Only in Japan could one find Wasabi Mayo flavored Pringles.  Which are actually delicious and may be my new favorite snack.  They are the perfect parawaiting snack. 

Aoki is a tiny little village about an hour south of Nagano so almost 2 hours away from our cabin at Lake Nojiri. The village is quaint and beautiful and it would have been an amazing place for Kingsley to fly. Unfortunately, the wind conditions were too strong the day we visited so it was not safe to fly. We made the best of the situation and had a lovely picnic lunch up at the launch and then spent a few hours exploring some of the old farm houses and hotels in the town. 

Enjoying our paragliders picnic lunch (tuna with crackers and cheese) as we waited in hopes that the wind conditions would mellow out. 

As we walked around the picture card pretty village of Aoki we came across Masuya Ryokan a traditional old Meiji era hotel. It is historically a well known ryokan. It is with out a doubt very peaceful and relaxing. Old cobble stone streets that wind up the hill from the Masuya ryokan were a budding photographer's (Kingsley) dream which was the next best thing since paragliding was not an option that day. 

Another off the beaten track spot in Nagano is the Asunaro trout farm. At the fish farm you catch your dinner using traditional bamboo fishing poles and then enjoy the onsen (hot springs) while they prepare your fish along with a traditional Japanese dinner. As a child I visited this place at least once during our summers up at Lake Nojiri and I have many fond memories of my Dad teaching us kids how to fish. 

Handed our bait and sent off to catch our dinner. 

Between Kingsley and I we caught 5 small trout for our family dinner. 

A relaxing onsen while they prepared our fish. 

Though I still cant witness my meal being killed without getting a little squeamish, I am proud to say that I have matured significantly in our last 3 years in Asia. Arriving at dinner to find the fish that I recently caught on my plate with scales and eyeballs intact was no big deal.  I just worked around them, using my expert chopstick skills, and enjoyed the flavor of my freshly caught trout. The entire experience at the Trout Farm was fantastic and very memorable.  

A forty minute drive southwest from our cabin on the lake took us to a little village called Togakushi. This village is famous in Japan for two things: hand woven bamboo baskets and the best handmade soba noodles of all of Japan. 

A short history of soba noodles in Japan can be read in the photo above.  It basically says that during the Edo period (early 1700's) the Nagano area was praised for having the best soba noodles in Japan and within Nagano the village of Togakushi was the "best of the best".  That is an impressively long history of soba noodle excellence. 

Our delicious handmade soba noodle lunch. 

There is a beautiful lake about an hour north of Nagano, this is where we spent the first week of our time in Japan. Although the lake is beautiful spending time there had so much more significant meaning to me. Growing up in Japan every summer my family would spend a few weeks up at the lake staying in small rustic cabins nestled on the side of the hill. This is a place where many other expat families would go to get away from the heat and humidity in the cities. I have SO many fond memories from our summers here, I actually found myself getting a little emotional when I caught my first glimpse of the lake. 

First glimpse of the lake

View of the lake from the Boardman's cabin. They very generously allowed us to stay in the cabin for the week. 

Ofuro (bath tub) with a small shower head attached to the side. 

Cooking in the kitchen with a beautiful view of the lake. 

Cooking Japanese Fried rice and Tomato soup 

Our bed for the week was simple but functional. 

Early morning sunlight in the dinning room.

The tree we all used to climb in and jump into the water from. 

My parents on their way to the nurses cabin where my mom volunteered for many summers. 

We snuck/broke into the old library where my older brother Josh and I would spend hours. It smelled exactly the same as I remembered it. These are such silly little things but being able to smell the library books again was an amazing experience for me. 

So much around the lake has not changed but sadly one major icon has seen better days. The Swan boat which was known primarily as the "duck" boat retired from sailing around the lake about 10 years ago.  It now sits in a lonely old boat junk yard along the lake. 

Lake Nojiri Cabins all along the hillside.  Our cabin was somewhere in the far left of the picture. 

Lake Nojiri is at the top center of the map. 

Snow monkeys - Yudanaka northeast corner of map

Paragliding - Aoki southwest corner of map

Nagano - center

Basket Village - southwest of Nojiri