The Backpacking Ballerina

I took a day trip this weekend together with my obaachan (grandmother) to Yatsugatake. The total trip cost ¥20,000 more or less which included our ¥2000 omiyage (gifts) for my mom and her friend. The place is good for a quick getaway and i think its more of a place for old people. Although we did take a side trip from there to Ina and we saw a lot of students taking field trips there.

The place is known for its beautiful stars, being far away from the city and everything. It is good for people who are looking for a quiet place to relax in away from Tokyo. The bus ride going there is not really so relaxing, it takes about 2 hours from Tokyo and another 30 mins from the bus stop to the hotels. On our way there we were able to see the Minami Alps (southern alps) and Mt.Fuji. My grandmother was very happy about this trip and I was happy too because of that and the food.

There was a soba place near our hotel/resort. It is best to go here a little after lunch or so, not too late because the place is known for its soba. A lot of people were eating here and they in fact run out of soba around 3pm. The rest of the day we spent swimming in Green hill Hotel and afterwards we went to the onsen and had some yatsugatake milk.

The next day we booked a tour to Ina which was 2 hours away from where we were staying. However we wanted to go see the Alps much closer and to see what was around there too. We saw a lot of flowers and all sorts of shops, related to food and vegetables. I love how the Japanese are always incorporating vegetables into everything. My grandmother always says that, vegetables are where we get our source of good nutrients so we don’t get so hungry. It was really a good place to go to. I would recommend that you come here with a friend or as a couple. It would be a good place to walk around in. Japanese provinces are very quiet and its very different from the city. At first it might be a shock but its nice immerse yourself into something different once in a while.