admin | Japanese Countryside Travel Notes

2022-09-062022-09-06

Chagu-ChaguｰUmakko (Iwate Prefecture)

It takes place on 2nd Saturday of June. Iwate, especially the north of it, named ‘Nambu’ has been a horse production ares. A pair of sculpture in front of shrines as a guardian ae sometimes changed from dogs normally to horces. Humen and horses live together under the same roof in the countryside. Humen pray their health and safe and the road of pray had became the parade from countryside(Takizawa village) to Morioka city of more than 100 horses dressing up which are nurtured with care in each house.

*)It takes almost half day on foot(14km) when you follow the parade, so it is a good idea to stay ahead of the curve using trains(st.Aoyama,etc). The parade takes breaks on the way several times and then nursing baby horses get milk from their mothers.

At last, poud parade groups marches through Morioka city and Sansa Dancing welcomes them early in advance the festival season without controling their impulse.

2022-04-042022-04-04

Visiting One Symbolic Cherry Blossom Tree in each village

Local people have grown up one symbolic cherry tree in each village, especially along with the central corridor of Fukushima prefecture. That tree is exactly the support of the heart and guardian deity of the region. And it is usual that these cherry trees have a parent-child-grandcild relationshiping each other. When season in full bloom comes, local people in the village make hospitality with local ingredients under the tree to enjoy in Spring with each other.

Dumplings rather than Flowers in Nakajima

1)Cherry tree in Nakajima has a Jizo sculpture where people pray fo long life of their children. You can see the mountains with snow on the top over the cherry blossom tree.

Cherry Tree in Nakajima

Frog Egg in Paddy Field

2)Weeping cherry tree in the old batllefield has clear pink of cherry blossoms over yellow carpet of rape flowers.

Weeping Cherry Tree on the old Battlefield

3)Waterfall cherry tree in Miharu, at which you have to have a look once before you die, is a huge creature with guardian deity inside.

Waterfall Cherry in Miharu1

Waterfall Cherry in Miharu2

Waterfall Cherry in Miharu4

The tree “2” is a daughter and the tree “1” is a grandchild of the tree “3” ! Local people are also connected through the tree generation.

Snow Mountain over Cherry Blossom Heaven1 — Go back to Itinerary

2022-04-032022-04-04

Cherry Blossom Heaven all over the mountains

It’s just Eden or Heaven fulfilled by cherry blssoms and other spring flowers. This park is named by Hanamiyama Park, meaning the mountain park where people have a look at flowers reading it like a Japanese letter. But to be surprised, these mountains are private garden farms and opened to the public with friendly heart.

All of the mountains are fulfilled by cherry and other blossoms and you can find all kinds of colors in Spring.

Stop by shops with natural foods and prodcts and amuse yourself. Big bottle of Hyakkamitsu, named from 100 sorts of flowers’ honey, which is collected by Japanese small bees, has been offering pure, natural sweat taste more than 3years in my kitchen.

Snow Mountain over Cherry Blossom Heaven2

Gallery (click photos)

Weeping Cherry Tree

Cherry Blossom Heaven1

Cherry Blossom Heaven2

Cherry Blossom Heaven4

Walking Road3

Walking Road4

Walking Road5

Walking Road6

Mt.Fuji in Fukushima

2021-11-032022-01-03

Nametsu Waterfall like a water slider, stopping by fresh soba festival

Nametsu Otaki Waterfall is a two-tiered waterfall that covers a wide river width (30m), but the remarkable feature is the smooth surface of tuff under the waterfall. So I intuitively thought it would be interesting if this was a water slider. Another idea is to pour somen (noodle) from the top of waterfall and scoop it up at the bottom of waterfall. It would be a fun for cool noodle !
Shichikashuku town wouldn’t adopt these ideas……..

shichigasyuku road soba festival — shichikashuku road soba festival

There are a lot of soba restaurants along Shichikashuku Highroad connected to Takahata town, Yamagata where Takahata winery is located. In this season we can eat fresh buckwheat noodles by grinding freshly picked soba with a stone mill. Especially you can try some remarkable restaurants at the same time at cheap price during soba festival.

2021-11-022021-10-30

Historical Warehouses in Murata Town

Once upon a time, safflower was a big trade product for lipsticks and dyes. Yamagata was famous as a production center, and the decoration of the cap of the Hanagasa Ondo (dance) is safflower. However, the southern part of Miyagi Prefecture was also a safflower production area, and Murata Town became a trading center. Then the merchant who made the fortune set up the warehouse. Historical warehouses remain miraculously because the main railway and road has passed another route.

One of these warehouses is now my favorite sake brewery. It was a pity that the day I visited to buy something it was close.

Detour (Togatta Hot Spring overlooking Mt.Zao)

There are many really good hot springs around Mt.Zao, Togatta, Aone, Gaga, etc. You can feel free to use the public bath to ease the fatigue of your trip.

2021-10-312021-10-31

Yokokawa Valley with calm and peaceful Chourou Lake was a true discovery !

Ordinary people will go to Miyagi Zao Fox Village near here, but countryside lovers can’t pass Yokokawa Valley and Chourou Lake which are located on the foot of Mt.Zao.

The name of Zao comes from the fact that Zao Gongen, mountain religion, was separated from the Kinpusenji Temple in Yoshino, Nara, where cherry blossoms bloom all over the mountain. Before then, a part of the predecessor of this Zao name was called Mt. Fubousan, now which can be seen well from Yokokawa Valley and Chourou Lake. It is a mountain that has appeared in Japanese classics, and it means a mountain that you never forget in literary.

The idyllic view of Chourou Lake and the view of Mt. Fubousan from the longest suspension bridge in Tohoku will be a memory you will never forget.

Gallery (click photos)

yokokawa valley suspension bridge

yokokawa valley and mt.fubou

yokokawa valley damm lake

chourou lake2

yokokawa valley jizo

chourou lake3

2021-10-302021-10-29

Take a walk from the top to the bottom of Akiu Otaki Big Waterfall

As you enter the temple next to the Botanical Garden, you will find a place overlooking the famous Akiu Otaki Big Waterfall. Before that, there is something to write down. There is a store selling various herbs at the entrance. Among them was a tree of eye drops found in the real botanical picture book in the garden. ‘Tree of eye drops’ is just the name of tree. When the bark of the tree was boiled, it turned into a pink liquid, and drinking it helped with eye fatigue. I felt a bit bitter but healthy.

A trail extends to the bottom of the waterfall. The bottom of the waterfall was wider than I expected. I’ve come a long time ago, but at that time I had a narrower memory, but has it collapsed?
As the waterfall runs down east, if you try to take a picture, it will be backlight or strong shade unless it is early in the morning.

2021-10-262021-10-26

Akiu Botanical Garden only where delicate waterfalls can be seen

Although it is close to the border of Yamagata prefecture, I arrived in about 30 minutes from Sendai city due to the development of transportation.

The botanical gardens have wonderful flowers, fresh greenery and autumn leaves in each season(closed in winter), but in

addition there are two wonderful waterfalls that cannot be seen unless you enter here. A typical tourist will return home after seeing Akiu Otaki Big fall near here, but let’s step on the fallen leaves and find your wonderful autumn here.

Gallery (click photos)

akiu botanical garden entrance

akiu botanical garden

sudare waterfall

akiu botanical garden

mizore waterfall

akiu botanical garden

akiu botanical garden autumn leaves

2021-02-052021-02-05

Craft Balloon Festival

During craft balloon festival people return from urban to reunite with family. Their wishes drawn on the balloons by themselves will come true with craft balloon lift-up. People including tourists participated releasing balloons. It was a fantastic moment !

Many balloons stay in the night sky and eventually disappear into the mountains.
What will happen to the balloon blown away at last ? “Maybe falling in the deep mountains”, local people said.
*) Caution
It was too cold not to stay venue long time.

2021-02-032021-02-03

Construction of snow house

‘Snow house’ named as ‘KAMAKURA’ in Japanese is a famous play spot among children. They enjoy eating something and playing games in the house. The water God is enshrined inside for wishing coming Spring to bring a lot of water to fields.
Even if not during festival period, we enjoyed a permanent ‘snow house’ in a huge refrigerator. Children inside surround fireplace and look warm, but never warm rather cold !

Just then, people were constructing snow houses here and there in YOKOTE city. First making a snow circle mountain by hand, next making a side hole.

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Detour (Togatta Hot Spring overlooking Mt.Zao)

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