So firstly, I do apologise, as yesterday’s blog update was actually meant to go on our Travel blog A Whole a thing of Candy. I got confused in it all and updated the wrong site. But hey, it doesn’t really matter does it?

Today we Shinkansen’ed it from Tokyo to Iiyama then bus’ed it to Nozawa Onsen. I had a delicious Ekiben on the train. The photo is of it half eaten because the train was REALLY full when we got on and I was sitting between two strangers when I started eating and I felt like a bit of a weirdo if I started taking photos of my food. It was a great bento – it had scallop, oyster, salmon, eel, fish and other seafood delicacies.

  
Oh and I also had some pork Katsu sandwiches, because, like, Im addicted.

When we got in to Nozawa and checked in to our hotel we paused for a cup of green tea and manju.

  
Went for a wander around the village and it looked so different without snow everywhere! So strange! Then it wa time for coffee and a toasted cheese sandwich at Haus St Anton. Superb coffee.

  
After a soak in an onsen (so good) I enjoyed my favourite Aloe & Grape beverage. I’ve been waiting to come back here just for that.

  
Dinner was at Daimon Soba, a 3rd (or more) generation soba restaurant. They make their own soba noodles from Nozawa onsen water. I had hot soba with tempura and an onsen egg. Oh, and a very large beer with a very small glass.