn't about to mess about with Tradition so we all sat around and I was asked the same questions that I'm normally asked by foreigners.

There was a night spent in Nagoya and picking up the car but I won't bother with those details; onto Kiso! The drive there is about 4 hours so all in all it does take quite a long time to get to Kiso from Tochigi. We arrived in Magome to a herd of people and decided then and there to do the hike from Magome to Tsumago as we might have run out of time otherwise. This hike is recommended in the Lonely Planet guide as being one of the top 20 favourite things to do in Japan and it was a really beautiful and peaceful walk so we weren't disappointed. It was about 8km but living in Upper Beaconsfield where there is perhaps a single area of flat land had perhaps seasoned my legs as it wasn't really too tough.



Upon arriving in Tsumago it was also pretty crowded so we had a bit of a gander and then tried to book our hotel. Long story short, everything was booked out but as I waited outside for Stephanie and the car (she had caught the bus to Magome to pick it up) a man who worked at the post office was about to leave to go home but he called someone and found a place that would take us in that night which was so nice of him! The owners of the place (called 'Suzume') even guided us from a nearby train station as it was a bit tricky to find without help and we were shown to a big building with tatami mats and everything that entails (sliding doors, cold, kneeling and awkward attempts to try and be traditional). Dinner was served at it was all delicious except for this tiny squid things which I have encountered before and that make my stomach turn. Eating raw meat is fine! Everything is generally fine! But chewing into these things and hitting a crunchy point that you know is the eye is just revolting.

Breakfast was a pretty salty affair and I experienced the cold sweat inducing horror that is; eating a fried egg with chopsticks. It wasn't too bad but sometimes I just want a fork to end my problems (in this circumstance to poke my eyeballs out with frustration, haaaa, I'm just joking). We opted to hit up Tsumago in the morning when there wouldn't be so many people and it was really nice! The wisteria that were growing there combined with the smell of burning wood and the street stalls was simply amazing! It's also worth noting that they had chestnut flavoured icecream there - ordinarily I wouldn't care but the Kanji that Japanese Microsoft Word turns my name into by default is kuri - Chestnut, Su - Nest. IIINTERESTINGGGGGG
For those interested there are in fact several kanji to represent someones name and I think half the fun is selecting the one that carries a particular thought representation. Kanji is complicated. Look it up.

A swift drive that was NOT aided by the Japanese navigational equipment lead us to the Torii Pass and we were greeted by rain but we would not be stopped. We walked that pass and it was over before we knew it! The Torii was pretty impressive and it was EXTRA special to know that in comparison to Magome and Tsumago that this place hadn't been visited by as many people. It was a really nice place! After a brief stint of being mislead by our inability to read complicated kanji we got to the car and tried searching in vain for the next place to visit which was a big gorge that is said to have the most amazing water in but we got lost, impatient, irritable and finally bored. Here is when we left to begin our long arduous journey home.

Let's just say it took (honestly, no exaggeration) about 12 hours and just leave it at that yeah?

So that was my golden week! I had a really good time! A big thank you goes out to Steph and it's a shame Hayley couldn't join us due to understimulation from Krudd but I guess our next big holiday are the summer holidays. SALLY! PARENTS! Anyone else?

Back to school tomorrow! Yey!

kris.


(public link to photos; http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=252744&id=680155088&l=270b66c34d )

(also sorry if the photos on here aren't formatted properly! It looks messy but it's all I can be bothered doing).