Tateyama, Korobe Trip ( Part I )－愛說故事給愛聽故事的人StoryTeller

Tateyama, Korobe Trip 立山黑部之旅

We joined a package tour with 5 days 4 nights to Taeyama, Korobe (in the middle of Japan) due to it's more convenience and cheaper than we arrange the trip ourselves.

First Day-we arrived at Nagoya airport which located in the Chubu region - see "D" (05/31/2006):

The 1st day we stayed in the OGAKI-EKIMAE APA hotel, which located in GiFu Prefecture(歧阜縣), we enjoy our little hot spring on the top of the hotel (see picture below), I'm glad that we can take our shower here due to our room is extremely small, I'm hardly to unpack my luggage or turn myself around in my little single room.

We took the late flight to Japan, so when we arrive this hotel, it already around 10:00pm, therefore, we only went to the convenient store to buy some drink. The tour guide actually invited us to the Japanese bar (居酒屋). Unfortunately, I was too tired, so I didn't go with them. If you have a chance to visit Japan, you must invite a local people to take you to experience the Japanese bar. This is the place for the people who didn't want to go home directly after work, they usually will come to this place, and have saki (Japanese wine), or beers with colleagues, friends, or chatting with the bar owner if you visit alone. I think it just like British pub, no matter where you're from in the world, people will need to find someone to talk to, and drink wine/beers to make themselves drunk and try to forget the bad things have been happened to them. So I'm sure if you visit these places, you won't complain that "I ain't even got no one to talk to!"

常常朋友都會建議如果到日本，應該去去居酒屋，與老闆聊聊天，了解一下當地的風俗民俗，吃吃當地小吃，喝喝清酒，很可惜這次沒機會去，去年到東京有嘗試過，覺得蠻有趣的，它不是一個讓你可以吃到飽的地方，只是下班時與朋友喝酒，然後彼此抱怨一下工作的辛苦，因為回家後還是要再吃吃家裡準備好的飯菜。聽導遊說，其實價格不是很貴，所以下次去日本玩要嘗試看看哦！


Map of Japan	OGAKI-EKIMAE APA hotel - top floor hot spring


Map from Nagoya -> Gifu -> Nagano	Magome (馬籠宿) to Tsumago (妻籠宿).

Day 2- Magome (馬籠宿) Sight Seeing Trip (06/01/2006):

When you come here, you can return to the Japan of 300 years ago.

The weather is really nice, the tree is so green that I thought it is not real on our way to Magome, which located in the Nagano Prefecture (長野縣).

Magome was the forty-third of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendo (中山道), the ancient road that connected Kyoto and Edo (=Tokyo), where used by SAMURAI commanders . It was a really important road for economics & politics development for Japan, such as the road to Rome & Silk road. This well-preserved section is now a popular tourist destination. Usually, people will take walk from Magome to Tsumago (2->3, see map above, it will take you around 2.5~3 hrs), becuase of our tight schedule, so we only take some walk from 1 to 2, you will own a certificate if you walk away from Magome (馬籠宿) to Tsumago (妻籠宿).

這是欣賞日本古代建築的地方，馬籠宿是中山道69站裡的第43站，現在仍保存的很好，好像回到日本300年前的感覺。中山道是一條連接京都和東京的古路，是很重要的經濟和政治的發展道路。


Magome, Looking down	Magome, Looking up

The central feature of Magome is its restored row of houses along the former post road, which runs at a slope between the town's low and high ends. Most were build for common people in the mid-1700s, with shops and inns for travelers along the Nakasendo highway. It's really enjoyable to walk around here to see old Japanese building & buy souvenir around here, the electronics power was re-build & hidden underneath of the road, therefore, you won't be able to see any wire pole here.

馬籠宿有提供旅行者休息和住宿的地方，就像中國古代的客棧。這裡仍有經營一些民宿，下次如果有時間自己安排行程，可在此居住。


Souvenir shop	Tea house

Our lunch has served the Soba noodle (簥麵), which is famous in ShinShu (信州). Soba noodles are native Japanese noodles made of buckwheat flour (soba-ko) and wheat flour (komugi-ko). The most basic soba dish is zaru soba in which boiled, cold soba noodles are eaten with a soya based dipping sauce (tsuyu). I also ordered the Pork with Rice & miso soup, because I really like Japanese rice, and the dish that I ordered ………is delicious.

簥麵是信州最有名的特產，記得要吃看看哦！為什麼日本米這麼好吃，我好想帶一包回家，可是行李裝不下。


Taoban (ceramics dish) cuisine – pork with rice, Miso soup	Soba Noodle

After our lunch, our bus was taking us towards to our Mayoko-Pine Valley resort in Myoko Kogen(妙高高原), it’s a ski & golf resort. The room & hot spring are much bigger than city center, and while you take the hot spring, you should lift your head up, so you will be able to view the moon with stars together. After we had a hot spring, we also do the massage with each other, just tried to relieve our back pain.

Everything is perfect today, except I lost my Canon battery in this hotel.

原本今年年初計畫到日本新瀉縣滑雪(離這裡很近)，很可惜沒去成功，我們這次住的飯店聽說打高爾夫球和滑雪都很有名，真的佔地很廣，經營此APA Hotel的女社長，在日本很有名，來此的路上的飯店招牌上面都有她的肖像，更誇張的是她還出書(你住的房間內，會擺一本讓你看)，還賣手機吊飾，真是夠了！