2 August 2009

What a terrible night. Emily was extremely disturbed and as I was lying next to her I woke at every whimper or change of position. Around 1am she got very upset and even Nick woke up from his sleep-deprived stupor. We couldn't figure out what was wrong, and she pushed us away rather than wanting to be held. In the end we administered some medicine and adjusted her clothing in case she was too cold under the fan blast (in the mountains people don't tend to have aircon but it was still 27C so we needed the fan). Even after that she was disturbed right through to dawn. There was a Velux skylight directly above our heads, and as there was only a thin white blind to cover it (why bother?!) the morning light fell fully on us. Emily got very fretful again after that and eventually woke for good at 6.30. I felt like death warmed up as I don't think I had a full hour's sleep at any point in the night.

Breakfast was the usual Japanese version of continental, with a small salad, asparagus wrapped in bacon, fruit and yogurt, and some chunks of soft white bread. The accompanying homemade jams were tasty. Jam is the area's meibutsu (speciality: every part of Japan has one and tourists always buy shedloads of the local produce for their families and friends). We were also served a small glass of a red concoction which was made by brewing red shiso (perilla) leaves with water and vinegar. It was surprisingly good, and no doubt has claims to health benefits. Emily was fascinated by the host grinding the coffee on a little device with a wheel.

After we'd packed up we wandered in the garden briefly. The owner said that we could pick some of the huge blueberries they had growing there. We got the our first glimpse of Mount Asama through trees and swirling cloud. We hitched a lift back to Miyota station and took the little train to Naka Karuizawa, where we planned to pick up a bus to the lava fields called Onioshidashien (quite a mouthful even when you know how to pronounce it!). With nearly an hour to wait we realised that we were stranded in a backwater with nowhere to have a coffee, so we just strolled up the street to keep Emily from being too bored at the bus stop.

The bus ride took over half an hour, but luckily it wasn't busy so we bagged the back seat and Emily could stand up and look out of the rear window. When we arrived at the lava field in light rain we found a rather rundown facility with damp and ugly concrete bridges over the road to an equally drab cafe and restaurant that had seen better days. As it was nearing Emily's lunchtime we had to go inside though, especially as it was drizzling. She declined the sachet of food I'd brought in no uncertain terms, but seemed happy to pick at soba noodles and some of Nick's pork.

Afterwards we loaded her up in the carrier for a nap, while we strolled around the walking course that was laid out among the lava stacks.

The area was not at all bleak because among the rocks were plenty of young trees and shrubs. From time to time the clouds parted to reveal parts of Asama-yama's summit far above.

The path brought us back around to the famous shrine among the lava, where people were sounding the huge bell hanging there.

Emily woke just as Nick was pressing a coin into a crack in a boulder as an offering to the shrine.

Soon we were back on the bus bound for Karuizawa, but again we had the back seat so Emily didn't get too fed up. Back in the town she spotted that there was a boy in the passenger seat of the car behind and was waving to him and holding up Mickey Mouse to show him.

We jumped off the bus halfway along the main street and walked towards the station, looking for somewhere to get a bite to eat. There seems to be some strange obsession with German sausages in Karuizawa as there were several speciality restaurants serving them. It came on to rain just as we found a place that was mentioned in the guide book, Krastanie. Though mid-afternoon we were just in time to order lunch; we ended up with far more food than we'd really intended, and failed in our main objective to get Emily to have some of our food though she did try some of the mozzarella pesto salad. She was agitating to get down, and the staff thoughtfully brought out a wire and bead frame for her so that we could finish the meal in peace.

We just had time to get back to the station for the shinkansen back to Tokyo. After the very disturbed night the last thing I felt like doing was going for a run, but I forced myself as I had missed two Sundays already. Actually it went OK under the circumstances, and thankfully began to rain in the last third, just as I was getting overheated.