Nagano and Gunma

Howdy strangers, how are you enjoying fall? I won't apologise for my long absence because life happens, but I promise you I haven't abandoned this blog or the sewing/traveling journeys. I thought the transition from summer to fall would be relaxing, but I forgot all the events and goings-on there are. Sports day and culture festivals are back-to-back, along with English speech contests. On top of that, Japan's been whacked with typhoons, one after another. The area I'm in hasn't had any problems except for the occasional nail biting over the cancellation of events and classes. Luckily, my schools' festivals had great weather.

This past weekend was a 3 day weekend, and I was ready to get back on the horse and travel after my unfortunate stomach bug in Yokohama. This time, my hubby and I took a gruelling 8-9 hour road trip to Nagano and Gunma prefectures. We left the still permeating summer (and maybe typhoon related?) heat to go into the mountains, and we weren't disappointed.

Our first stop was the city of Matsumoto, which has 1 of the 12 original Japanese castles that is not a reconstruction.

To our luck, there was a soba festival going on around the castle while we were there, and we ate the most delicious soba (buckwheat noodles) ever. Food stands made soba in the many regional flavors from all over Japan, but we partook of the local Shinshu soba. They say "simple is best," and that's exactly how I would describe the local soba of the Shinshu region. It was spectacular. Don't let the plastic dish I ate mine from fool you.

The tall mountain range that Nagano and Gunma share are the Japanese Alps, and you can probably guess why they are named such. They are a combination of 3 tall mountain ranges. Kamikochi is a highland park area here that is untouched and preserved. The roads to this park are narrow and winding mountain paths, so public traffic isn't allowed and you have to come by bus. The view was spectacular with the leaves showing off their first fall colors. Although it was cloudy and the highest peaks shyly hid in the clouds, it was still a magnificent sight. Oh, and I saw a wild monkey there too, but I didn't get a picture of it.

The next day, we made our way to Gunma prefecture to Kusatsu, a popular onsen area. Gunma is famous for its numerous hot springs. Like Kamikochi, the weather was chilly and I was glad to finally wear a jacket. This weather was perfect to go relax in an onsen or eat hot udon to warm yourself to the bones.

We drove through some very winding mountain roads to get to the top of Mt Shirane, an active volcano which has a giant hot spring lake of sulfur on top. The color was truly amazing.

It was a bit of a hike to get to the top, and I really wanted to show you guys my triumphant smile from the top, but it was so incredibly windy up there that I resembled Cousin It with my hair in my face. I had a heck of a time trying to keep my balance going up and down the trail.

Our last stop was Nagano city itself, home of the '98 Winter Olympics. Zenkoji is a large temple and the area was full of many shrines and temples, reminding me of Kyoto in a lot of ways.

If you're a hiking or an onsen enthusiast, I definitely recommend this area for a visit. The mountains are beautiful and the noodles delicious!

What I Made During My Summer Vacay Part 2: Archer Short Sleeves

Oy! What strange weather we've had here this year. Japan has a rainy season in June that transitions us into summer, and it looks like our transition into fall will also start with rain in the form of a typhoon. Amidst this rainy week, I give you part 2 of my summer sewing: my 2nd Archer shirt.

Finally making a sweet repeat of a pattern. I have to say, it was A LOT faster to make it the second time around. I debated on adding colored buttons to accent the stripes but felt it looked like a grandpa's pajama top. I got lucky and went to a craft store closing sale and found a dozen more boring but suitable opal buttons for 50 yen!

Sewing another Archer means I added skill points to my collar making ability.

I'm not one for popped collars, but I loved how the stripes lined up on the under collar. The sleeves were not special modifications: I used the original long sleeve pattern piece trimmed.

Here I am wearing my comfy Archer! In spite of the humidity I wanted to show off the wave 'fro on my head. The shirt looks wrinkled in all the pictures... it's the fabric! I believe it's a cotton crepe. I found it in a summer fabric bin with a mountain of seersucker. The stripes reminded me of a RTW button shirt I used to borrow from my mum. I'm a little hung up on stripes lately, as you can see. I also have a love for relaxed fit clothes. I can drool over all the lovely dress patterns, but I've always been a bit of a tomboy so dresses aren't very high on my to-sew list. I can see this shirt working well into my rotation, perhaps belted with a cardigan or under a sweater in the cooler season. 

I've got one more summer report to post: a wee post about (non-sewing) crafts I did. Check back soon!