Matsumoto and bicycles

MatsumoTooooooooooooo! MatsumoTooooooooooo!
That’s what greets you when you get off the tokkyu that brings you in from Nagano. A very happy welcome to Matsumoto, gateway town to the Japan Alps and close to one of the biggest wasabi farm/theme parks around and a big nature area that’s only accessible when the snow melts.
Matsumoto is a proper Japanese city. The center of town is where the eki is. There are loads of cabs and basi stops. And directly across the street is a McDonald’s. But not just any McD’s. This one is 24 hours and has some VERY nice talent after hours.
At a US McD’s, you get crackheads and bums after dark. No talent. None. At. All.
Nonya Ryokan is about 10 minutes away from JR Matsumoto-eki. The walk itself is pleasant since about half of the journey is on a pedestrianized street. And did I mention the talent?
Yup, I think I did.
Back to the Ryokan. It’s been open for close to 20 years and is family run. It has character. Dark wooden floors. My room is 6 jo, twice as big as the usual cubbyhole I stay at in Tokyo.

Now this is a big impressive room. Y5000/night and it could be yours too…
Did I mention it’s on the 3rd floor? *grunt* And the floors, even though they look gorgeous, squeak hella loud. This will become a problem later when I had to use the head at 0230. I swear, even with the most “stealthy like ninja” effort, the floorboards still hella squeaked.
“hey, the guy on the third floor is going to the head! Just thought you’d like to know, the rest of the building!!”
Anyway, after settling in and taking a shower AND a bath, I threw on some clothes and wandered around the town center. I found, in no specific order that Matsumoto has a kick ass castle, a clock museum, a nice developed riverfront area, a Muji, an obsession with frogs and no other late night places to eat (it was around 2230 when I was farting around outside) other than McD’s.

Matsumoto has a nicely preserved riverfront area

It reminds me of Kyoto’s riverfront area. Very nice.

Apparently, this froggie is on the local maps as a landmark. It’s across from a koban.
I also noticed a LOT of bicycles. Most of Matsumoto is flat (funny that, since they’re in the mountains) and there’s no subway (not big enough). So there are a lot of bicycles here. Turns out that certain buildings/establishments participate in a “free bicycle program”. You ask for the bike and fill out your particulars. They give you a key and tell you to bring it back before 1700 (when they close).
So tomorrow will be a day of wasabi farm, clocks and bicycles. And JR East as I head back to Tokyo to my waiting capsule.