Leaving for Nagano

We kicked off our last day in Tokyo with a trip to the famous Tsukijishijo fish market. Apparently it is featured in a beautiful film called Jiro Dreams of Sushi. The market was bustling and most surprisingly did NOT smell bad! I saw many a crustacean and cephalopod I had never laid eyes on.

Also attached to the fish market was a fruits and vegetables market. Desperate for fresh fruit (and any form of fibre) I purchased an apple and a pack of 4 figs for $8. Yikes! It was totally worth it. They were frickin' delicious.

We rushed back to the hotel to check out and catch our train to Nagano. A short ride later, we arrived at the hotel, left our bags and were off to see Zenkoji the bhudddist temple. There was a huge gate, Sanmon, leading to the complexs. Inside the main temple complex, Hondo, there was a drum stage, a prayer area, and the entrance to Okaidan (a completely dark tunnel below the temple). The tunnel starts with a sharp staircase and goes in 3/4 of a circle. It symbolizes the journey from sin to salvation, moving from darkness to light. Additionally it houses a sacred object. You run your hand along the right wall until you find the "key to paradise". Which is more like a pull knob. Mostly, it was just full of school children yelling and running the wrong way.

We left the darkness and proceeded to examine the other buildings in the complex. Besides a lovely lotus garden full of turtles, most of the complexes are still in use and therefore closed to the public.

The shops lining the steep street leading to the temple were full of beautiful handicrafts and goods. I bought a handmade ceramic owl and a pair of chopsticks. Jeff bought hand carved wooden animal figurines painted with black ink. I don't have a picture because the shop lady wrapped them in a ridiculous amount of bubble wrap, which was greatly appreciated.

Along the way, we learned about tanuki, a badger dog spirit that has enormous balls and a giant bottle of sake. The legendary tanuki is reputed to be mischievous and jolly, a master of disguise and shapeshifting, but somewhat gullible and absent minded.

As JD and I perused the shops, we lost track of the rest of our little group so decided to turn down the colourful and vibrant Arcade Gonda street. There were snack shops, zen gardens, and clothing shops mostly.

There were other shops as well...

We returned to the hotel just in time to head out for dinner with the whole group. Our table shared a lovely bottle of sake and I had cold soba with a dipping sauce I would like to straight chug out of a giant vat. It was hella delicious.

I have to take a minute to talk about a paradox here. In Japan it is considered polite to slurp your noodles. It tells the staff you are enjoying them immensely. However, they do not provide or use napkins... Slurping without spraying myself in sauce or broth is a skill I have yet to master.

Next the group headed out to a local whiskey bar for drinks. I'm not a fan of whiskey, so it was many, many beers for me.

A smaller group (we were dropping like flies) headed to another bar where I made friends with a table of locals. They refused to let me buy a round of drinks and also refused to stop buying us drinks. Although I had a great time making new friends at the bar, it was a rough night and a rough day to come... Ugh... I'm too old for this stuff.