A bit of offbeat inspiration to work on some artsy projects made me run down to Ginza and the stationery-art megastore Itoya during lunch. While I would have been slightly under an hour getting back, I figured I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to eat in a different neighborhood and just went back a little […]
Author: Jon
Kirei, Ueda (亀齢)
It’s come to my attention that many readers have not visited a sake brewery. I tried to visit one in Ueda (Wadaryu), but failed since they were closed on Sundays. Thus I went to this one, which turned out pretty well – met the brewer, tried some daiginjo fresh from the tank, generally pleasant experience. […]
- Other treats
- ...
Shuzo Collection, Togura (酒造コレクション)
It was nice walking back from Kamiyamada to Togura – just across the river, but it’s a big river and was a decent walk on a brilliantly clear day (if you’ve followed this whole series, I’d also like to mention that the hill at the end of the stretch of water in this picture is […]
Onsen, Kamiyamada
The Chikuma River valley is narrow here, which makes for some nice views. On the west side, right above Kamiyamada, there’s a big Kannon temple (a branch of Nagano’s famous Zenkoji) that’s lit up a bit at night. If you’re feeling industrious, you can walk up there from a road at the south end of […]
- izakaya
- ...
Yukari, Kamiyamada (ゆかり)
What’s that you say? More pictures of wacky Showa stuff? Here’s one of a shooting gallery at night. Folks, this is fer ril. They really do want you to pay money to shoot corks from toy rifles and try to win tiny prizes. Nifty. The specialty at Yukari is evidently yakitori, but everyone there was […]
Hagoromo, Kamiyamada (羽衣)
Various activities ensued after my ramen lunch and before dinner – walking to the (dead boring) temple on top of the local mountain, more photos, nap. You don’t get any pics of that. You DO get this neat picture of a retro streetlight. No processing; the colors here seem to be on accounta some confusion […]
- Other treats
- ...
Men’s Table, Kamiyamada (麺’s Table)
What’s that you say, you’re eager for shots of decrepit buildings? It’s funny, I’ve got what you need right here. Haven’t played with the black-and-whiteage of these, but I’m sure they’d work a treat. Ooooh, panorama mode. Boy do I wish I had a digital camera that took pictures like a Lomography Horizon Kompakt. Not sure what […]
- coffee
- ...
Kiki, Kamiyamada (樹樹)
Saturday morning in Kamiyamada, I woke up early and spent the morning walking around, being cold and taking pictures of old buildings. The weather was beautiful and clear, but the day-onsen only open at 9 or 10 AM, and at some point I just got too cold. Fortunately there was this kissa…which was very ordinary, but this […]
- izakaya
- ...
Santensan, Kamiyamada (三天参,上山田)
I hit the city ’bout 9 PM, loaded, loaded… OK, not exactly – 9 PM, but not at all loaded, and with no sort of Rob Halford vibe going on, I promise. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. On a loose whim, I made another one of these short trips to random, depressed country […]
Kuruma, Tokyo (車, Tokia B1)
Continuing in a series of “Hey, I haven’t seen you for a year!”-type meetings, Roofie and I met up last night. Somehow these meetings with men from work always devolve into chicken-fests. In this case, I have the rare pleasure of questioning the existence of a restaurant, or at least providing a strong steer about […]