Yokoso Nagano

On April 14th, my family from Singapore finally arrived in Matsumoto after a 7 hour flight and 3 hour bus ride.

It was a cold and windy day but we were all excited.

I was really looking forward to their arrival and can`t wait to show them this beautiful place that I am staying now.

The first place that we visited was Matsumoto castle.



Pink cherry blossoms and plum flowers filled the castle compounds.

Mum and auntie can`t stop admiring the flowers.
During the sakura season, the castle is opened till 8.30pm and the cherry blossoms, which are illuminated at night create one of Matsumoto`s most special attractions.



We went strawberry picking on the second day. Pay 1000 yen and the whole strawberry greenhouse is yours.


Mum and auntie went around the house looking for the reddest and sweetest berries. An hour later, we all came out of the farm glowing with Vitamin C.


After the strawberry feast, we visited Japan`s biggest apricot village in Chikuma.

Bought some dried apricots and tried the apricot flavoured ice cream.

On the third day, we went to Tateshina and stayed one night in a private resort.

Tateshina is a popular tourist resort especially during summer because of its cool weather.

As Tateshina is set on high altitude, we could still see snow at a nearby ski station. It was the first experience with snow for my family.

Father got all excited and made a small snowman .


The hotel service was great and the staffs wore cute uniforms with kaki pants.

We managed a picture with the doorman.


The next morning, we visited Kobo Hill. 2000 sakura trees are planted on that hill alone.

It took us just 10 mins to walk to the peak of the hill.

We happened to see many pre-school children on school outing. The children were having so much fun climbing and sliding down from the hill slopes.


One of the highlights of the trip to Japan was a night in a traditonal Japanese inn.

We thought that it was interesting to let my family experience a side of Japan they would otherwise not get to see.

At the reception area, there was a board welcoming today`s guests. My husband`s surname was on the board too.

As soon as we arrived, a host who oversaw our every need served green tea and some japanese snacks. While explaining about the hot spring timings and breakfast , she brought us to choose our yukatas.

Dinner was arranged at 6.30pm so we decided to go to the hot spring before it.


Mum and auntie were not used to public nakedness so they missed out the hot spring.

My sister was hesitant at first but finally plucked up enough courage to bare for her first hot spring experience.

Once you get through the first time, there will be a second. My sister enjoyed her first experience and we had a good time relaxing in the outdoor bath.


We changed into yukata after the bath and went for dinner in a private room.

Dinner was traditional Japanese style. The food and the setting that was on the table was unbelievable. When we arrived there was already a lot of food on the table. Everything was served in small portions but there was a great variety.

We were surprised as more food kept coming out and by the 10th course, we were completely stuffed and secretly wished the host will not come back with more dishes.

After the dinner, we all went to the foot spa inside the inn.

Its free of charge and opened till 10pm at night.

Here, we took off our socks,shoes and rest while indulging our feet in the 40 degrees natural hot spring water. It was smoothing and we all had a good sleep that night.

We went back to the foot spa the next morning because mum requested to go back again.

It was a short one week but we managed to spend quality time together as a family.

I hope their impression of Japan has changed and memories of Nagano will stay with them.

Night Sakuras

Night Sakuras are known as Yo-Zakura in Japanese. As sakuras only bloom for about a week, night viewing is popular.

Every year during the sakura season, Matsumoto castle will open its gates till 830pm.


The big weeping sakuras will be illuminated and activities like tea ceremony, traditional music will be held inside the castle premises.

Some people will sit under the trees and enjoy their sakura parties.

Not for me though. Its too cold. I rushed to the nearest vending machine to buy hot tea.



Next, I went back to the 100 year old tree outside Shiojiri municipal office.

Spotted a naked statue. It looks interesting against the lighted up tree.

Pink Clouds

The blooming of sakuras mark the arrival of spring.

It’s a little warmer now but the weather is still a little weird. In Matsumoto , you can expect 20 degrees on one day and the next day 10 degrees .

This canal looks gorgeous because of the cherry blossom trees that line both sides of the canal extending many miles.


Can you imagine a pink hill?

It does exist. This picture was taken from kobo yama.
More than 2000 cherry blossoms are planted on that hill. It was such an amazing sight.


Next, is a 100 year old sakura tree outside Shiojiri city municipal office.

It stands tall at 15m and look how the branches spread out like an umbrella.

My husband said it looked like a giant jelly fish. What do you think ?

I was surprised by the number and variety of cherry trees that exist. There are so many different sizes and shapes are found in the parks.

Almost every temple, cemetry and schoolyard has at least one.


The blossoms appear for about two weeks from mid April to early May in Matsumoto.

Full bloom is usually reached within one week after the opening of the first blossoms.

Full blooms will last for around five days and with the wind ,they shed their pink petals for new leaves.


The Japanese often relate the sakura`s fragile beauty to the transiency of life. This is often compared to our own short time spent on the earth.

As we drove towards Azumino town, we saw more old sakura trees probably planted more than a century ago.

Below the tree were tomb stones. I took this picture from a distance as I didn`t want to disturb the peace and serenity.


The last two photos were taken in Anyo temple.

The two weeping sakura trees (Shidare-sakura)in the front yard are estimated to be aged 500-600.We were told to observe the sakuras quietly in temple premises. Alcohol and sakura parties were also not allowed.

Most of the places that we visited were remote and away from the tourist crowd. It was a relief as we had all the time to enjoy nature in peace.

Sushi Making

Last week , my parents in law sent us some high grade frozen tuna.

On Sunday, we made negi-toro (spring onions with tuna) sushi with it. It was our first experience and more challenging than we thought .

The end product doesn`t look perfect but it was delicious and we had fun making it together.


After dinner, my husband had to urge to listen to old songs. He went into the store room and digged up `antique` cassette tapes. Apparently, he had those tapes since high school which was more than 20 years back!

There were tapes by Tiffany, Beatles, Carpenters and the famous Japanese singer Matsuda Seiko. Surprisingly, the quality of the tapes were still in good condition.

I used to record songs from the radio into my cassette player too. That was more than 10 years ago..10 years ago, there was no CD, no DVD, neither was there I-pod. There were no luxuries but we stilll grew up happy and satisfied with what we had.

Nowadays youngsters are blessed with I-pods, apple computers, MD players. Times have changed and the once greatest invention `cassette tapes` had become obsolete in this modern era.

Plum Blossoms Part 2

The plum trees at Matsumoto castle are in full bloom. A delicate fragrance fills the air in the plum tree garden.

In June, we expect to see plum fruits. The unripe plum is used widely in Japan as plum wine or pickled plums (umeboshi)

Pickled plums are usually eaten with rice. My favourite way is eating it with plum wine. My husband says that no Japanese eat it that way..Well...I am Singaporean anyway...

Pickled plums are extremly sour and saltly. However instead of an apple, the Japanese believe that a plum a day will keep the doctor away .

The plum is rich in citric acid ,proteins and minerals which helps to aid the digestive system and even act as a cure for a hangover.

This coming June, I plan to buy fresh green plums from the supermarket and make my own plum wine.

The wine will be ready in three months but the best time to drink is one year after.

Come next 2007, I will open my first jar of hand-made Ume-shu (plum wine) . Cheers !

Strawberry Days

I LOVE strawberries. Japanese strawberries are so sweet and juicy. Though they cost around 300-400yen (SGD $4-6) for a pack, I simply cant resist the temptation when I pass through the fruits corner. I have probably consumed more than 20 packets of strawberries since season started.

Strawberry season starts from December up to April. However with advanced technology and improved greenhouse farming, we are able to enjoy good strawberries till mid year.


Strawberries contain more Vitamin C than citrus fruits. They are also rich in potassium and fibre.

For ladies, strawberries are also believed to be effective in skin whitening.

To enjoy the best of strawberries, start from the top part. As the bottom part is usually sweet, eating from the sourish top is highly recommended.



If you are lucky, you can find one or two extraordinary strawberries in a packet .

I found a monster berry and a twin berry.