Kamikochi

On to Kamikochi. After a delightful Japanese style breakfast – complete with breakfast fish, interesting vegetables (I love some of the pickled choices they have) , rice and tea, we took indulge in a Starbucks – yes, they've even made it to the train station in Matsumoto (McDonalds, not to be outdone, is across the street- and open 24hours - unheard of in Japan). A short train ride took us to the bus station for our trip up the mountain. It was at this point I was truly happy we were NOT driving our own car. First, the road is very windy and VERY narrow and EVERYONE is in a big hurry to get up the mountain. As we snaked around the severely meandering road we met hundreds of cars, all navigating the same path. There were also a large number of buses and trucks on the road, requiring very tight maneuvering every time they passed each other. To add to this, the Japanese realized much sooner than we ever did that certain places should be closed to cars because there are just too many of the required to get all the people up into the valley (it's similar to Yosemite – a smallish, closed area). So…roughly 20 minutes from where we started on the bus, all of these cars are sitting in lines on the road, attempting to enter the rather packed parking lots – also necessitating some more creative passing on the part of the buses (remember, this is the land of the tire wide, foot deep drainage ditches). At this point I was VERY happy to be merrily watching the scenery go by….

We took off for a hike around the lower area, hoping to spot changing leaves – they were indeed elusive but there were plenty of great things to see along the way. My favorite place was Myojin Pond – a relatively small pond with a meandering path that took you to scenic lookouts around the water. The paths were so convoluted you could even have moments when you were the only person in sight (though not many). We found our best shots of fall colors there – it would be wonderful to go up again in a few weeks…..