Tsumago began as a post town, developing around a core of facilities for travelers between Tokyo and Kyoto. After it was bypassed by the railway, it turned to tourism to restore some of its former prosperity, and now you can tour historic buildings both genuine and reconstructed, buy handcrafts, and enjoy a beautiful mountain hike to the next post town, Magome. The buildings were certainly some of the most interesting we've seen, with the honjin and waki-honjin featuring a secret room and a never-used toilet reserved for the emperor.

Even nicer than the history, however, was the fresh mountain air and invigorating walking. We stayed in a small ryokan, or traditional inn, outside of Tsumago, arriving by bus and then spending a pleasant day hiking back to the rail station by way of Tsumago. Our ryokan was in a new building, but offered the traditional trappings: yukata robes, comfortable futons, a hot bath, and two extensive and beautifully presented meals.

Dinner focused on a whole salted and grilled fish and a mini-hotpot of pork and vegetables, accompanied by pickles, soup, fresh fruit, and gohei mochi. Gohei mochi is a treat popular in Nagano prefecture, and consists, not of mochi rice, as the name implies, but regular rice, pounded and pressed onto a stick, then coated with a sweet and nutty sauce and grilled. The sauce varies regionally, I believe, but here it was a combination of miso, walnut and sesame. Breakfast the next morning was a similar, but smaller, affair of preserved fish, miso soup, pickles, egg, and rice. As in many of the countries we've visited, breakfast is the meal that most contrasts with our American experience, but we had adjusted enough to find this a perfect beginning to the day. Later we discussed how much we'd be interested in making some of the breakfasts we've eaten here - things like fried rice, congee, and miso soup - part of our breakfast rotation at home. We both agreed a bowl of cornflakes would go down pretty well right about now, but also that we've become rather fond of some other breakfast dishes, and I, in particular, have even been waking up craving congee with preserved egg and chicken, so we'll have to see how it goes when we get back.

After breakfast, we proceeded into Tsumago proper, a long line of traditional and historical buildings, dotted with shops, restaurants and confectioneries. Buckwheat soba, gohei mochi, and chestnut-based treats were the basis of the local menu. We haven't tried many of Japan's extensive varieties of confection, as they tend to be rather expensive - generally around 2 USD per piece - but we made an exception for these chestnut paste sweets, as I have a particular weakness for chestnuts. They were smooth and creamy, with a really fresh and direct chestnut flavor. They seemed so simple, I was wondering if I could replicate them at home in the fall.