Sunday, April 20, 2014

Sunday 20th April 2014- En route to Nikko

We left Matsumoto and decided to take the small roads rather than the expressways as this makes it a more enjoyable journey for both of us. Perhaps it me be a little difficult map reading but Jennifer seems to have mastered the Japanese maps and is able to recognise the Hiragana signs. We went through several tunnels and then started going downhill as there was a sign that we were at 1080 metres and then the road went down and more down and the air temperature rose from 4C to 12c and eventually after a couple of coffee and loo stops we found a place to stop and eat our sandwiches overlooking a gorge.
After lunch we put on the Satnav to help guide us to Costco in Maebashi and it took longer to get there as the roads were really very busy indeed compared to where we have been but then again we are only about 80 miles from central Tokyo.
We arrived at Costco and the car park was absolutely solid with cars and so we followed a guy with a full shopping trolley back to his car and waited for him to load up and leave and then we parked. The place inside was like Regent Street on the last Saturday before Christmas and it was almost impossible to move in the aisles and the locals were lining up by the tens to taste the samples being offered as you walked around. We purchased some sushi and salad for tonight and some croissants for the next few days to make a change from muesli and banana and also a couple of bottle of wine. The Malbec here was even cheaper than last time we bought it at a ridiculously low price. As we stood by the cheese counter a Japanese lady asked our opinion of a particular cheese we had also purchased and then she bought some as well.
Back to the car and cars were fighting four our parking space as we left and then on in to Maebashi where we found the Hotel and checked in and decided to have quiet time tonight and enjoy our sushi and salad and glass of Malbec and perhaps finish of with an apple turnover, such is the hard life of travelling.
Tomorrow we head of to Nikko which we hope the weather will nice as at the moment we have had it a little overcast, not cold or really warm but it is due to change we understand.