Yesterday I needed to break away from the sadness of the weekend and get back to an activity gives a sense of adventure. Fortunately, Thor and I had planned to catchup this week, so we talked about some places to explore. Thor introduced me to Pandor Moon, so it was my turn to be Thor’s guide.

Thor had never been to Hosoi Ichiba and I knew he’d be truly blown away by the awesome sights but also by the build itself. We began our trip in our shorts & shirts at the covered bridge leading into the giant market. And made our way along the path toward the samurai lodge, then across the suspension bridges to the fishing village. By the time we reached the village, Thor was already remarking about the level of detail and the quality of the build, but there was more to come.

From the fishing village we travelled thru the mountain area and into the valley where the great Matsumoto Castle was located. We were seeing several people in their kimonos, so we decided to get into our own threads once we got inside the castle.

Here we are on the grounds of Matsumoto Castle.

After flying across The Great Wall, we made our way into the town where the geisha house was, but first we stopped at the kabuki theater.

We wandered thru the town and finally arrived at the Nakanoshima Ochaya (teahouse) inside the Okiya (geisha house). No one was there so I took the opportunity to serve Thor some mochi (sweets) and saki.

We talked a lot during the journey and I didn’t shoot many photos, but I was thrilled each time Thor noticed the amazing work that had been done on the build. It was a fun afternoon, but when Thor left I still had a some wanderlust bubbling inside me (more on this in my next post).