Today we decided to head out on separate day trips, and meet back in the evening. I was very keen to sample one of the ski resorts for a day, whereas Tom was more interested in exploring some local sights such as Matsumoto castle.
I left the hotel first, getting an early train to Iiyama, and a bus from there to Nozawa Onsen. In Iiyama I found this cheerful piece of origami on the floor. I think it is one that someone had collected from the ticket desk, as they had them free for visitors to take on there.
The ski village, Nozawa Onsen, has Onsen in its name, as it is built on a hot spring, and there are Onsen baths dotted all over the village. This is the view looking up a quaint street, which I walked up to get the ski lift, after hiring some kit.
This little temple building was completely ensconced in snow!
Looking back down the street you can see huge swathes of snow drooping everywhere.
Looking up from the foot of the cable car (which goes up just behind the building on the left), you can see some of the ski pistes. It was quite snowy for the first few hours, but visibility was still acceptable, with the added bonus that the fresh snow made it a dream to ski on.
It was quite quiet, and the runs were long. There were plenty of easy and safe options to take, with the steeper runs being wide to give you lots of space to turn. All the runs were lined with picturesque snow covered trees. They made it sheltered, and magical!
This was the highest point in the resort.
A particularly quiet moment, I couldn't resist stopping for a photo before the next people came past. It was perfect skiing!
The clouds came and went, with different parts of the mountain at different times being the clearest. It meant the views were never the same, and each run felt different! This piste is the skyline course, taking a ridge line down the mountain.
A glimpse of the town below.
Glorious!
And some fabulous icicles!
Due to a mix up in tickets (I bought a ticket for the wrong bus!) I had an hour to wait before going back, but there was a tiny Onsen across the road from the bus stop. It was from a natural source, and had that slightly sulphurous smell of a hot mineral spring. It was really toasty, and was amazing to soak for ten minutes to rest the achey ski limbs. And best of all, it was free to go in! I chatted to an Australian lady who was getting in at the same time as me, and it was nice to have a post-ski debrief with another English speaker!
Meanwhile!!!
Tom found a lovely drain cover in Matsumoto...
...and a friendly regional mascot!
There was evidence of an Olympic torch! (I just asked Tom if he stood on the podium- he says until now he didn't notice that bit! Oops, hehe).
Tom had a sunny walk through a park, and found pigeons!
Look how different the weather was for him! At this point I was still in foggy snow.
Here is the view from the top of Matsumoto castle.
And a view of the spectacular castle, along with another friendly mascot. It seems everywhere in Japan has its own smiley character. You are able to climb all the way to the top of the main building, and visit the side buildings on your way up.
This is one of the castle's three moats.
Here's an interesting egg sculpture, captured by Tom at 4 minutes past 3. It plays a fun tune, as music-playing creatures spin around inside. Tom was just ready to take a photo when the egg decided to close. Seeing as he didn't want to wait an hour for (when he presumed) the next show would be, the rest of us must imagine how they look!
Tom hit the jackpot, and found another fish supplier, whilst having another look around Nagano. He also bought me one, which was a nice surprise when we met up :-)
I got on the train in Iiyama, and Tom got on the same train ten minutes later in Nagano. We continued together on to Tokyo, as we decided it would be a good idea to travel tonight, ready to have our last full day in Tokyo. Can't believe it's our penultimate sleep in Japan already!
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