Nagano, Chubu, JapanWe took the Shinkansen to Nagano using our rail pass and after arriving found out which bus to catch out to M-Wave, the ice skating rink used in the winter Olympics. We had never been ice skating so were willing to give it a try.
Took an old wooden floored bus out to M-Wave and walked past a sign in Japanese then paid for our ticket to the museum and ice-skating rink.
We went through the rather disappointing museum and through to the ice skating rink to find the lights off and half the ice melted. It was then that we realised that the sign out the front in Japanese probably said the rink was closed due to maintenance.
We left M-Wave, had lunch and then had to wait ages for another bus to come by to take us back into town. Eventually one arrived and we walked up to the Zenkoji Temple past a street full of temple residences.
We wandered around the temple complex and gardens and even saw someone ringing the large bell using a wooden log before walking back down to the train station and catching the train back to Tokyo.
2025-02-06