13th More rain. Its not heavy, so i dont get that wet walking to the subway station. Once in Nagoya i find the maze of underground sopping malls takes me right to the bus station, so no getting wet. The bus ride takes a route across the Alps, well through lots of tunnels. I would like to say there were some stunning views, but the low cloud and rain made sure i did not see much. Once in Toyama the short walk to the hotel was in the rain as well. It seems the west...

7th The bus ride from Takayama was very scenic. Still lots of snow on the ground as we crossed parts of the Alps. We arrived in Nagoya mid afternoon and walked to the hotel, the Nagoya Crown Hotel. Its ok, nothing special, but has a natural hot spring bathes in the basement. Maybe Shauna will use it. As its a blue sky day and quite warm we start walking exploring the city. Nowhere near as big or busy as Tokyo, and from what we have seen so far, its pretty nice. ...

4th The train ride to Takayama was good. Plenty of nice scenery, especially when we climbed higher into the alps. Still lots of snow/ice on the ground. We arrive into Takayama around 3pm and made our way to the hotel, which was a 5 minute walk. The weather is really nice so we get straight back out and walk the streets till dark. The old streets in Takayama are really cool, with some business dating back over 250 years, and still going strong. Mainly selling Sak...

31st The train ride to Kanazawa was very scenic. Lots of snow capped peaks, flowing rivers and plenty of lush green fields. The hotel where we are staying is brand new, and very very large by Japanese standards. After settling in we take a walk to see what the city has to offer. Its a rather warm day, 25, and lots of blue sky. The city is far more spread out than other cities in Japan. The railway station is buzzing with activity as it has just opened a week ago,...

27th Its a 4 hour bus ride from Tokyo to Nagano. We take the bus over the train, as the Shinkansen is not cheap, and i have never driven on the roads in Japan, so it will be a good experience. The bus is as punctual as the train and departs on time to the minute. The drive has plenty of beautiful country side and snow capped alps. We one stop once at a rest stop for 15 minutes, which is enough to stretch the legs. The driver tells us that the bus will leave at 1....