Japan - Tour Day 4 - Tsumago

Travel day! We left Tokyo early this morning. We took the Japan Rail, to the Bullet Train station, and then an express train to a local train before getting on a bus to go to our hotel. One of the many joys of riding the trains in Japan is the train stations. Some are quite large with several types of trains utilizing them. Consequently, there are shops galore! Convenience stores, dessert shops, bakeries, bento (lunch) box shops, coffee shops, vending machines with hot and cold beverages and snacks, vending machines with hankies, etc. We caught a glimpse of Mt. Fuji on our travels today, but, as our guide says, she is a shy mountain and does not show herself often. So, we feel very fortunate that we have seen her so much on our trip. On average, Mt. Fuji is visible 100 days out of the year.

So, our destination today was the Hanaya Ryokan in Tsumago, Japan. We traveled through many cities and many lush forests today. One forest was interspersed with yellow trees that looked like cauliflower amongst the more predominant green trees. This stop was near a very traditional Japanese post village that has preserved its heritage. A post village was a way stop along the ancient highway between Edo (the precursor to Tokyo) and the former capital of Kyoto. The road was 370 miles and there were nearly 69 villages that served as way stations for the travelers. 

Once we settled into our ryokan for the evening, we had an amazing traditional dinner with many wonderful dishes. It was a lovely evening, but we all realize that we are not accustomed to sitting on the floor for long…