travels:: day trip to karuizawa

on the weekend, the husband bundled us up and took us to karuizawa, a quaint teeny-tiny town in nagano prefecture, hidden away in the mountains. what a lovely surprise!

its popular with urbanites seeking a cool respite from the busy city and sweltering heat. because of its altitude, the minute you step out of the train station, its cooler and a lot greener.

a quaint little town with an international flair. 

many affluent locals have summer homes in karuizawa amidst the hiking trails, waterfalls and crisp fresh air. the whole town seem to have a unique destination wedding focus too.

from the minute you step out of the train station, there are bikes for rental so you can spend a leisuring afternoon tinkling around town but we decided to explore by foot. there are a tonne of dog friendly places and dog-focused stores everywhere! i loved it!

the husband takes his trip-planning very seriously.

there is a main street down in kyukaruizawa with endless gourmet food stores, french bakeries and little handmade craft stores. there was something for everyone!!

 picked a popular place for lunch with inexpensive soba teishoku, the local speciality.

katsu-don (fried cutlet) for the boy & tempura (deep fried veggie) for me.

oishii des !!

and just when we thought the day couldn't get more awesome, we found an amazing large outdoor mall

which kept us entertained for the rest of the afternoon!! 

we caught the shinkansen from tokyo station, costing us 5,950 yen each way (approx. one hour). 

but a fresh breathe of air, new scenery and some outlet shopping... 

not too bad for a short vacation away from home!! 

xx