Nagano, Niigata, and Kanazawa

What a fun week we had exploring the smaller cities to the north west of Tokyo in the Chubu region. We visited the cities of Niigata, Kanazawa, and Nagano and made several day trips to super interesting areas nearby. A fantastic festival, a cool castle, a multitude of monkeys, and the usual dose of shrines, temples, and tasty food.

Monday 16th June: Kashiwazaki

Today we headed down the coast on the train to explore the Enma Markets in Kashiwazaki. This is a well known festival in the area that has around 300 food markets lining the streets. We arrived and it was still a bit quiet as the stalls were just opening, however we were absolutely starving so after a walk around all the stands, we got some tasty pancake stick things which were blooming delicious and Mike chose a whole bbq’d squid which we won’t talk about!

We then headed to the temple which the festival is based around and got a goshuin stamp to make our time here. After that we headed to what they called a beach. Well safe to say it was nothing on the Aussie beaches and you wouldn’t have seen me swimming but it was nice to get the fresh air from the sea. We walked along the water front path to the Banjin shrine which had some Torii gates in the sea. It was low tide when we were there so we could head across to the gates which was nice but they really could really do with some TLC.

After a quick ice cream pit stop we walked up the hill to the Banjin Temple and it was truly stunning and very open for us to explore. We headed back down and along the minatomachi beach path. We again had worked up an appetite so I got a Kappa Stick which is a pickled cucumber with a kind of kimchi spread on the outside. I loved it but it was absolutely Mikes idea of a nightmare. He however treated himself to a cheesy mash potato deep fried stick thing which seemed to be their go-to festival food and it was tasty but very heavy! A chilled train ride back to Niigata and some yummy soba noodles for dinner, we then headed back to the hotel to rest up.

Tuesday 17th: Niigata

Today we did some prime tourism: a trip to the Rice Cake factory. We did the double experience which involved cooking and decorating a giant rice cracker and then a tasting experience. Do you know what we thought we wouldn’t have loved it, but actually we had a blast. We started with the decoration of a giant rice cracker, we had to heat it over the grill multiple times before painting it with soy sauce and then repeating the process. We were pretty proud of our artwork when we had finished! The tasting was also quite fun, we had a choice of toppings and then had to shake the container to coat the crackers. We chose the yuzu and ume plum flavour and they were yummy. The ume plum was nicer than the yuzu but we did enjoy both.

Continuing on our tourism of Niigata, we went to the Imayo Tsukasa Sake Brewery for a tour in English. It was really nice and we learnt a lot about the different ‘levels’ of sake depending on how much they polished the rice. The tour was really nice and seeing how they still had 2 of the old style fermentation barrels/kegs to bring back the older school flavour which they were so known for. We smelled some Sake Lees which is the leftover cake like substance after they have filtered/pressed the sake post fermentation.

After the tour we learned about the wreath-like ball which they hang outside the door. This is green when they have freshly brewed sake and turns brown over time as the sake matures. We did a few tasters of different sake and had a sake lees ice cream. The ice cream was more my vibe but Mike really enjoyed the Sake. We played the gacha machines and won 2 sake wooden cups which are really lovely and then got a couple of small bottles of sake to take away with us! On our tour was a really lovely American lady with her mum, partner and baby who just happened to work in tourism in Niigata. She recommended we headed to Nishiohatacho and the Saito Villa which was a beautiful samurai house and garden. A really calm and relaxing way to finish our day in Niigata.

Our final recommendation was a Special Tonkatsu which is a local delicacy. We went to a restaurant with some really good reviews and we can absolutely see why. The special dipping/sweet and sour sauce really gave the pork tonkatsu a delicious twist. (Note from Mike 3 months later: I regret not buying a jar of it!).

Wednesday 18th: Niigata to Kanazawa

Another travel day today but this time not too far as we were only heading to Kanazawa. We took an early train as we had booked a cooking class for the evening and we knew there was lots to explore! After dropping our bags at the hotel, we headed down towards the kenrokuen park and grabbed a delicious set meal on the way. We both got a yummy plate of sashimi, I had a salmon steak, Mike had tempura, and then as with most set meals, we got miso, rice and pickles to go with it. The big difference was this had some sort of set custard-y fishy dessert thing. It was awful and we definitely wouldn’t order it from a menu!

Our next stop was a lovely little Inari shrine which almost mimicked the massive one in Kyoto but thankfully this was much quieter and you didn’t have to hike a mountain. Next stop was the kenrokuen park which was stunning. The blossom was gone but they had some lovely flowers and a little river/water feature running through it. We loved exploring all the little nooks and crannies and we’re lucky enough to watch the koi carp being fed by the warden of the park. Oh, and we also saw the oldest water fountain in Japan that was gravity fed by the large pond slightly higher up in the park.

We headed back to the hotel to properly check in before our cooking class. The cooking class was just a few minutes down the road and we had worked up an appetite by the time we arrived. Our chef for the evening was called Seiji and we were the only students. We put on our chef aprons, chose our fancy knives to use, and had a blast for the evening! We learnt how to make a proper Japanese folded omelette, a dashi broth, some super tasty sushi, a delicious local stew, and an easy green salad. The food was super scrumptious, especially the flambéd scallop sushi! With full bellies we retired back to the hotel and are super glad we have the recipes!

Thursday 19th: Kanazawa

A full day in Kanazawa to explore the other things on offer, we started nice and early with a visit to the Castle and Gardens. It was pumping heat, predicted to be around 30-35C by 11am so we tried to stay in the shade but that proved hard work. The castle itself wasn’t much to shout about as it was mostly gone but they are rebuilding it so it was cool to read about their plans. The gardens however were lovely again and very different and had some beautiful old bridges and statues around them. We headed around the park and through another little hidden walking path to find the geisha district. We also came across a stunning shrine - Oyama-Jinja which has some stained-glass in it which was beautiful with the sun shining through it.

Our next stop was the Geisha and tea district called Higashi Chaya. By this point we were starving for some real food so after a quick search, we came across a ramen shop just on the edge of the district. We got there and it turned out to be the smallest and most local style restaurant we had been to. We each ordered the pork ramen, cooked up by a very old couple, it was blooming delicious and at 900Y in total an absolute bargain.

The area was lovely and quaint and we visited a number of old tea houses. In one of them we were treated to a yummy matcha tea and some fresh sweets which were made of aduzuki beans and their designs inspired by flowers. They didn’t picture very well, but in person they looked much better. We continued our stroll and saw a couple having a wedding shoot which was cool. The kimono was stunning but she must have been so hot, bless her. As we were leaving the area we noticed some freshly made taiyaki which were in the shape of a geisha and we just had to try them. We got one caffe latte and one custard. The hot cake section was delicious and the filling was also yummy.

I had a job interview in the evening so we were back early for me to prep and Mike to do the washing. After the end of the interview we popped out literally next door to a ramen restaurant. It was yummy with thick pieces of pork and we devoured everything in our bowls!

Friday 20th: Kanazawa to Nagano

To finish up our time in Kanazawa we spent the morning exploring the samurai district - an old part of the town where samurai houses have been passed down generations and are often open to the public to explore. We explored one house that had a beautiful garden and even a gallery for old currency and katanas that were passed down the family. Our quick visit to the nearby tourist information centre meant we saw a giant lion head mask and a pretty sunshade umbrella, and we finished up with a visit to an old style merchant house. Oh, and we called by a chocolate shop for some delicious chocolate soft serve ice creams in the sweltering heat (as well as passing by a somewhat questionably named cafe!).

A train journey later and we were in Nagano. As usual we checked in, dropped off our bags, and went out to explore. We walked up to the Winter Olympics memorial to view the tower there, but it turns out the tower is about trophy size and on a small plinth, so needless to say we were somewhat disappointed. After a brief wander around the area we found our first actual Izakaya to eat at. We got an assortment of dishes to eat including sushi, a banging salad, and even some wasabi raw octopus. Unlike the local business folk we did not take advantage of the heavy drinking offers! With full tummy’s we headed off to the hotel to plan out the rest of our days in Nagano.

Saturday 21st: Nagano

Today we headed out for another one of our must-do things in Japan: seeing the hot pool monkeys! We caught an hour-long coach from the Nagano Train station to Yamanochi, before then taking a bus and a 30 minute walk through the mountain forest to reach the monkey onsen area. We had timed our visit just right as the monkeys were raising their little babies which were super duper cute! Despite the heat we even saw a monkey or two wade through the hot pool. There were so many monkeys around and they were playing and tumbling around and just lounging in the sun. We loved our trip even though it was pretty busy.

We had some spare time so we walked back down to see Yamanochi and try to get a monkey goshuin at the nearby temple. Unfortunately the outskirts of town was very quiet, and the temple itself seemed closed, so we jumped back on the bus and returned to Nagano.

Once back in Nagano, we headed up the Main Street to the Zen Mojo Temple to get a goshuin and explore the beautiful temple which so many come to visit. We got slightly distracted on the way up, and ended up in a quaint little shop which sold Oyaki, which are almost a mix of bao buns and dumplings. We got a pumpkin one, and an aubergine one and we probably could have tried all of them, but we had to keep going up to the temple. It had a sign saying it was one of the oldest/founding temples from China and you can see why. There was a goshuin trail where you could visit each of the 5 huge buildings, go inside, explore and get a series of unique goshuin at each one. We really loved it and even better than thank we didn’t have to pay to enter the temples!

On our walk back down, we popped into the Nagano Brewery for a little drink. We tried a sour and a hazy, they were very good so Mike also got a weird one to go away with. Sadly we didn’t love it, but it did live up to its description of craft cola crossed with Gin!

30000 steps later, we needed to eat so we headed to a tempura and Soba Noodle restaurant. They were absolutely stoked to have us there because they didn’t normally get tourists and we could see why it was so full of locals/Japanese families. The soba is hand made in store and so soft and tasty and the broth to go with it was also delicious. At the end, they gave you some hot noodle water in a tea pot to dilute down the broth into a sort of tea. It was like drinking a savoury tea but with the starchy water it was almost creamy as well.

Sunday 22nd: Matsumoto

Another day trip today (there isn’t a huge amount in Nagano city!) so we headed out to Matsumoto. The main attraction was Matsumoto castle, but on the way we found a cute little series of shops and a shrine next to the river. These shops were all frog-themed, and there were frog statues everywhere! We don’t really know why though as we didn’t see or hear a real frog, but even the shrine had frog statues! The castle itself was 6 stories tall with a large moat. It had lots of information on its defence history and even an exhibition inside showing lots of historical rifles and weapons. And a cracking view from the top, definitely worth a visit.

After our trip round the castle we went for lunch. The information centre didn’t disappoint with their recommendations - a tonkatsu cafe which was another local delicacy and oh so tasty. With full tummy’s, we headed to a nearby street which was known as the shopping street but there wasn’t really much to see so we didn’t spend much time apart from finding a magnet! After that we headed towards a well, there were heaps around the town but this one was the most well known. There was a local in his car who filled up about 7 2L bottles with fresh water and then a number of others came along too. The water was beautifully cold and tasted really yummy, much nicer than Alice springs water in Aussie! We took a stroll back and came across a food/wine festival but we were too full to get anything and then went to the Mechanical Clock which the signs raved about. I’m sure when it strikes on the hour it is pretty impressive, but at the random time we were there it didn’t show much apart from the time! Having done most of Matsumoto (we didn’t have time to head out into the Japanese Alps for a hike) we headed back to Nagano.

We went for a walk around Nagano to explore the city, found some quaint little shops with kitchen ware, chopsticks and beautiful artwork and built up our appetite for a banging bowl of Ramen in a hugely popular restaurant. We definitely arrived at the right time though as by the time we left the queue was out of the door!

So much tasty food and plenty of great memories off the beaten path of Japan. Next up: we see out our closing week of our Japan visit by visiting Mt. Fuji and returning to Tokyo for a few more days.