Day 10 was a day for us to enjoy a relaxing day in a Japanese Inn and soak in onsens! Lovely.
Due to last minute traveling date change, we were unable to reserve the room we wanted at Tsurunoyu Onsen in Nyuto Onsenkyo so we decided to try and make a trip to Bessho Onsen instead.
Bessho Onsen is located in the east region of Nagano prefecture, almost in the centre of Japan. It is considered to be the onsen with the oldest history in Nagano with several important cultural monuments in the area. More info about the area in my later post. Wait for it!
Bessho Onsen is located in the east region of Nagano prefecture, almost in the centre of Japan. It is considered to be the onsen with the oldest history in Nagano with several important cultural monuments in the area. More info about the area in my later post. Wait for it!
Ueda is also the location where a mang a series and also an a nime titled Summer Wars was based on. If you like to know more about the movie (and of Ueda's history), visit Ueda Convention Bureau site.
After a couple of hours walking around the Ueda Station and me doing some shopping at a nearby Ito Yokado, we took the electric train on the Bessho line to Bessho Onsen.
Such cute motifs for the Ueda Electric Railway Bessho Line, don't you agree?
Raimie inside the train. The train moves at a leisurely pace so it was rather nice to look out and enjoy the view of the countryside. This line goes through residential areas and we passed houses that literally inches away from the railway track and train!
Me and Raimie with the stationmaster of Bessho Onsen. She had such a nice uniform, I couldn't resist complimenting her and asked her to pose for a photo with us.
Going to Bessho Onsen, we got on the train with lovely and colourful motifs. The train for our return journey was similarly visually pleasing but this time, the train has a retro vibe to it. Love the artwork on the train's ceiling depicting each of the stations from Ueda Station all the way to Bessho Onsen. See that old looking fan on the train's ceiling? It is fully functioning and not a speck of dust on it too!
The motifs on the trains are quite eye catching. I like the series of motifs in the middle pic in the last row.
ReplyDeleteI love the designs on those trains. It keep things fun and interesting.
ReplyDelete@Mei Teng & Poetic Shutterbug,
ReplyDeleteThe designs are nice, aren't they? Sure makes boarding a train more fun. :)
How did you manage to get on an empty train? Japan's trains are always so clean. It was so nice of the stationmaster to take a photo with you. I don't remember them ever wearing a traditional outfit as a uniform. Hope you had an enjoyable time at the onsen.
ReplyDeleteThis is a lovely post. I am familiar with this area. I love Nagano.
ReplyDeleteso much differ from Malaysia's train...huhu
ReplyDeletei love the motifs on the trains. it makes train rides more colourful and fun.
ReplyDelete@AVCr8teur,
ReplyDeleteThe train wasn't all that empty, as you can see from the photo above, there were people waiting for this train. Just the angle that showed a row of empty seats. ^-^
I've never seen this traditional kind of uniform elsewhere in Japan either, so maybe it's a special one for Bessho Line?
@T McAlpine,
ReplyDeleteI sure wish I can get familiar with Nagano. Well, maybe a dozen more isits can sole that. ;)
At last.., a samurai outfit. Hehehehehe....
ReplyDeleteThe train looks like living room! So cozy!
ReplyDeletethe trains are nicely decorated Lina! Oh I so envy your relaxing time in the onsen.
ReplyDeleteI ge to sneak blog hopping while baby's playing right beside me =P
ReplyDelete@VanillaSeven,
ReplyDeleteIt does look cozy, doesn't it? :)
@Ayie,
ReplyDeleteHow is baby now? Pretty active, I bet. ;)
White is always a good color. It projects cleanliness and cheer. Japan has a culture to emulate where housekeeping is concerned. The fan shows their TPM at work.
ReplyDeleteVery nice prints. Makes for a pleasant ride, doesn't it? Thanks for sharing, Lina.
Raimie, the samnurai, looks convincing enough. LOL!
The train looks really interesting with the motifs outside and inside! So clean too! Would love to ride in that train! : )
ReplyDelete@HappySurfer,
ReplyDeleteWhat you say is very true.
Not only they put on those nice prints, there was a chirpy song being played every time the train made a stop. Indeed it was such a pleasant ride on this train. :)
@foong,
ReplyDeleteThere are many interesting local trains around Japan, especially outside big cities area. It's always fun for us to look for all these trains. :)
He's very active, trying to balance standing on his own. He's grown so much and moves a lot!
ReplyDelete