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| Customs finally catch up with Tom |
Lastly we headed to Matsumoto, close to the
Japanese Alps. Although not a big city like Tokyo or Osaka, it holds many
things to do and is situated in a great location. Even in May you can see the
snow capped mountains in the distance. I really enjoyed the visit to the castle
and even got a photo with a Samurai. With admission to the castle you can also
visit the nearby museum for free. Although information written in English was
limited inside the museum it still held some interesting artefacts from both
the castle and Japanese history.
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| Majestic as ever |
On my
final day me and Damo headed out up into the hills. After getting a little lost
and taking a detour, we made our way to Utsukushigahara Open Air Museum. It
holds a bizarre collection of art, with what seems like hundreds of unique and
crazy sculptures. Some pieces I thought were incredible, thought provoking and
of interest, whereas others were just plain weird and I had no idea what they
were. The weather wasn't great, but on a nicer day, the viewpoint at the museum
would provide a great view of the whole region and definitely worth the hour
and half drive from Matsumoto. After this it was time for me to head back home
from my visit and leave Damo to get back on with his English teaching.
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| One of the more bizarre works at Utsukushigahara |
After 3 flights, 22 hours of flying and a very
tired Tom, I made it home back to the UK. I really enjoyed my time in Japan and
will definitely make sure I come back in the future!!
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| Time for goodbyes and the end of our adventures |
