Visiting Karuizawa/Carlos Pueblo

Visiting Karuizawa/Carlos Pueblo

Karuizawa is located in the central south of Nagano Prefecture on Kitasaku District.

It is very interesting to know Japanese names of the local government, township,

city, district, prefecture, urban prefecture and rural prefecture, then finally the

empire government administrated by the premier under the Emperor. I have been

puzzled by Kanji used of them among the United States, Taiwan, and Japan, i.e.

there is no prefecture but county in the U.S. while Taiwanese prefecture is smaller

than in Japan both in size and population. One saying is that Japanese prefecture is

in between the state in U.S. and province in some other nations. Karuizawa is a

considerable new township after Edo era under the influence of two foreigner, a

Catholic priest and an English professor at Tokyo Imperial University as a summer

retreat and winter resort town. I ran into a fellow American Taiwanese who had

traveled in Japan more than 50 times at Akita Station, he recommended me visit

Karuizawa for one reason, the romantic encounter of the current Empress and

Emperor at a tennis court at Karuizawa, a modern day fairy tale which I read about

It during my youth day. The location of the township is very closed to Nagano.

The rapid Shinkansen trains pass the Nagano Japanese Alps like a wind and arrive at

Station of the resort city surrounded with a hill nearby with more than 6 ski tracks

above. There is a modern development of shopping center adjacent to it with a

beautiful pond piling up feet of snow on the edge from previous snowing days. The

shopping center is quite a size likes modern days outlet stores in the U.S. It was early

and not many shoppers. I walked out of the station toward Kyu-Karuizawa, the old town

area to find the tennis courts. At the township information center, a lady was very please

when I asked Michiko’s tennis courts. The then Crown Prince was arranged by the Palace

administrator as match makers to play sets of single with the elegant commoner. The

fell in love and married. The courts is under innovation and I can guess that is a 10  courts

size split in half five each red clay. Observing seats and office are in the middle. It will be

very prestigious and beautiful when is finished. A big Suwa Shrine is almost next door.

I walked out to the Kyu-Karuizawa, the old town street to meet some admirers like me.

There are one story stores kept to the original styles. There are local produce of honey

which get my attention because of Amy’s remedy for cold. I was anxious to go back to

Matsumoto to have a final look of the Castle.

We met at an intersection of Matsumoto and went to buy some lunch boxes for dinner.

She just went inside of the Castle and I still liked to see more of the Castle park. I found

that pair of white swans leisurely wondering on the Kuromon Gate under the red bridge

toward the other side of the front entrance. There was no small white egret to be harassed.

Crows were still flying up and down of the keep, Tenshukaku.