Yamanashi and Nagano

This part covers a day out to a lake in Yamanashi and our time in the Kiso Valley in Nagano, where I fell ill. That changed what we had planned.

17 June

Yamanashi · Tokyo

We took the train from Tokyo to Kawaguchiko. We could see Mount Fuji from the train. By the time we arrived, clouds had covered the peak.

We spent the middle of the day by the lake at Fujikawaguchiko and were back in Shinjuku by the evening.

Tall office towers and lit advertising screens at dusk, seen across a quiet road with a stand of trees, with a line of people waiting along a barrier. — Shinjuku, Tokyo, 17 June.

18 June

Nagano

We took the train from Tokyo to the Kiso Valley and were there by the afternoon. In the evening we were down by the river.

Around the time we reached the Kiso Valley I came down with a fever and a cough. It lasted roughly two days.

A shallow, fast-flowing river between rocky banks in a steep, forested valley, with a few buildings on the left bank and clouds in an evening sky. — Kiso, Nagano, 18 June.

19 June

Kiso Valley, Nagano

We went together to Narai, with its long street of old wooden buildings. I was still unwell, so I returned to the hotel with my son and my mother-in-law.

My wife stayed and continued along the trail in the direction of Yabuhara. She eventually turned back before finishing because she did not feel comfortable walking alone.

A dark timber two-storey building with lattice windows on a sloping street, beside a stone retaining wall, stone steps and a green hillside with terraced walls. — Narai, Nagano, 19 June.

A straight street of dark two-storey timber houses with lattice fronts, stone markers and hanging signs, with a parked van and a few people further along and a wooded hill beyond. — Narai, Nagano, 19 June.

A bamboo tray of soba noodles beside a black pot of a simmered dish with fried tofu, a ladle and small dishes on a wooden table. — Narai, Nagano, 19 June.

20 June

Nagano

In the morning we took the train from the Kiso Valley to Kyoto. By the time we left, I was feeling better.

A divided wooden plate with toast, a boiled egg, a cube of rolled omelette, prawns, simmered burdock, a chocolate and a portion of butter, beside a cup of milky coffee. — Kiso, Nagano, 20 June.