January 7, 2024

Today is our last day in Tokyo for now….first a goodbye to our Mt. Fuji view…

We packed up (everything fit back in the bags) boarded the train for Kawagoe and then on to Nagano. Kawagoe is about an hour north of Tokyo.

We were not here to see a the bell tower (Toki no Kane) but instead we stopped here in the way to Nagano to make chopsticks.

This word working shop – Karaki Mokko – was something a friend recommended and it was a lot of fun. I had a really hard time navigating reservations but ended up contacting them on Instagram (where they also had a helpful video on the buses to get there).

Turned out there are lots of walking also as this is on a busy shopping street. After stashing our bags and venturing in the bus we got there and had time to take in some of the shops.

We started with Macha ice cream.

Then we saw a crème brûlée sweet potato. Apparently Kawagoe is famous for its sweet potatoes from back in ancient times. The dish was yummy.

After we snacked, we start making chop sticks. You select the wood you want. We choose Purple Heart and Predoo woods. You then use their forms to shave them into the right shape.

Once shaved down you sand and oil them.

After that we set out for the train station and boarded our Shinkansen train (high speed) for Nagano.

We then zoomed up to Nagano. The train got going north of 180 mph it seemed based on the phone app I downloaded.

Arriving in Nagano we tried to order a car but ended up just hopping in a cab the old fashion way and headed to our inn – Shioriya.

The inn is lovely. We stayed in a Japanese style room where we slept on the floor.

The husband and wife who ran the inn are lovely. They bore with us and our lack of Japanese and helped us get acclimated to the area. We set out and explored a samurai battle field nearby that hosted part of the battles of Kawanakajima.

Then we got sushi at a restaurant that delivers the sushi to you on conveyor belts.

Then we found yet another scramble crossing. We tried to fill it up but no luck.

A good start…the inn is near the Nagano Olympic park from 1998…so in closing, the street lights that seem meant to evoke the winter games.