軽井沢ロードスターミーティング 1

This weekend, I went to the Karuizawa Roadster Meeting, located in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture. Here's a brief background on Karuizawa: up until the mid-19th century, it was regarded as a simple post town before it merged into a larger district called Kitasaku during the Meiji Restoration. Shortly after the merger, a wealthy British diplomat visited the town and was so blown away by the relatively cool summer climate that he wrote his other wealthy foreign diplomat friends to tell them about this super nice spot he just found out about. Since that time, the town has morphed into a town mostly comprised of second luxury homes and boutique everything. A shinkansen line runs right through the town, and it's two hours away from Tokyo by car. And everything is surrounded by nature.

Basically put, if you're wealthy and/or from a Western nation, and you have fuck-you-level money, your portfolio should include a house here. I've actually seen American-style houses there; plenty of colonials with American-sized living rooms and garages on relatively small but otherwise spacious plots.

I drove down this past Friday, and the meeting was on Sunday. The meeting would be in the parking lots of a luxury hotel's ski resort near one of the two town centers. (Yes, you read that right. There are two of them.) The hotel was rather pricey, so I opted instead for a bed and breakfast that had just opened the previous autumn. Including breakfast both mornings, it was $130 a night. It was also one of the cheapest places in the whole town to stay. I arrived in the early afternoon, got some rest, and went for dinner at a local yakiniku (!!!) restaurant just steps away from the B&B.

Saturday was when I did my sightseeing. I kicked off the day by visiting the Usui Pass Observation Point. Karuizawa is right on the border of Nagano and Gunma prefectures. The border between the two ran right through the observation point, and the nearby shrine actually had two chief priests because the border also split their shrine.

An 絵馬 (ema) that I purchased from the shrine

"I hope that my car troubles will stop."

Next was the Former Mikasa Hotel. This was one of the earliest hotels for the upper class. Some of the structure was torn down, but whatever was left was preserved in its original condition from its last day of operation in 1970. Single-pane windows had long cracks in them, and paint was peeling from the exterior. The furniture inside the hotel was original, or at the very least period-correct. Overall, even with its aged condition, it really gave off the impression that it was a place of luxury.

Former Mikasa Hotel

Following that was Shiraito Falls. To get there, I had to take the Shiraito Highland Way, a bumpy mountain toll road winding through nature. What makes these falls special is that the water source is from the mountain itself, not a stream. Relatively warm water (around 50 degrees Fahrenheit) spewed out of the ground and down from a ledge into a small tributary. There were lots of birds flying around, even getting close to where people were resting.

Shiraito Falls

From there, I followed the toll road to its end and got on the Romantic Road toll road to get to Onioshidashi Park. It was a park at the base of Mount Asama full of magma boulders as remnants of a major volcanic eruption in 1783. A lone temple with a giant gong stood out in the middle of all the boulders. There was also a museum nearby for the volcano, but I did not visit it.

The last place I wanted to see had two parts, because they were right next to each other. The first part was the Stone Church, a modern-architectural masterpiece. Unfortunately, it was closed off to the public due to a wedding. The second part was the Harunie Terrace, a small but relaxing upscale outlet mall with restaurants and housewares. I ended up buying some French wine and granola, because when you're in one of the most expensive locations in all of Japan, why wouldn't you?

Harunie Terrace

Following that, I went back to the B&B for a while before heading to the Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza. Essentially, it's a huuuuge outlet mall with novelty and luxury brands. I picked up some souvenirs for my work and lab, and even those were expensive compared to other places I'd went to. It soon started drizzling and the plaza was closing soon, so I left the plaza and went for dinner at one of the many Italian restaurants in Karuizawa. It's one of the things I've missed about home: not that many Italian places to go to. (Prices were still in line with the Karuizawa theme, though.)

Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza

Sunday morning I had my breakfast and checked out. I was now on my way to the meeting.

つづく

-wp