It is the end of our snow country tour and we are back in Tokyo with our son, Evan. We have had a wonderful trip overall. The weather has not been as cold as expected, but there was plenty of snow in Kushiro and also Shirakawa-go.
We did a lot of walking in Kyoto with Yuhko Takagi. She was a wonderful guide and took great care of us. We walked a lot in Kyoto, but the weather was fine except for some light rain. The cooking class was a great experience and I would recommend it to others. Mariko was a great teacher and we made some wonderful food– somen noodle soup, dashi soup base, japanese omelet. cucumber salad, and rice with vegetables. Yummy! Our only major problem has been that we cannot get cash advances on our Visa card. The banks only exchange cash or traveler’s checks. So we had to hang onto our cash. Fortuantely, Ms. Takagi was paid in advance and most of our ryokans provided generous breakfasts and dinners that kept us going throughout the day.
We have enjoyed every place you recommended and the ryokans, onsens and minshukus have been a wonderful experience. We will miss sleeping on futons under cloud-like puffs. But we will not miss sitting at low tables to eat. We really enjoyed the food served at the ryokans. I never ate tofu before, but feel like an expert now! The trip to the cranes was well worth the time and travel. The are magnificent birds and Taito Hotel even drove us and another Japanese guest to a site at sunset so we could watch them fly over back to their nests in the marsh. We got some great photos. Will send you some more info after we return. Your directions were excellent. Thank you so much for this memorable trip.
Peter S & Roxana R
