Japan day 04/13 - Nagano, Zenkouji, Ikaho Onsen

After almost sleeping past my checkout time I headed out and it was raining a bit for the first time, it was time to buy my first konbini umbrella! They didn't have the iconic seethrough ones in compact form so I got the more expensive black convenience umbrella that also filters uv light and is wind resistant, what more could you want! They also had freshly steamed buns including a vegetarian pizza version, mmm. So I ordered that and a bottle of coffee, I knew the counter for bottles was １本 (ippon), but asked the store lady what to say for the bun, the reply was １個 (ikko)! This knowledge isn't needed to make yourself understood in Japanese but it does help a lot to sound more natural.

Next up is Zenkouji, the largest buddhist temple in Nagano. In the main hall you could purchase a ticket for about 1200 yen to see everything it had to offer. First there was a performance with incense and mantras, no idea what was going on, but it was mesmerizing. Then walked through a long dark tunnel under the temple trying not to bump into other people 😨 it was meant to picture the cycle of death and rebirth. Then there was a museum where they didn't allow pictures, and there were two more ceremonies I caught a glimpse of, but to be honest I was very much in love with the peaceful flower garden with its many memorial plaques. And not just for people but just about anything that was important to the monks. Somehow that got into my emotions a bit 

I slowly made my way back to Nagano station, stopped by one more supermarket on the way, and noticed they had hot sweet potatoes for sale. The Japanese ones are so unimaginably good, they taste like a kind of custard pudding 💛

After that took the shinkansen to Takasaki, the train to Shibukawa, then the bus to Ikaho. I arrived in the evening and directly went to check in at the hotel, it was so much fancier than expected, they gave me a giant family room with everything included, and a comfy room yukata. I found a very similar one at a market and bought it!!!

The only downside was that the hotel was much further from the center than I thought, but it was worth it to see the beautifully lit onsen stone steps in the dark. I walked all the way up to the shrine and wanted to explore the path ahead but there was a warning sign about bear sightings, since it's a rural place I felt a bit scared to risk it, so went back downstairs and found an ice cream machine, tried a few flavors while sitting on a bench and making friends with a cat 

It started to get really cold so I headed back and indulged in their onsen before a comfy but way too short sleep. At night the room was a bit scary on my own because it was giant and dark and the building made weird noises 👻but at the same time it was too large and luxurious and soft to complain about anything.

Also made a video about climbing the stairs at night but it turned out wobblier than I hoped: