After Gunma, we decided to explore Nagano prefecture for the first time. Starting at Karuizawa, we looked around the nice shops, got some local beer, (as Karuizawa is famous for its brewery,) and enquired about the ski slopes nearby. Currently, Sam and I don’t know how to ski or snowboard, but it’s definitely high on our priority list for next year. Once we’ve had lessons, we’d like to try the slopes all over Japan and Hokkaido. Checking about smaller slopes and convenient places to get to is our task for 2023, considering we likely won’t have the money nor time to go before the season is over (because of our pre-planned vacations). If we do a good job, we’ll be more than ready to ski and snowboard in 2024 – we’re so excited!
We stopped in Sakudaira afterwards, did some shopping, (bought more Karuizawa beer haha,) took some photos of the mountains and then waited for the next train to our final destination, Komoro. There isn’t too much to see in Sakudaira, however the Shinkansen station definitely makes it a very convenient and easy day trip from Tokyo. You can be there in an hour, and the Tokyo Wide Pass covers it, so it’s also cheap for anyone living in Japan who doesn’t have a Japanese passport.
Komoro is a tiny town that can be accessed directly from Karuizawa via a local train. However, if you are using any kind of JR pass, such as the Tokyo Wide Pass or similar tickets, you will need to catch the train from Sakudaira instead, as this is the only Japan Rail line to Komoro. When we arrived, we sat in the local community park and ate our picnic. For anyone wondering why we have so many picnics, I’ll explain a bit below about my diet and the food we eat. If you’re not interested in such things, please skip the next paragraph.
Being vegan in Japan doesn’t seem to be too much of an issue. Most convenience stores and restaurants will have vegan options, although you have to check if animal products are in the broths and things. Unfortunately for me, I also have a soy allergy. Being a soy-free vegan in Japan is almost impossible. So why don’t you just start eating meat again, Alice? If you’re wondering this, that would be a very reasonable question, but I’m afraid it’s not as easy as it sounds. For most vegans, it of course would be difficult to ever become carnivorous again, but in a case where you can’t eat any other food, I’m sure most people would try. As most of you know, I also have an allergy to animal milk proteins. In Japan, I have not yet come across any dish containing meat or fish which does not have soy or milk in it. I of course would like to stay vegan as much as possible, but I keep a lookout for if my food options would change if I wasn’t vegan because it comes down to a quality of life thing honestly. As it stands though, whether or not I’m vegan, my options would be the same: exceptionally limited, because of my allergies, considering my options are not affected at all by the fact I am vegan, I maintain my plant-based diet in Japan. We cook 99% of our meals ourselves, and take picnics on all of our day trips. We have found a handful of very nice restaurants where I can eat, so we do have options when we want to celebrate or dine out with friends, and all convenience stores have at least a plain rice ball, (and often a suitable pickled plum rice ball,) that I can grab for lunch or if I’m in need of food in a short space of time. As someone who is hypoglycemic, though, we of course carry snacks and glucose tablets at all times anyway, so it’s only very rarely that we have to panic buy something, luckily. There are some pros to being a soy-free vegan in Japan though I guess: our cooking skills have improved dramatically, we eat a very balanced diet filled with delicious foods and we save a lot of money not being able to buy as many snacks and treats that we’d probably be tempted to do otherwise. If anyone is interested in the kind of foods we cook, the restaurants we visit or other details about living with hypoglycemia, a soy allergy, a milk allergy or being vegan whilst travelling abroad, particularly in Japan, I will do a full blog post on that in the future. For now though, I just wanted to give a bit of an overview in case anyone was wondering why we have soooooooo many picnics everywhere, even in the coldest of winter, surrounded by mountains. It’s a situation that first felt like a problem, but now we see as a blessing in disguise. Being able to eat amazing, homemade plant-based meals together, enjoying the scenery and exploring the world, is definitely one of the best parts of our lives. (Just ask any of our meat-eating friends. I’m sure they will testify to being excited about a Cooper picnic, even if it is always vegan!)
The train to Komoro differed vastly from the smooth Shinkansen rides we had taken for the rest of the winter trips, but it was so unbelievably beautiful I can barely find the words. It was incredible to be on this very small local service, with huge windows on both sides of the carriage, completely surrounded by these immense mountains for the first time in our lives. I tried to get pictures, but honestly the camera didn’t do their beauty justice. It was so bad that I actually think attempting to post the pictures would be an insult to the mountains’ exquisiteness, so I will just tell you about how amazing they were and that I sat gawking at it all for the entire journey.
In Komoro, we explored the castle ruins, went to the Mizunote observation deck and Kaiko shrine and saw the most spectacular of views. All the mountains, what remained of the snow from the week before, the blue skies and the crisp air made the day like those that you can typically only dream of. As you enter the castle ruins, there is a famous and very spectacular Otemon gate that, no matter how many of a similar style you see in Japan, never fails to take my breath away. We took some photos to try to capture some of the beauty to be able to share it with you. As always, attempting to take pictures of nature never actually comes out as incredible as what you can see in person, but I hope at least the essence is there in my travel photography. Please let me know in the comments or via a message if there’s any you particularly liked or hated. I always love hearing all the feedback from you guys!
The last photos (shown above) were taken out of the window from my Shinkansen seat. The mountain you can see is Fuji-san himself. Having a front-row seat of that sunset is an experience I will never forget.
Hope you enjoyed this little snippet of our Xmas holiday. If you did, please do check out the previous post about our first day in Gunma, and be ready for the final installation of the trip, in Tochigi prefecture, in my next blog.
Thank you so much as always for your care, love and support.
Speak soon!
-Alice XxxxXXxxxx