Japan 2.8: A morning ceremony, a trip up a mountain, a long hike through snow, and a great day for losing things

We woke up the next morning at 6 am, for a short walk through Zenkoji temple with a guide.  Her English was just so so, but it was still an enjoyable walk through the area.   The high priest arrived at the temple, and people bowed while he hit them in the head with a rosary.  We sat for a ceremony, with similar chanting as to what I had heard on Mount Koya, except mercifully shorter.  Then, we went down in search of the key.  Underneath the temple it is pitch black.  We walked while touching the right wall before finding the "key," that did not feel at all like a key.  Miles very much enjoyed the tunnel.  I always like walks in the dark as well.

A monument for people who have lost children to pray at

You are supposed to spin this wheel while praying

We left immediately afterwards.  We ran towards the nearby train.  After a very short trip, we emerged near the main Nagano Station.  We ran across the street, up the escalator, down the elevator, and arrived three minutes too late for the bus.  The next bus was forty minutes, so we waited.  While waiting, I realized that one of our filtered water bottles was missing.  I retraced our steps and found it.  It was on the ground, crushed, right where the street met the station, where the buses line up.

The bus ride was about an hour and forty minutes long, leaving us in Ogizawa.  Next, we transferred to an electric bus that brought us up and into the mountain for a short fifteen minute ride.



It dropped us off at the Kurobe Dam, the tallest dam in Japan.  We climbed up to the observation deck, but it was closed off due to snow.  I still took a picture from the snack area just below it.



We walked back down, grabbed our luggage from a coin locker, and headed out onto the dam itself.  Miles was enthralled with the snow.  I loved the view on both sides. 



After taking plenty of time on the dam, we entered a short tunnel before reaching our next form of transportation, a cable car, which would bring us up at a steep angle.   Miles was disappointed that the trip was entirely inside a tunnel.  I, on the other hand, was relieved.



There was another small station at the top, with another observation post that was closed to snow.  Next was the ropeway.  Entirely suspended without support posts, it is the largest of its type in Japan.  It was a surprisingly smooth ride and didn't bother me nearly as much as I expected, or even as much as the one that I had taken in Onimichi.



We checked into the hotel and then looked for lunch. I only saw one restaurant.  I quickly ran into the bathroom right next to it, and when I got out, the restaurant had closed until dinner.  The hostess directed us to a snack lounge across the way.  Besides for a beef curry, the only thing edible was a cake with whipped cream.  We begrudgingly went for the latter.



Our room still wasn't ready, so we decided to go outside.  The front desk let us know that the hotel offered free snow boots to borrow, so we headed down to the rental room.  We put our shoes in the locker and grabbed some boots and ski poles. We exited on the fourth floor, onto a beautiful snowscape. 



We were able to see the clouds below us in the distance.  We followed a trail to a nearby area where many people were setting up camps.  I was given a map at the front desk and there were posts marking the route around a pond that was now completely covered in snow. 



Before heading off, I spoke with a couple that was standing nearby.  I asked if he was Australian, but it turns out he was from New Zealand.  From now on, I will ask people with a similar accent if they are from Australasia or something.  He suggested a route that was nearby, that was the same route around the pond.  We began our journey.



I went a little crazy taking pictures, and I got a warning on my camera that the memory card was full.  I usually take two spares with me while travelling, but could not locate them after dragoncon.  Luckily, I back up things regularly, and found some videos to delete in order to free up space.

About halfway through, my hands were getting cold.  I reached into my pockets and only one of my gloves was present.  I hadn't fallen down, so I have no idea where the glove went.  A while later, Miles was complaining about his hands getting cold.  He had played so much in the snow and had fallen enough times that it had soaked through his gloves.  I gave him mine. 

We struggled through the last part of the trail, as we had lost site of the markers and I saw them a bit in the distance.  It was getting dark, so I decided to just shortcut it to the camp, which was not far from the hotel.  Miles had an easier time, as his weight wasn't enough to have him fall into the snow nearly as much as me.  The last 50 feet or so were troublesome for me, as I had gotten some snow or ice in my boot.  Miles was able to easily walk ahead, while I kept sinking entirely into the snow.  I asked him to ask someone in the camp to help me out.  Someone was nice enough to bring those snow shoe contraptions that you hook your boot into, that distributes weight evenly, allowing you to walk on snow more easily.  Within five minutes we were back at the hotel.

We arrived at our room, which was the most spacious yet.  It did not have a thermostat that could be adjusted however.  The booklet in the room explained that the hotel was set to a fairly warm temperature in order to keep the pipes from freezing.  They suggested using a small space heater in the room if you were cold or to open a window if you were hot. 

I started uploading all of my pictures from the trip to my internet backup, so I would be able to completely delete everything off my memory card so that I would not run out of space for the rest of the trip.  Miles also point out the sunset going on outside our window.  I grabbed my camera, leaned out the window, and took some shots.  Not many came out that great, unfortunately.  Here is the one that I liked the most.



Then, it was time for dinner.  Miles has been pretty apprehensive when it comes to the traditional Japanese meals.  It was part buffet style and part served.  He loved the crab tempura as well as some of the other dishes.  He ended up very happy.