Nagano– category –

On my last evening in Matsumoto, I returned to the area around Matsumoto Station, took one last look at Matsumoto Parco before its closure, and lined up for dinner at Okinado, where I had a fresh salad and the restaurant’s well-known pork steak.

I stopped by Pommier Cidre and Bonbon in the Shinmai Building for a quick standing drink and enjoyed a delicious cider with restrained sweetness.

With time left before my train home, I stopped by Matsumoto City Museum of History, an open-air museum that preserves valuable modern-era buildings from Matsumoto and Shimosuwa, including a former courthouse, prison cells, and a silk mill.

For lunch, I stopped at Sobadokoro Gassho, a charming soba restaurant in a large traditional building, and tried toji soba for the first time—a local style of eating soba by swishing it in a hot pot like shabu-shabu.

I drove up to Norikura Kogen hoping to see Zengoro Falls frozen over. Even though I had been told there was no snow, the trail turned out to be deeply covered, making the short walk to the falls far more challenging than I expected.

ラボラトリオ 「ラボラトリオ」で休憩 その後は「ラボラトリオ」さんへ。昭和８年に建てられた薬局の建物を利用した雑貨店兼カフェです。 土日限定のプリンをいただきました。

I ended the first day of my trip at Matsumoto City Museum, which relocated to the city center in October 2023. From its airy lobby to the exhibits on Matsumoto’s history, the museum offered an easy-to-follow introduction to the city.

After arriving in Matsumoto just before lunch, I headed to Ganeisha, a place I had wanted to visit for a long time. I ordered their two-item plate with oyster coconut curry and lu rou fan, plus a small serving of chicken curry on the side.

After lunch, I finally visited the Former Kaichi School, which had been closed during my previous two trips because of seismic retrofitting. Reopened to visitors from November 2024, the 1876 building offered not only striking architecture but also a vivid look at the history of education in Matsumoto.

As soon as I arrived at Matsumoto Station, I headed straight for Meau Shin-Daimae, a branch of the Meau in Shinanomachi, Tokyo, for a spicy, deeply satisfying curry meal.

After warming up in the bath, I headed to the nearby izakaya Daidarabocchi for dinner. With handwritten menus, local sake, and a lineup of Shinshu specialties, it turned into one of those meals that makes you want to come back before the night is even over.

On my first night in Nagano, I stayed at Natural Hot Spring Zenkou-no-Yu Dormy Inn Nagano and headed straight for the large public bath to warm up after the cold.

I traveled to Matsumoto in late December to see Matsumoto Castle, climbed the keep on the last open day of 2021, and came back at night for the illuminated view reflected on the frozen moat.