Since we live in the sunny Singapore when we travel we usually want to enjoy a different kind of weather so I have been avoiding traveling in the summer for the longest time; also because I find it excruciating to have to walk around in the heat.
However this time lilo dad wants to see the echigo tsumari art triennale which is only held once every three years in the summer. The good news is there is an upside for Japan summer: kakigoori!
As the art festival is in Niigata, we got the JR East Pass for Nagano and Niigata so we also stopped by Nagano and visited the famous Zenkoji temple. After the temple visit we had lunch in a Japanese confectionery shop specializing in our most favorite food CHESTNUT! We had chestnut rice and grilled fish. This shop is the Chikufudo Nagano branch, their original store is from Obuse, a town that is famous for chestnut. I will definitely be back next time for more chestnut in Obuse.