The Kamikochi bus terminal
Raph looking bored out of his skull at the Kamikochi bus terminal
Today was another bright morning and after breakfast we readied ourselves, cleaned the bungalow and set off with our heavy bags to the bus terminal 15 minutes away. Kamikochi was quiet, but there were already a few people milling around as we waited 20 minutes for our bus heading in the direction of Matsumoto on the other side of the mountains.
Emerging from the bus/taxi-only tunnel from Kamikochi
The bus left Kamikochi at 10.10 and, once we had emerged from the tunnel which links the resort with Route 158 connecting Takayama and Matsumoto, we descended the road which follows the narrow valley of Azusa-gawa where there were three impressive hydro-dams en route. As it happened, the bus only took us as far as Shinshimashima, where there was a railhead for the local train to Matsumoto. There we switched onto the Highland Railway, a bummel-train which advanced at a slow pace towards Nagano-ken's second largest city.
At Shinshimashima
In Matsumoto we had 2 and a half hours to spare before catching the train to Tokyo and it was our plan to use the time wisely and visit Japan's oldest wooden castle: one of four designated National Treasures, the other castles being at Hikone (visited), Himeji (seen from the Shinkansen station) and Inuyama (the latter which we had espied on our journey to Takayama).
Matsumoto castle
The sun was beating down when we hit Matsumoto (pop. 227,000) and we fairly laboured our way to the castle 15 minutes distant from the station. Inside the castle keen we tagged on to an English-speaking guide (Yakuki) who explained the ins-and-outs of the castle as we climbed the ever steepening staircases inside to the sixth and top storey. These castles are so compact (but nevertheless quite beautiful), that it is almost impossible to imagine samurai dashing about inside trying to engage the enemy outside. But as Yakuki expounded, at the time the castle was built in Matsumoto, Japan was a peaceful country and one of the main reasons it survived was because the castle had never been besieged or struck by lighting. A lucky history, one might say.
The view out of the window on the 14.49 Azusa Special to Tokyo was extremely easy on the eye. We sat back and watched the Japanese countryside roll by, with forested hills on either side. Japanese settlements seem to cling to valleys and coastal plains rather than encroach into the mountains around them. Our only gripe was that Mount Fuji was shrouded in stormclouds.
Arriving back in Tokyo
We arrived at Tokyo's Shinjuku station at 17.26 and less than an hour later had checked in to our hotel near Ueno.
Tokyo Tower
In Raph's relentless pursuit to squeeze as much as possible out of Japan in the three weeks we were there, we decided to head off to Roppingi, about 12 stops down the line and ascend the Tokyo Tower, a replica of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Lonely Planet describes the night-time view of Tokyo as stellar. It was okay - no major landmarks to recognise like in Paris, but lots of major traffic arteries and office blocks to admire down below. Roppingi is a strange district and home to most of Tokyo's diplomatic corps - we passed the heavily guarded Russian embassy on the walk there. The central area is buzzing with nightlife and lots of Africans tempting us to try out the strip-clubs. In fact, Roppingi was the most cosmopolitan district we had come across so far and seemed to be the place where Tokyo's ex-pat community hangs out.
The view from the top
It was gone ten by the time we had eaten and boarded the metro back to our hotel, but the train was full of salarymen wending their way home. Had they only just finished work? Life in Tokyo would not suit me ...
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