Day in the Japanese Countryside - NAGANO

[Music] join me for 2 days where I'm going to be exploring the mountains here in Japan in Nagano right now I'm in an area called Ina City and it's actually in a valley between two Japanese Alps and they've invited me here to explore the area it's my first time so there's lots to see I'm starting my adventure at takor josi Park which is actually an old castle ruin and it's really popular during the Sakura season coo season the Autumn time is also really beautiful here it's kind of early compared to other parts of Japan but the cool because it's colder are already quite red here and they're bright colors of red orange and I'm just like so in awe because it's so beautiful it's really peaceful out here and there's also great views of the [Music] mountains just looking for the perfect Maple Leaf apparently there are 250 maple trees here that go bright red and in the Sakura I think there's about 2,000 sakura trees but I'm going to go play with the leaves because why not there's so many many on the ground they're so pretty Tada I love that even though the mommy leaves are already fallen off the tree they're so beautiful like look at that I'm so obsessed with picking up like perfect red maple leaves it's like my hobby I want to teach you guys some Japanese Ki means like the sun that filters through the leaves and this is the perfect example of kod it is so [Music] beautiful if you come underneath the bridge you'll get like the most beautiful view it honestly looks like a photograph I've walked into like a photograph like in the Mario games and it's super peaceful I love how quiet it is here there's like obviously people visiting but it's not overcrowded I could imagine like back in the day there' be like summer die Crossing that bridge and I mean they probably were this is like Japan authentic Japan getting a little hungry so maybe it's time to get a something to eat maybe some local [Music] food for lunch I've come to a local restaurant called chichime and they specialize in soba because soba is super famous in nagol and in this particular region it's called Shinu which is really hard to say I'm really bad at it give it a try see if you can say Shin Shu really fast and they have like a really nice traditional Vibe it's like tatami but then there sofa couches so I can like relax which is pretty rare to be honest so cafes don't usually sell soba it is not just soba they actually do indeed sell like coffee and snacks after your soba you can also just get like a cake [Music] ah it looks so amazing I'm kind of like impressed cuz there's literally so much on this plate I've never had this much in one plate in a SOA restaurant I haven't had soba for ages I love that the noodles are really thick all right I'm going to dip it in this little soup I've got here M he I'm trying to figure out what the flavors are give me let me get another slurp this soup definitely is used like with a base of su which is like a Japanese style sauce they've got Sesame seas in there I love sesame and I'm excited because it's a piece of denom which is lotus fruit one of my favorites this is the first time I've ever had SK soba it's really rare I think especially like in this style where there's like lots of fresh veggies something really cool they have this like NAU which is like spicy oil I'm apparently going to add this to the soup which I di the noodles in so adding that daou sauce made a huge difference I love the flavor it gives it like a little bit of a spicy hit you can also mix in a half cooked egg to change the flavor of the sauce also did I mention that this building is like 150 years old I love how well preserved everything is in Japan at the end of your dish you can add some rice inside as well so I'm going to give that a go the rice just absorbed all that flavor delicious I believe this is a caramel pudding this is the perfect way to end my soba dish usually I just get like soba tea but I'm open to having caramel pudding at the end of every sober meal very welcome also I was talking to the owner and apparently the reason they made it into a cafe is because he was like I don't want to do the ordinary thing I want to be different and have like a cafe and skoba so I love his attitude and that's why he's so successful it's honestly a Full House now I'm at a local grocery store right now to do some shopping because we're going to cook a lot and they have lots of fresh veggies and produce and I'm excited to pick some up because this is the best place to get veggies in Japan local areas so let's see what they have I already spotted some tomatoes that I'm going to get and some chilies just looking for all the goods this place is massive apparently it's the biggest one in the area successful shopping session and now we're on to our next location tonight I'm going to be staying staying inside a wood cabin in the middle of the mountains here it is so stunning it looks like an animal crossing house let's go inside I can't wait to show you guys around this place is called mcky it's on Airbnb so you can book this for yourselves oh my god let's go I'm so excited okay once you get inside you have to put on these slippers and then it's like this look at this place isn't it so cute so right now I'm in the living room area and everything's basically made of wood so there's this beautiful giant table which I'm going to sit here and enjoy some drinks there's no TV here they're very strict about no Wi-fi no electronics because they want you to kind of shut off and just enjoy nature which is really hard to do these days instead of a TV we're going to have a fireplace like a really traditional style one I don't even know what it's called behind me is the lovely kitchen I love all the plates and the cups so cute look at these little mugs I literally cannot stop thinking about how this is like an animal crossing home like who's my neighbor did I just move into the town of mcky inside there are a couple of bedrooms up the stairs not only do we have an amazing view of this place but there are some futons like this usually you think this is quite Western but with the futon it's a bit of a Japanese twist I think it's actually quite smart because if there weren't any futon you wouldn't be able to fit as many people I think you can have like four people on futons the final room I want to show you guys is my bedroom it's a really cute little space I'm going to get a good night's rest here I can already feel it this is the bathroom as well as shower space but there's one more outside I cannot contain my excitement to show you how I'm going to take a bath tonight check it out my bath so I'm outside the backyard and I literally have a view of the mountains and this is where I'm going to be taking my bath one while I'm here and this is actually heated through firewood so you actually have to chop your own wood put it in here heat it and then wait till it warms up so I'm going to hop in here really soon before I make some dinner but one more thing I need to show you guys not only is that bath there there's also a sauna that is also heated by firewood it's a little hot to go inside right now but I'll show you guys later that heat hit me first time to ever chop some fireworks did it all right that's fun definitely a bit of a workout oh my God this one is like persistent chopping your own wood is not only satisfying but extremely exhausting as well so I have a newfound respect for this and I've only got about like four pieces so far so I got to keep got to keep going cuz if I don't I won't have a bath I won't have lunch I won't have dinner or breakfast or anything my enjoyment and relaxation is dependent on hard work after working up a sweat chopping all that wood it was time to take my bath this outdoor bath is incredible I feel so relaxed I was so energized a moment ago but I sat in here and I feel so soothed you can literally hear the wind blowing through the trees the sounds of a river gushing in the distance I'm already thinking about coming back here with a group of friends and just escaping Tokyo and enjoying nature they have a Woodfire oven here and I'm going to make my first ever Woodfire Pizza had in the nature this is everything I bought earlier today got pizza bases but what I'm excited about is there's all these local veggies like tomatoes Japanese mushrooms chilies of course the Airbnb is equipped with everything you'd want for cooking so they have you know pots pans knives Forks chopping boards as well as basic like salt pepper and olive oil as well as like everything you need to like make the fire so another thing this Bell so when you're in the countryside in Japan and you're alone in particular or hiking with friends I recommend getting one of these bells if you don't know these are used to ward off Bears so recently there's been a lot of bear siding so I'd rather or on the side of caution because we are you know a mother nature and that's where their habitat is I'm going to start with chopping some garlic and I'm going to blend that in with the tomato sauce that I already have this is my mom's recipe I also have chili to put inside as well so it gives it a little bit of a hit next are these chilies probably only need like one or two I'm getting rid of most of the seeds I don't want to die if you come to the Airbnb you can set up the fire yourself I don't know if you can get help from the owner but I'm here with someone from tisu who's helping me out Dai he's been great he's doing all the hard work while I'm filming so if you're hearing like chopping and like someone making the fire that's him but I'm going to get back to making the sauce so sing it also da you can say high if you'd like he's a bit shy look at all the smoke woo e smells nice usually I would put button mushrooms on my pizza but this is a local she a Japanese mushroom so I figured you know what Japanese style Margarita veggie pizza woohoo we got a lot smoke coming in m so fresh have bases jeez like I wish we could have had time to make the base cuz there are people who come out to this Airbnb and stay here for like days yummy it looks great here it is y looks so delicious the pizza's ready and it's time to put it inside the oven and I have one of these long things to poke it inside [Applause] too woo nice I like that I wonder how long it'll take like it looks like it'll be pretty fast I got to spin it so I don't want it to burn on one side oh more okay this is crazy fast it's already getting hot and burnt on one side I have a new found respect for all pizzer Ras it's so fast [Music] guys the first one got a little burnt but we're going on to the next one let's see if this is better so it's quite strong the heat so there's a bit of a technique to it I think so I'm going to keep it on the very edge and you know keep a close eye on it my pizza is ready this is the second one which was a little less burnt but it smells insane and I think the technique to cooking this I seen it in restaurants is where you kind of like move it around it's actually quite challenging m m that's so tasty I can taste the Woodfire oven style of cooking it makes a huge difference compared to like just making at home in the normal oven I forgot my Basel basil also perfect amount of chili pretty impressed [Music] [Music] of course we're in the woods it's tradition to do marshmallows at least my tradition anyway so got these prepared and it's time to make posted marshmallows let see ah the smok's in my eye again look at that that's pretty reasonable take M I haven't had one of these for ages I only got the top bit crispy so I got to do it [Music] again I had a shower and now I'm just being all cozy inside and there's a candle I'm having a hot cup of tea there's also a radio in here so we are a little connected to the outside world I forgot radios did exist back [Music] there good morning everyone it is 6:00 a.m. the sun has risen and it's pretty cold here the first thing I felt when I woke up is oh my God it's so cold had to heat the fire get this little mountain hut warm it's time to make some breakfast today it's going to be toasted sandwiches and potentially pancakes as well I never wake up this early but I figured I have to enjoy this place fully so here I am at 6:00 a.m. with a sleepy [Music] face it's warmed up a lot when we first woke up it was freezing like about 4° and we got the fire going you got breakfast happening and it's just so lovely out here and the air is just so fresh this is amazing all right breakfast is ready I felt like I was in how castle and this was Calif cooking the the eggs and the fry pan and the sandwich it looks delicious I'm going to dig in M I haven't been camping for years but I used to go all the time in my childhood so this brings back so many fun memories and Japan has some of the best camping spots so I know this isn't camping but it's like outdoor style [Music] lifestyle after breakfast I actually had a chance to chat with the owner of the airb and B and get to know him a bit better I this so he lives like right up there so if you have any issues he comes down and there's a lot of foreigners who already stay here so he's very used to it thank you yeah which season is the most popular no Autumn is the best time to come we're going on a little hike for mushrooms spontaneous one just got mushroom yeah Z okay so I did some mushroom picking these are Chestnut mushrooms Ena is home to so much nature so it makes the perfect location for anyone wanting an outdoor adventure we're going up to a mountain to get a great View and the road there is so bumpy there are so many tree branches which have fallen down we got to keep stopping the car and someone's got to get out and move them after about 10 minutes of walking up a super steep incline we made it to the top and the view is insane there are the Alps Ena city has such a beautiful view hello Ena Japan is actually made up of about 70% mountain range so this is one of the areas where you can really see it even though I live in the city in Tokyo you don't really get to come out to places like this very often so I feel really lucky to be here I'm so glad they invting me out here to Ena City it's now time to go back down to the city of Ena and get some lunch I've come to a local cafe called matoya LA teras and it's this really cute old style building which has been renovated cuz it used to be like a Japanese home and it's so beautiful it's my kind of place where they have tatami and they have the Shi and it's just like relaxing as well as a bunch of cool drinks on the menu I got a matcha latte basically it's like a hot matcha milk M I don't want to leave I love this Cafe so much and it's run by a really sweet couple and they own a cat unfortunately the cat's taking a little bit of a nap now but maybe I'll see the cat later it's MAA such a cute name and so I've ordered a curry and they use lots of local veggies actually quite hungry after that hike I don't know if I can call it a hike but that walk I'm starved the theme of this Cafe is an old style Japanese house and you really feel at home it's a very cozy atmosphere and quite rustic while dining you're free to look at any of the books they have or you can just stare out at the Patty field of Ena my Curry is here and it looks incredibly fresh this is the soup curry and they use a lot of vegetables because they literally call the broth like a veggie broth which is really rare in Japan I've got Lotus root capsican sweet potato carrot broccoli literally any fresh veggie you can think of potato thanas this is really different from normal cures that I get in a cafe and Japan it has more of like a Thai Flavor cuz I think they're using coconut milk so it kind of is reminiscent of those CES it's got a bit of spice my favorite veggie in Japan is like Den con Lotus root I love that the local businesses here support the local like agricultural industry so like in a city Shinu region veggies and all that M okay any Cafe that has tatami I'm going to like it like look how I can relax so mean just woke up the Cafe's cat and she's so cute she's just like hello MAA and she's very like openly just roaming around because this is obviously her home [Music] I had a loot of fun here in Ena City and I'm so happy to have had the chance to look around but this is it for today I hope to see you guys in another video comment down below which spot was your favorite and I'll see you again soon bye

Channel: seerasan

Views: 46,752

Keywords: Japan, Japanese countryside, Japan life, Japan travel, Nagano, seerasan, Jvlogger, 長野, 日本旅行

Id: I3WwHfvq6Kk

Length: 20min 27sec (1227 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 08 2023