On our way to our Nakasendo Way walk! The train conveniently required a stop at Nagoya, a large industrial city with few sights but a recent full reconstruction of the Nagoya Castle palace rooms. These had been burnt at the end of WWII, but fortunately complete records remained from the 1600s when the rooms were first built, and detailed photographs from the late 19th century completed what was needed for a perfect reconstruction using original techniques and materials.
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| The castle itself - a concrete reconstruction undergoing major changes in 2019 |
It was strange in a way being in a brand new building, and clearly such, but built perfectly as it would have been when first built in 1615. The lack of aging and the bright fresh colours seemed all wrong. The rooms were essentially reception and living rooms for the nobles of the time, and the quality of colour, detail, carving and fixtures was very high. It must have been a fabulous time to live for those at the top of the social order.
There were gardens too, but we've been spoilt by already seeing 5 of Japan's top 10.
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| Best blossom yet |
Heading back to the station, we found ourselves in a restaurant-free area, so bought a bento box instead for our train journey. We arrived at 3pm in the little ordinary town of Ena, the 49th post town of the Nakasendo Way. Out the station door and 100 metres later we found ourselves walking for the first time on the Nakasendo Way. It was pretty obvious - the road is given a special finish with tan and white stones flecking the surface of the seal, and big plaques let into it a regular intervals. We were delighted to find that the bridge on the way to our inn was decorated with Hiroshige paintings from his series illustrating the Nakasendo Way. He was a very gifted and very prolific artist.
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| Our first steps on the Nakasendo Way |
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| Bridge decorated with Hiroshige paintings |
We appeared to be the first to check in of 6 who will be sharing our self-guided walk, the others being another couple about our age, and a pair of older women, all from Sydney. They seem very nice, though there doesn't appear to be much opportunity yet to chat. Our little room was pleasant, with a nice view onto a garden. A bit of a drag having to change from outdoor shoes to slippers, then outdoor sandals again to get to the room, especially as all the sandals were far too small for my wide feet! Unbelievably, the host was the 16th generation of innkeepers for the Ichikawa Inn, with mother and grandmother still helping.
I should describe our walk. We are walking 6 days of the Nakasendo Way, one of the ancient routes between Edo (now Tokyo) and Kyoto, doing the trip self-guided through Walk Japan. The company provides a very detailed guide, with route instructions and points of interest described. Our main bags get ferried each day to our destination, while we just take daypacks with warm clothing and water. Each day has somewhere to find lunch, and morning and evening meals are provided by the inn we sleep in.
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| Our room at the Ichikawa Inn, Ena |
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| Footwear changes whenever you meet wooden floors, tatami mats, and again going into a toilet. |
Once settled in we headed back into the town for Karen to find a coffee and me to get some gear from a nice Uniqlo store. Karen's coffee ended up being a make-do one for a vending machine, yet again a problem finding espresso, but it's not an issue, just a good reason to wander around some more and see what we happen to come across on the way.
At 6pm we all sat down in pairs to have our meal. Wow! Eleven dishes I think. The highlights were some perfect sashimi, a hotpot to dip wagyu beef into, tempura, a delicious gratin dish which included sake paste (just a whiff of alcohol left in it) and a lemon pannacotta. It took a full 90 minutes. We adjourned directly to a bath room where the two of us were able to bathe together (not always possible) for a good soak.
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| The start of a veritable banquet, eaten while dressed in our Japanese evening wear. |
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| Bath time |