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No Maiku today just an apology for lack of electricity outlets on the train to Hakodate where we now are at 7 in the morning. There’s a post about Osaka and quite a story about the journey to Hokkaido to come when we check in later today – not until 4 pm. So with a lick and a promise on board, we’re off to explore Hakodate’s fish and morning markets and the view from Mount Hakodate over the Pacific Ocean on one side and the Sea of Japan on the other. And whatever else the town has to offer – the cherry blossom might be OK up here.

 As we leave the lakes

        behind and head off inland

        what may lie ahead?

We slept late today only just beating a chambermaid’s knock at the door – check out is ten and it’s now nine-fifteen. Sorry but we needed it. We’re a little late leaving but there’s no discussion of extra charges and it’s all smiles and bows as we depart. Our plan was to circumnavigate one of the bigger lakes, Lake Motosuko, and find the spot from which Fuji is depicted on the ¥1000 note. It’s a clear, warm, sunny day and being a Saturday tourists are out in full cry. The lake is lovely and we find several spots, including the Treasury’s, from which to admire the clearest waters of the lake and the cloud free beauty of the mountain. Being quite high clouds are always a problem when you are looking for that special image.

We then entered the next hotel’s phone number into the SatNav and set off along Route 30 which began with a series of tunnels and then into successive hairpin bends through a pass. It made our route as displayed on the screen look like a coiled snake. Through a stunning landscape which had conifers mingled with fresh burst leaves of acers in the brightest of greens with candyfloss puffs of cherry blossoms punctuating the view – just gorgeous. We felt very happy to be driving Route 30. It headed towards Nagano with surrounding mountains still well capped with snow and a couple of huge downhill ski runs cascading down the mountains. We then hit the plain, joined the Chuo Expressway again and as usual anywhere in the world the drive was efficient but less fun. With a speed limit of 80 kph on the signs I was glad to see the majority of drivers were as partially sighted as me – Dee didn’t think my excuse “I was going with the flow just keeping up with everybody else” would work in a court of law but luckily I wasn’t called upon to produce it.

Off the expressway towards our destination we thought we should fill up the tank as filling stations might not be too numerous in the mountains. I had the phrase ready but when I asked the attendant “Regyuar mandan kudasai” he replied, “Selfo. Press Igris.” The machine burst into life showing grade choices, cash or full tank options and a flashing slot for my credit card. Full tank, all set and they had loos available – much needed after two hours in the car. Easy!

Next stage not quite so good. We drive down the Kiso Valley ogling wood craft factories and shops, lacquer ware outlets as we pass but thinking we should find the hotel(?) first and then explore. SatNav lady informed us we had reached our destination as we stopped outside the cemetery at Tsumago one of the famous post towns on the Nakasendo Trail. Well the words Tsumago did occur somewhere in the address but I wasn’t at all sure we were actually staying in this town. There was a shuttered, derelict looking building to our right, two rather lovely cherry blossom trees just coming out nicely but no sign of anywhere we could sleep.

We accost a likely looking school boy who gets out his iPhone , switches from Kanji to roman input and gets me to enter the name. The result is unclear but my lightbulb flashes and I go to get the tablet and our router to see if Google maps could help. By this time another tourist group has gathered and suggest we go to the Tourist Information Office who should be able to assist. The whole group guide us down the hill to the office where a lady with enough English summons the innkeeper to come and fetch us. He indicates where we should drive and he will meet us at the bus stop which was marked on the town tourist map. The Shimosagaya Hotel that I’d booked on Agoda was described as Japanese style – but even the town map calls it an inn. It’s actually a minshuku a family run B&B. We shed our shoes and climb a steep ladder-like staircase that would have taxed Toddy in his heyday but with Dee’s knee and our multiple luggage it’s a struggle.

The room we’re shown to however is a delight. It’s a six mat tatami room with a table, cushions, hot water and tea and some delicious plums provided as a welcome. Oh and the loo has aheated seat an the “toto wash system” built in – use your imagination. Later while we were dining, the table was moved to one side and futons and duvets were put out for us to sleep. We go out to explore this extremely well restored town of Tsumago on the old route from Kyoto to Tokyo. It has loads of wooden houses from the converted into fairly touristy shops with local crafts – some of the wooden objects were glorious. We’d been told dinner was served at six so we had to hurry back to make ourselves presentable to join other guests.

As for dinner! Well just look at these before and after pictures. We had virtually no idea what we were eating but apart from a couple of pickled root vegetables we polished it off. There was one other couple dining alongside us and a few conversational gambits were exchanged including amazement at our itinerary and some notes about what we were eating.

And what were we eating? Our trays included a fish complete with head, skin and bones – although we were encouraged “heado goodo” we were given dispensation to leave the head – some fabulous salmon sashimi, tightly curled fern tops, wasabi leaf with sesame, local vegetables in tempura, a superbly tasty clear miso soup and that future source of protein for all of us – grasshoppers. Yes we have both eaten grasshoppers with enjoyment and delight so we’ll be the survivors when the food runs out.

 We’ve now retired to plan tomorrow and blog but even with our own router there’s no signal deep down in the valley in the middle of town so we’ll have to go up to the cemetery in the morning to try to post and work out our route with Google maps or Navitime.

And so to bed.

  So, from Gate Five Two

          can the great white bird fly us

          to our wonderland?

Alarm clock goes off. 7:00 am. Time to finish packing, put on washing machine and dishwasher and prepare to leave. London: grey,wet chilly. Look at the weather forecast for Tokyo: 21 C and sunny. Oh where would we rather be? Pick up newspaper from the door mat. I thought I’d have the last delivery today as there would be time to read it on the way to the airport. What a mistake that was. Totally full of The Iron Lady Who Was Not for Turning; page after page of the stuff, guff and ill-remembered hagiography. Thankfully she didn’t make the sports pages although I quite expected a piece on her captaincy of Grantham Girls’ Netball team to feature. OK so some of you reading this will hold a differnt view but hey let’s get on and right the ills that face us now. At least we won’t be around for the funeral and all the attendant outpourings. Dee’s window for a break proves to be excellent timing after all.

So that and what follows should have been posted at Heathrow before we left but both WiFi networks available at Terminal 5 were barred by my system as posing severe threats. So by the time this sign came up I was a doubly-distressed would-be traveller. This was not however until after a little last minute shopping in Boots and elsewhere which seems to accompany any trip however well planned.

The flight itself was long but uneventful and entirely sleep-free on account of leaving London at 13:30 and not being tired until shortly before we arrived in Japan some eleven hours later. Ah well we’ll just have to keep up and get going. One of the excellent flight crew who looked after  us in our cleverly selected emergency-exit-extra-legroom seat was amazed at the scope of our voyage into the relatively unexplored – at least by westerners – hinterland as well as the beaten track. She also confirmed sadly that not only had hanami come early this year because of the unusually warm spring (hands over ears Brits) but that last weekend there had been extremely strong winds which had blown much of what remained away. Ah well.

Until I phoned the airline to check that we could consolidate our two 20 kg allowances into one suitcase (we can’t) we had planned to travel with a cabin sized bag each and one large case between us to make travel around the country much of it by train, in-and-out of hotels etc easier to manage. Having checked two in off a trolley and taken one hand luggage piece each was fine but the fun began after passing through fairly efficient immigration and customs at Narita Airport. We had decided to travel into the centre with the Narita Express so Dee waited with the bags while I went to buy the tickets. It’s a good deal if you buy a ticket and a SUICA prepayment card together as you get a substantial discount and ¥2000 credit on the plastic top up card that can be used on almost all Tokyo transport and in a number of shops as an alternative to cash. I emerge with our tickets timed for the 10:18 and with seats 3A and B in Coach 9 reserved. All most splendid. Almost! Dee wanted to photograph one of the amazing vending machines that are found in locations all over the city and I suspect the country.

This diversion was entirely worthy as they are amazing machines BUT it did mean that what with faffing about with four suitcases through a barrier and trying to get down an escalator, we missed the 10:18. A very friendly attendant said Dee should stay with the bags while I went to change the tickets. Isn’t it funny how a smiling, utterly polite ten-minutes-before Noriko can strike real fear into you with the words, “You must catch the 10:48. I can change this only once!” Boy did I scuttle back only to have former friendly platform assistant forget who I was and make me go back through the barrier before allowing me to rejoin my baggage wrangler wife.

When we did finally get onto the platform it was great to have confirmed what we’d been told that all rail signs are in English and Japanese and the loading of trains by coach and seat number is highly efficient and what helps the trains to run on time. I had hoped to post a picture of a very stylish Narita Express train but after carefully focusing the camera on where a good shot would be the bugger crept up – or rather whooshed up on me from the opposite direction and I had to abandon it and get the bags on board. The other thing to say not just down in the station and on the train itself but elsewhere is how clean everywhere is. As we expressed in towards Tokyo it became clear that we’d arrived on Washday Wednesday. House after house, apartment block upon apartment block had lines of laundry hanging out in the increasingly sunny day.

There’s lots more and we haven’t even reached Tokyo yet but as it’s nearly midnight here and I’ve been without sleep for about 35 hours you’ll have to wait for tomorrow for the next instalment.

However the Murakami quest has started in earnest with some highly professional research visits to Shinjuku bars and some details about the launch of the new novel on Friday.