We decided late last night (7pm) that we should get some sleep for a long Monday. 2:30am came and went, and no regrets were voiced.
At around 7am we hit the streets of the Tsujiki outer market. Our hotel was situated just within the border of the market and the deeper you went, the crazier it became.
Below is a collection of photos of the market experience.
Following the Tsukiji market, we packed our bags and toak the Metro to Tokyo Station where we picked up a JR bullet train headed to Nagoya. At Nagoya, we then took a metro to Nakatsugawa.
Nakatsugawa is a small sleepy station full of families and kids traveling to and from school and activities. It’s a mountainous region, with beautiful skies and misty mountains.
As we waited for the bus, we heard cracks of thunder break out, and saw the inevitable rain approach the top of the mountain. Since we were committed to the hike, we purchased some ponchos and loaded ourselves on the bus to Magome, which is a quite little post town about 7.6 Km from Tsumago where we hoped to take the bus to our hotel.
Areliving in Magome, we were thrilled to see the old way of Japan was kept intact for the tourists. A rock pathway directed us where to go, along with sign posts in Japanese and English (Yay!)
As we climbed the path towards Tsumago, the sky ripped open and the thunder erupted. We kept on, knowing that we had ponchos and umbrellas to keep us mostly dry. And we were glad we did!
We found our way to Tsumago, and were rewarded with sights of an old post town. Because we arrived so late, there was a welcome silence as we strolled past the historical buildings.
Because of the lack of people, we became a bit worried that the shuttle and taxi services may be shut down – and they were. So, we tightened our pack belts, set a course on Apple maps, and walked the remaining 4.2Km to our hotel – UPHILL!
It soon became very dark, the sidewalk disappeared. Then, after we discussed how much crab and steak we would eat at the buffet, we began exchanging complaints about our legs and hips.
Because our cell phones did not work, we tried stopping to call the hotel at a pay phone. Unfortunately, Google translate didn’t work well with the slow service, and we didn’t know to dial ‘0’ before we dialed the number. Oh well, we kept on going.
Our small flashlight lit our way as we avoided being hit by zooming micro-cars, but we finally arrived at Hotel Kosiji.
After getting aquatinted with our Ryoken, we scarfed down some crab and steak buffet dinner. Afterwards, Millie headed to the massage room and Brett fell asleep on the futon laid out on the floor.
What a day!