18 Oct 2015
Back to Matsumoto ... of Sake and Art
10:30 Arrive Matsumoto Station
CHECK-IN:
ドーミーイン松本 Dormy Inn Matsumoto
長野県松本市深志２－２－１
天然温泉 梓の湯
Dropped off our luggage at the hotel, relaxed at a cafe for a morning coffee and decided to take a train to 下新駅 (Shimonii Staton)
Right out of the train, met a friendly farmer who refused to let us go until he stuffed our bags full with persimmons from the tree in-front of his house.
亀田屋酒造店 Kametaya Sake Brewery
http://http://kametaya.co.jp/Kametaya a family run brewery. The president speaks good english and she gave us a tour of the historical house which has been preserved in the family for 6 generations.
DIY free tasting of their range of sake and umeshu
Paid tasting (Y300) for their top of the line. Ended up buying this bottle home.
Also bought their nama-sake, which was floral and fulled bodied. Sorry folks, this bottle needs to be refrigerated so I have no choice but to finish it up ... can't bring home to share :>
大信州酒造（株）
https://maps.google.com/?cid=1257456886868253943http://www.daishinsyu.com
Had been drinking various Daishinsyu sakes at restaurant, so naturally did not pass off the chance to visit their shop when we happen to walk pass on our way to the Ukiyo-e Museum. More of a shop then a brewery visit, but nevertheless tastings are always available :>
Just had to get their limited/seasonal bottle ... with a sophiticated name like this, how not to buy :P
The Japan Ukiyo-e Museum
To be truthful, we are not quite arty people to start with and probably could only recognise 1 painting (The Great Wave off Kanagawa) of the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (富嶽三十六景 Fugaku Sanjūrokkei) by Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾 北斎)
Getting to understand the intricacies of the woodblock painting process and having a chance to examine some original pieces of these works was quite worth the trip there.
Only post cards for souvenir ...
Waiting at Oniwa Station back to Matsumoto
Back to Matsumoto and we had a surprising difficult time looking for dinner. Most of the izakaya were closed on either Sunday or Monday. We could not get a seat in any of those that were open.
Takuma Tonkatsu
Guess we were fated to chance upon Takuma, a small quaint maison Tonkatsu place.
Takuma has one of the best Tonkatsu sauce. It was so balanced, i.e. not overly starchy, not overly thick, not too sweet, a little tangy ... in simple terms it was just perfect. As for the curry, on first look, it seemed a bit watered down, however once you tasted it, it was full of flavour and not overwhelming starchy like most other places. Of course not a drop was left.
Curry Tonkatsu and the Takumda Dinner Special Set
19 Oct 2015
Matsumoto and around - the ride to the Wasabi Farm
JR Oito Line from Matsumoto to Hotaka Station (30 minutes, 320 yen one way, 1-2 trains/hour)
Rental bikes right out of Hotaka Station for Y200 per hour.
The good folks will give you all the required instructions and fit you up with the latest “GPS” (Explore Azumino Map)
穂高神社 Hokata Shrine
東光寺 Tokoji Temple
Make a wish while standing on the giant sandals to have your wish come through
OK ... the electronic GPS still works better !
Daio Wasabi Farm
The farm is HUGE and so aptly known as the Wasabi Super Highway for obviously reasons ...
The water-wheel river-side view which appeared in Akira Kurosawa's film.
Wasabi ice cream, wasabi croquotte, wasabi crackers and wasabi BEER !
Lunch@ Twinkle Cafe
Another unexpected find! A little road-side cafe with a wood-oven stove serving Japanese styled pizza and gratins.Japanese wafu pizza with pumpkin and feta cheese. Baked rice gratin with Koshihikari Japanese Rice. Yummy.
Back to Matsumoto for dinner
What Matsumoto is famous for ... this gralic breaded fried chicken (Sanzoku-yaki)
The exotic stuff from left to right: ... 稲子佃煮 (inago-tsukuda - stewed locust), ざざむし (zazamushi - larvae of river insects) and 蜂の子 (hachinoko - bee larve)
After dinner, back to the hotel to prepare of the next segment of the trip.
Takkyubin our big luggage to Nagoya Flower Hotel, while we bring our backpack and a small duffel bag to Kamikochi.
The folks at Dormy Inn Hotel were fantastic. They even called up the hotel in Nagoya and confirmed my booking and address to make sure that my luggage reached the correct place. EXCELLENT SERVICE !