Nakatsugawa is a small town in the Kiso Valley of Japan. The whole reason we came here was to see the little post towns of Magome and Tsumago, and hike between them. So that’s exactly what we did on day one.
Both towns are beautiful. Similar vibe to Takayama (but much smaller), wooden buildings, old streets, that kind of thing. The hike itself was great too… minus the part where I was stuck walking near some very loud kids who absolutely killed the peaceful atmosphere. Yes. They were my kids. And their cousins.
The plan was simple: everyone drives to Magome, we hike to Tsumago, then Martin and I grab a taxi back to Magome to get the cars and pick everyone up.
After finishing the hike and wandering around Tsumago, Mylène and I realized we were right beside the bus stop that goes back to Magome. I check the schedule: 2:47pm. I check the time: 2:44pm.
Cool cool cool.
Martin is… somewhere… eating ice cream.
I call him. “Can you be here in 3 minutes?”. He has no idea where “here” is. I send a Google Maps link. He starts sprinting. Meanwhile, the bus shows up. People start boarding. Martin is nowhere to be seen. The doors close. Next bus? Two hours. Fuck.
Then suddenly, there he is. Full sprint. At the same time, another guy comes running. The bus actually stops again and lets that guy on. I spot a sign: cash only. Of course. I’ve got no cash. Martin’s got no cash. I try to ask the driver about other payment options… he doesn’t understand. Then the guy who just ran onto the bus turns to us and says, “Just get on, I’ll pay for you.” Absolute legend.
We give him all the coins we have, which doesn’t even cover half. I chat with him on the ride. He’s from Cyprus, lives in Tokyo, and casually offers to help us out if we need anything later in the trip. I have his contact information. Nicest guy ever.
We get back to the cars, grab the families, and split up. I head back to Magome to actually see it properly since everything was closed earlier. Martin heads back to the house.
The next day, we did… basically nothing, and it was needed. The kids were fried. We took them to a park with this insanely long slide, and they went all in. I tried it once and immediately regretted it. The friction made it feel like my ass was on fire. How the hell are kids doing this 25 times in a row??
Next day: Legoland. A surprise for the kids. And it delivered. They loved it. I’ll admit, the Lego city models were seriously impressive. And they did tons of rides.
Then came the goodbye with the cousins. It was very emotional, especially for Emma. She does not handle goodbyes well. But we reminded her we’ll see the other cousins in Calgary in a few weeks, which helped… a bit but not really.
After about five hours at Legoland, I was done. I wanted to go check out Nagoya Castle. So I bailed and headed into the city solo while Mylène and the kids stayed another two and a half hours. No idea how they had that much left in the tank.
Back at the hotel, I grab my camera and head out again.
It’s raining. Sky is completely grey. In my head: “This is a terrible idea. Just go back to the hotel.” But it’s our only night in Nagoya, so I go anyway. Two trains, 40 minutes… and of course I mess it up and get off at the wrong stop. I step outside, try to figure out where I’m going, and decide to just walk the rest, about 30 minutes.
Then I spot electric scooters. Plan updated. To hell with walking. I roll up to the castle and the grounds are closed. But I find a decent spot with some sakura trees and start shooting anyway. Take a few photos, pack up, ready to leave. Then, right at 6:00pm, they turn on the castle lights. I unpack everything again and start shooting. It’s already better… but the sky is still dull.
Then, just as I’m about to leave again, the sunset finally shows up. Colours start popping. In the end, I got some great photos, I think. Totally worth the hassle.
And that wraps up Nakatsugawa and Nagoya. And we’re back to just the four of us.
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