On Thursday we left for a two-day trip for Chichibu, about a 2-hour train ride away. We first took a train to Kumagaya. In Kumagaya, we boarded a steam-locomotive train, the same one we rode in May, although the part of the route that we rode is different.
We did not have reserved seats, but it wasn’t crowded so we didn’t have difficulty sitting. It helped that we got on at the first station of the line.
We rode an hour and twenty minutes, and got off in Nagatoro. In Nagatoro, we rode a ropeway to the top of Mt. Hodo (note the similarity to Mt. Hood), where there was a zoo. We fed monkeys and could walk amongst the pigs and deer. They also had some big turtles. The foot-high enclosure was not so convincing, one turtle seemed determined he could escape:
That night we stayed in a ryokan in Nagatoro. Dinner was in a private room there.
We also ate breakfast at the hotel:
The next day we rode a boat down the river, a long wooden boat that carried about 20 tourists. In some places the boat went quite fast, since there was a lot of water in the river from the previous day’s rain. Noah and Sarah enjoyed it:
After that, we rode the steam locomotive train again to go to a cave, but by then it was raining. At least the kids had their rain jackets. We got back to Kichijoji in the early evening.
Noah, Sarah and a House 
August 28, 2011 at 4:34 am
Looks like a great trip. The train and boat rides must have been fun.
August 28, 2011 at 4:46 am
Just checked on a map to see where you went. You were well into the mountains. It must have been a relief to be in a cooler place.