Summer in Nagano - Day 1

Almost everyone in the office was excited to take their summer vacation, including me. It's been really busy recently and everyone wanted to take a week off. 

I took a week off but I only went out for 3 days. The other days were spent lazing around and watching movies and dramas.

I got invited to Nagano by a friend and I didn't want to miss a good chance so as soon as my vacation leave got approved, I asked a friend of mine to help me book a ticket to Nagano. I took the highway bus, because it's the cheapest choice. 

It took around 3 hours from Shinjuku to Nagano; that made the trip more or less 4 hours from where I live. My friend and her husband waited for me near the bus stop and we drove to Higashiyama Kaii Gallery. 

Driving to the gallery

My museum experiences here in Japan were all great. I wish I could show you what's inside the gallery but taking photos is not allowed.

Few minutes away from the gallery is Zenkoji temple. The temple is said to store the first ever Buddhist statue brought to Japan. The original statue is hidden while a replica is shown to the public every 6 years. 

I was having my photo taken when a priest passed by. 

Looks like they just had Obon festival. 

There were a lot of people coming in and out of the temple when we visited.

Japanese architecture never fails to impress me. There's that feeling of being "classic" that gets me really drawn to temples, shrines and old buildings.

These will always be present in temples. People write their wishes in small wooden tablets, and hang them like this. 

After walking around the temple, we decided to go home but we stopped by my friend's son's house first. I met her son and daughter-in-law. We stayed for about 30 minutes and headed to the supermarket because I promised to cook a Filipino dish for them. 

I had dinner with my friend's family and one of her friends who came over. I was welcomed warmly and it was an amazing first day.