Turns out that Sendai is nearing its peak for Fall colors:
This means that, as we go south and east, we will be too early. As Matsumoto is at a higher elevation, perhaps our viewing today might still be okay. However, the peaks are Tokyo on November 27, Nagoya November 19, and Osaka is today. Strange.
Recall that The Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami were on 11March2011. I was in Bangkok, with a flight scheduled for Narita Airport (that photo to the right is of the Sendai Airport after their tsunami) the next day. Although there was chaos and huge uncertainty about my Thai Air plane being able to land in Japan, I went. That was one of the toughest days of my life.
This means that, as we go south and east, we will be too early. As Matsumoto is at a higher elevation, perhaps our viewing today might still be okay. However, the peaks are Tokyo on November 27, Nagoya November 19, and Osaka is today. Strange.
Recall that The Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami were on 11March2011. I was in Bangkok, with a flight scheduled for Narita Airport (that photo to the right is of the Sendai Airport after their tsunami) the next day. Although there was chaos and huge uncertainty about my Thai Air plane being able to land in Japan, I went. That was one of the toughest days of my life.
Interestingly enough, the Japanese media then were calling the calamity The Great Sendai Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011. I was actually reporting on this event for The Huffington Post, but I took THE CHICKEN AND CHICKEN LITTLE SCHOOL OF REPORTAGE. My HuffPo provided regular updates to The Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. What you see in that article is the totality of all the continuities.
A year later I returned to the Sendai Westin:
While the general area of Tohoku dropped by nearly 50,000 since the Great Earthquake of 11March11, the population of Sendai actually increased. With about a million people, this is the largest city in Tohoku. Founded in 1600, it is known as the City of Trees.
Three years later I found myself again staying at the Westin Sendai and paid only $45/night. Maybe people stopped coming to this "radiated" area. The price today is five times higher, and, while parts of the Fukushima area remain blocked off, Sendai looks normal.
Started the morning with a huge breakfast at the Westin Sendai:
Matsumoto has a population of 240,000 and is 77 miles from Tokyo. The city made headlines in June of 1994 as the site of the sarin gas attacks. Silk spinning is still an industry here. There are two universities and an airport. It has a sister-city relationship with Salt Lake City. Matsumoto soba is famous for its delicate taste. Outside the rail station is a statue of a little girl with a violin, for the Suzuki method of teaching was created by Shinichi Suzuki, who lived here. Matsumoto Castle, built 400 years ago, is the primary attraction. 
Everything was in Japanese, but somehow we got through the ordering process and started with sashimi, which was not fish, but beef...and I hope not tongue. That rice paddle had scorched miso to add flavor:
The second course was duck soup:
The meal ended with Zaru Soba and tempura, which was perfectly al dente:
A pot of hot something came to pour into that dipping sauce at the end to serve as a soup finale'. Two of the above with one glass of beer cost around $45. Add the one hour wait time, and it's a toss-up whether the experience was worthwhile.
Tomorrow I'll report on Matsumoto Castle and whether I saw Pearl's Gold Koi.
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Once Typhoon Fung-Wong has weakened into a tropical storm and should today pass near Ishigaki Island, one of the island-stops of our Diamond Princess next week-
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