Day 5: Relocating to Matsumoto

Today we left our cute traditional room in Tokyo and caught our first bullet train. It was so smooth and quiet (most of the time) and the seats were incredibly comfy! I don't know how fast ours got because it was a short ride- about an hour and fifteen minutes- but it did get going pretty good for a while. The scenery from Tokyo to Nagano changed from all city as far as the eye could see to fields of rice interspersed with neighborhoods. At Nagano station, I snuck a picture in with our train before we transferred to the Shinano "Wide View" limited express train for Matsumoto. This felt sorta similar to an Amtrak train with larger windows. It was raining then even though the forecast said only 20% chance of rain, and it continued even after we reached Matsumoto!

Our hotel had our room ready early so we checked in right when we arrived, wet luggage and all. The hotel is right across from the train station and close to many restaurants and convenience stores. I was surprised and impressed with the room size and how many amenities have been squeezed into it. :P We have our own bathroom, view of the alps, fridge, and large tv, although it only has Japanese channels. :)

We ate lunch at Mos Burger, a burger chain maybe comparable to Burgerville. Mom had an American style burger while I got the "Mos Rice Burger", where the bun is made of rice and the filling is a bunch of fried veggies and shrimp. It was delicious! Afterwards we did some shopping at a local department store and were helped by an adorable Japanese lady who understood a little bit of English. ^_^

I think my favorite part of the day, though, was experiencing a traditional Japanese festival! At 7:30 this evening we walked about half a mile to a shrine where there were lanterns lining the streets and around 30 food & game vendors set up. Mom said it had the feel of a fair in America. There were so many types of festival food- octopus dumplings, okonomiyaki, shaved ice, crepes, etc. We shared a small okonomiyaki-like pancake with egg cooked inside and Japanese fried chicken. Both were amazing. So glad we braved the crowd! They even had people doing traditional Japanese dancing & playing court music. The atmosphere was unforgettable. :)

Tomorrow we will go see Matsumoto's most well-known sight, Matsumoto Castle. Good night!