Matsumoto

Over the past weekend I took my first business trip for Peppy and i went to Matsumoto in Nagano prefecture. This was my first time in Nagano and it was great. The first day I taught 3 classes in Matsumoto which is about an hour outside of Nagano city. I stayed in a hotel for the first time in Japan and it was great! A nice little business hotel right next to the station. On saturday I went into Nagano to work in the office for about 5.5 hours. Unfortunatly right when my works hours were completed I had to run for a train to back to Matsumoto, but I think most of the sights are in Matsumoto anyways. I arrived in Matsumoto and went to my hostel. The place turned out to be a really cute Swiss Alp inspired place. I was the only guest there that night, so it was a little boring because there was no one to talk to and nothing much around, but I was able to get some reading in, which was nice. The owner was very nice and actually drove me back to the station in the morning. After having some breakfast I went to Matsumoto Castle which is one of Japan's national treasure, along with Himeji, Hikone and Inuyama castle. I have now seen Inuyama and Matsumoto castle, and I plan on seeing Himeji before I leave Japan. I was very lucky with the weather. It was a beautiful sunny clear day and the temperature wasn't much colder than Okazaki. The mountain air was very refreshing. After the castle I checked out the museum which housed local Matsumoto artifacts for all generation. Nothing too spectacular but interesting none the less.
After the local museum I went for some tasty ramen (noodle soup) and then went to the Matsumoto City Art Museum. The picture of the flowers is taken at the entrance of the museum. There was some very interesting art on display. I think most of the art was by locals or inspired by local scenery. After the museum I wandered the streets and local shops. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon in a new city. I took the train back to Nagoya around 5pm and was able to be back home before 8pm.
It was a nice weekend away; a little work, stayed in a hotel and saw some new sights.