Due to unfortunate turn out of events, we end up in the postal town of Narai . Its not bad really. In fact, Narai is one of the places to go to along the Kiso Valley.
As one of the more well preserved postal town, Narai has the longest stretch of old houses along its road. It also marked the halfway point for merchants travelling between Tokyo (formerly known as Edo) & Kyoto.
As we are behind schedule, the plan is to compensate the distances with a train ride close to Nagiso & cycle abt 10-15km along old roads to our targeted Tsumago. Why do u think i chose to travel with a Brompton in the first place ? wahahaha...
Good Morning !! the futon is lovely to sleep on. see how Tascha just buried herself behind me. LoL
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Japanese Breakfast that comes with the stay. this is the more elaborate ones.
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Katou Minshuku. Love this shot !!
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View of Minshuku from outside. Let's go explore Narai !!
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Cycling Narai's road
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Nice House
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Tascha posing for picture with knick knacks shop. love this picture too !
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Kris couldn't resist buying a Japanese flute. the umbrellas behind him will reveal Sakura petals when wet. Interesting !
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Even the owner of the shop wants a piece of Brompton action. LoL
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This Kiso Ohashi bridge is nearby but we did not visit cos no wifi in Minshuku. didn't know until i came back sg.......Hahaha..... anyway, here it is.
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Taking a short break before going back to collect our back packs for train ride.
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Low angle shot of Narai
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Our kind & fuzzy haired Minshuku owner. hahaha
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Off to the old train station ! u wun see a lot of these any more....
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But the trains are modern
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a scene from inside the train
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we dropped off 1 station before Nagiso town for some cycling.
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Toilet break before setting off & saw this tiny little basin. it's only slightly bigger than my hand ! LoL
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Let's cycle !! Beautiful, isn't it !! can u imagine this scenery with cool breeze. * Love it !*
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Stopping for Navigation check & equipment check. i tot this is pretty nice shot too !
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More posing even after just crossing bridge. LoL
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we hit a small park unexpectedly. see !! the flowers are blooming !
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Ice Cream break at small park.
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Taking the old trade route from Nagiso to Tsumago
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More picture of route. i enjoyed it very much ! its quiet & scenic , undulating roads & breezy too.
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Yea ! its Tsumago !!!
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Entry shot of Tsumago. As we cycled the old merchant route which is on higher elevation. Entry is from top side of town.
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Paranomic shot of Tsumago postal town.
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Nice !!
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Hiya ! i forgot to take some photos of the shops we visited. Anyway, we did a bit of off road looking for our lodging for the day
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At Hanaya Ryokan. No reservation done yet ! keeping my fingers crossed. :o
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Tascha playing ball while waiting for my negotiation to finish.
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Alright, folks ! here's the deal ....its a bit expensive & sun is setting soon. U dun want to be out dark, cold & hungry again ya !! -_- *Tascha biting her nails* Ok... we stay Lah ! *Wahaha*
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Out for Dinner & stock up on dry stores for next day. we did some really enjoyable night cycling but no pics unfortunately. i did took a video of our ride tho but not uploaded to u-tube yet.
Brompton night ride back to Ryokan after dinner & dry stores shopping. Wahahaha...... Pretty scary with very little light along the road.
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My small room. team were separated this evening..
Its unfortunate that we didn't have enough time to explore Tsumago town more. i saw quite a number of shops and alley ways that looked interesting while cycling .
By the time we settled our stuff in the Ryokan, most shops are already closed.
Well, the redeeming element was actually the night ride after dinner. We really enjoyed the change in the mood. 3 bike lights wondering about in the mountain roads passing by houses that seems unoccupied under a bright moonlight.
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