✴️ = best choice!
Today we leave Takayama and head for Matsumoto, a small town nestled in the Japanese Alps. But first, we treat ourselves to a proper breakfast: surprisingly Western-style, with muffins and brownies from Falò Coffee Brewers.
The journey itself is an experience. The road is extremely picturesque, surrounded by woods that are ablaze with autumn colours at this time of year, accompanying us for most of the way.
Before reaching the center of Matsumoto, we stop at Daio Wasabi Farm, the largest wasabi farm in the world. Wasabi plants need pure, mineral-rich water to grow, and this area at the foot of the mountains provides the perfect conditions. La fattoria è operativa dal 1917 ed è una meta molto amata soprattutto dai giapponesi — non a caso incontriamo pochissimi turisti stranieri.
We stroll through the plantations, where wasabi grows slowly along clear, cool streams, taking around 18 months to reach maturity. At the end of the visit, we stop at the farm restaurant to sample some wasabi-based specialities. The flavour is completely different from what we are used to: nothing like the green cream that is often served with sushi in Italy. Here, we are even given a grater so that we can grate it fresh directly onto our plates, according to our tastes.
An unusual stopover, but one that is definitely worth including in your itinerary.
In the afternoon, we arrive in Matsumoto and immediately head for its main attraction: the castle. It is the oldest castle in Japan and one of the largest in the country. Outside, which is accessible free of charge, there is a large garden crossed by the moat surrounding the structure, with characteristic red bridges.
For a small entrance fee, you can enter the castle and climb all five floors. The tour allows you to discover the original defensive architecture: you can still see the points from which the samurai, through narrow slits, controlled the surrounding area and repelled any attacks.
If you’re in the area and it’s aperitif time, don’t miss this bar ✴️. The owner runs a smokehouse and, purely out of passion, dons his barman’s hat in the evening, always accompanied by his inseparable dachshund.
The restaurant is intimate, welcoming and very relaxing, furnished with comfortable leather armchairs that invite you to stay longer than expected. The appetisers we tasted were all homemade: crisps and olives smoked with walnut wood, dried venison (he is also a bear hunter and even showed us a tooth as proof!) and excellent smoked salmon. A good selection of whiskies completes the picture.
We discovered it almost by chance, while waiting to get into the restaurant opposite to eat okonomiyaki: a fortuitous encounter that turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
Today we have about two hours of driving ahead of us to return the car to Kawaguchiko, where we rented it. From there we take a direct bus to Tokyo and, in another two hours, we arrive in the Shinjuku district.
Our hotel is a sort of bunker: a tiny, basic structure located in a surprisingly quiet area. It almost feels like we’re not in the heart of Tokyo. I don’t think we’ll be back, but right now it’s the best solution — and the only one.
We chose Shinjuku because it was here, months before our departure, that we had found a tattoo studio where we could get a special souvenir. The studio is called Japan Tattoo: it is small, centrally located, and very popular with tourists, partly because tattoos are still often viewed with a certain cultural suspicion in Japan.
We are welcomed by Jill, the receptionist, who is very kind and speaks excellent English. She acts as an intermediary with Ryo, our tattoo artist, to help us explain in detail what we want. Just then, the studio has won an award at the Tokyo Bay Tattoo Festival in Chiba Prefecture, and there is a constant stream of foreign customers. Many come in hoping to get a tattoo that day, but they are turned away: the schedule is completely full.
In the next few days, we will take you to Nikko. Keep following us on our journey!
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