After a good night's sleep we turned up for breakfast 15 minutes early which seemed to throw the hostess into a flurry of activity. Whilst eating breakfast the landlord came doen, Mr Ichiro Yumoto, and he asked why Joan spoke Japanese! He seemed to like gadgets as in the breakfast room was both a juke box and self-plying piano which he duly turned on. He was a very kind host, and asked us where we were going, producing English language pamphlets and meticulousl...

Today we drove from Nagoya to Yudanaka to see the famous snow monkeys. It wasn't too difficult but there were not many signs to the monkey park. Luckily we had a map. Access was via a windy road with passing points. Having paid for parking and parked, there is a short climb through woods to the entrance. (It isn't suitable for the disabled.) On the way up we occasionally saw the odd monkey nonchalanatly passing by. Once past the pay kiosk, there were lots of the...

The morning started with gruel - literally. Breakfast was either super thick white toast or okayu, which is Japanese rice gruel, a bit like thin porridge. Buoyed up for the day by this sustenance, we walked to the hire car office via the tourist office at Nagano Station. There they gave us several useful maps. The car we hired was a small Mazda automatic. We set off with some maps that really didn't give the information required for driving, yet somehow arrived ...

Mainly travelling today. We ate breakfast in a Coffee House near our hotel and then caught a taxi to Kyoto Station. From there we took the Hikari Shinkansen to Nagoya and then the Shinano express to Nagano. On the way we passed through Ena again. Arriving at Nagano we managed to identify our hotel on the city map, a couple of blocks from the station. We are staying at the Smile Hotel and looking at the room plan we have one of the larger rooms. In the guide b...

Today we visited a couple of Kyoto's most famous sights. After having breakfast in a coffee house near our hotel we took a taxi to Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion, that is set in the grounds of the Rokuon-ji temple complex. Just after the gate there was a huge bell which you could ring for 200 yen. Almost straight away you come across the pavilion, across from the Kyoko-chi mirror pond. Made up of three floors the upper two are gilded with gold leaf, and it once ...