As we left our Ryokan early in the morning on day 2 we headed towards the ‘middle shrine’. Near the shrine is one of the most famous Soba shops in all of Nagano. We wrote our names down on the waiting list and hoped to come back in the afternoon. After a brief stop at the shrine we took the hiking course to ‘mirror lake’. It was another perfect day for hiking with fall colors all around us. There was a bit of wind so the reflection was not great, but the view was still pretty amazing. After the lake it was off to Togakushi Ninja Village, a ninja themed amusement park where kids (and adults ) can enjoy being a ninja for the day. Tired from climbing around all the obstacle courses we stopped to relax in the local Onsen for a bit. We went back to the famous Soba place for lunch, and even though they had called our name a long time ago they still let us in without the standard 2 hour+ wait. After the delicious Soba lunch, we hiked to the two ‘lower shrines’. Finally, as we headed back to Nagano station and back home, we stopped to tour Zenkouji the large and famous 1,400 year old temple in Nagano city.