Tag: chino city

Posted on

Shirakaba Highland, a traditional Japanese resort

shirakaba highlands (2) center shirakaba lake

What conditions make it feel like a resort?     It is important not only to have a good view, but also to have a painterly color and a quiet atmosphere.

venus line (3) mt.tateshina
venus line (2) white birch

 

Perhaps it’s because the white birch (Shirakaba in Japanese) forest looks completely white and gives off a feeling that can’t exist in the ordinary world.    So why are pure white birch forest areas created?   This is because seeds in the soil stay dormant until the conditions are right, and when a forest fire or landslide leaves a ruin, they all switch to germinate all at once in order to suppress other plants and monopolize the area where they can grow as quickly as possible.   That’s why there’s a white forest all around, so it’s beautiful.    However, the lifespan of a tree is about 70 years, so the expression “beautiful and short-lived” can also be applied to these trees.

Lake Shirakaba View Point

shirakaba highlands (1) left kurumayama
shirakaba highlands (2) center shirakaba lake
shirakaba highlands (3)right yatsugatake

Although it looks like a picturesque scene, Lake Shirakaba in the center of photos is actually an artificial lake.   There is a restaurant called Asahigaoka on this lakeside that serves very delicious soba noodles.    It’s more like a private house than a storefront.    You can also eat rainbow trout caught in Lake Shirakaba.    This is real, not artificial, indeed.

shirakaba highlands (6)
shirakaba highlands (5) soba at asahigaoka
shirakaba highlands (8) sibukawa maron
shirakaba highlands (7) nijimasu

Detour (Goddess View Point on the way of Venus-Line)

menokami viewpoint (1) left
menokami viewpoint (3) center right central alps
menokami viewpoint (4) right

Detour (Going down to Lake Tateshina on the way of Venus-Line)

venus line down (2)
venus line down (3) mt.tateshina
venus line down (4)
venus line down (5) tateshina lake
shirakoma pond0 cover photo
go back to itinerary 
Posted on

The most densely populated area, foothills of Yatsugatake

chino hightland1 cabbage field and yatsugatake

This was during the Jomon period.    To begin with, the Suwa region is where the Japanese archipelago was split in two after it was torn apart from Asia due to tectonic plate movement.   It is said that 5,000 years ago during the middle Jomon period, it had the highest population density in Japan.    The reason for this is said that people have fled as sea levels have risen due to global warming, people have fled ash fall from a major eruption in Kyushu, and people have come looking for obsidian to use as arrowheads and knives.   The Jomon period had a strong image of being primarily about hunting, but recent research shows that there was a lot of farming involved.

jomon clay figurine1 venus
jomon clay figurine2 venus side
jomon clay figurine3 venus back
jomon clay figurine4 masked goddess
jomon clay figurine5 masked goddess diagonal
jomon clay figurine6 masked goddess side
hacchi clay figurine2 national tresure
go to Hachinohe clay ( national tresure)

Chino also has two of the five national treasure clay figurines.   Pregnant Jomon Venus, masked goddess (above).    Their shape probably have a meaning from the Jomon period, but their deformation is amazing even as modern art.    I also like the clay figures with palms together of Hachinohe.

 

windbreak for save rice2

The current foothills of Mt. Yatsugatake are cool throughout the year, sometimes causing rice harvest failures.    The water is warmed by a reservoir, and the crops are protected by a windbreak forest of red pines.   The cabbage fields, buckwheat fields, and windbreak forest with Yatsugatake in the background are the best photo spots.

chino hightland2
soba field in chino
manhole cover at chino
jomon clay figurine museum
jomon clay figurine7 national treature certificate
jomon clay figurine8 earthenware
jomon clay figurine8 part of earthenware
windbreak for save rice
soba at fairy tale
soba at dougen
pension rokuya3
pension rokuya1
pension rokuya2

shirakoma pond0 cover photo
go back to itinerary
Posted on

Ordinary tourists don’t go to Yokoya Ravine

yokoya ravine11 upper fall

Chino people cultivates the highlands at the foot of Yatsugatake mountains for farming, but the valleys are deep and it is difficult to get water on the highlands.    This Yokoya Ravine is one of those deep valleys.    On the other hands, during the season of autumn leaves, it is beautiful to look up from inside the valley, and from the high ground you can see the Central Alps beyond the carpet of autumn leaves.

yokoya ravine1 otome fall
yokoya ravine1 otome fall

From the Fairy Tale Road, take the side road to Yokoya Hotspring Hotel and first go down to Otome Falls.    However, this is an artificial waterfall.    They simply drop water by forming part of a waterway on a plateau where water is not available due to deep valleys.    I ended up taking many pictures thinking it was a completely natural waterfall.   Afterwards, we continued on the promenade for about an hour along the valley to the Ohtaki(King, directly translated) Falls, one of the highlights and the shape likes a crown, although we felt a bit uneasy along the way not meeting anybody.

yokoya ravine3 kirifuri fall
yokoya ravine4
yokoya ravine5
yokoya ravine7 eagle rock
yokoya ravine9 monolithic
yokoya ravine8 walking pass
yokoya ravine10 king fall

Oshidori-Kakushi(Pair birds hidden, directly translated) Falls, another highlight located upstream, can be approached from the only opposite bank, so it is efficient to descend to Yokoya Ravine after seeing Mishakaike on Yumichi Street.    It is a dynamic waterfall with a large amount of water.

yokoya ravine (4)
yokoya ravine (2)
yokoya ravine (1)
yokoya ravine (10)
yokoya ravine (8)
yokoya ravine (9)

 You can also see this valley from the top of the hill, then return to the Fairy Tale Road and enter the side road that leads to the Yokoya Kannon view point deck.   After walking for about 30 minutes along a scenic promenade from the parking lot, you will arrive at the deck covered in autumn leaves.    From here you can see Ohtaki fall from above.    Furthermore, when I crossed the villa area on my way back to the Fairy Tale Road from Yumichi Street, I came across a family of deers many times.    We cannot tell you where it is, but if you see one, please pass by quietly so as not to startle it.

yokoya kannon viewpoint (4) left
yokoya kannon viewpoint (5) center
yokoya kannon viewpoint (6) right
yokoya kannon viewpoint (1) approach
yokoya kannon viewpoint (2)
yokoya kannon viewpoint (3) terrace
yokoya kannon viewpoint (8) center back central alps
yokoya kannon viewpoint (7)
yokoya kannon viewpoint (9)
shirakoma pond0 cover photo
go back to itinerary 

 

 

Posted on

Feel like you are a painter too, Mishaka pond

misyaka pond (4)

The pond that served as a motif in the painting “Green Echo” by Japanese artist Kaii Higashiyama.

  (source: https://www.higashiyama-kaii.or.jp/)

Karamatsu pine trees change color with the seasons, and the tranquil surface of the water reflects them.    It’s a very famous sight that everyone has seen it somewhere at least once, but when you go to the real site you will find out that it is actually an agricultural reservoir.    Since the area is so cold that agar can form, there is a pond to warm up the water for agriculture.

misyaka pond (1)
misyaka pond (2)
misyaka pond (3)
misyaka pond (5)
misyaka pond (7)
misyaka pond (8)
misyaka pond (9)
misyaka pond (10)
misyaka pond (11)
misyaka pond (12)
misyaka pond (13)

Even when you go out first thing in the morning, photographers with super expensive telephoto lenses line up and take up space.    That may not be interesting, but it’s definitely a sight you should see at least once.

misyaka pond (6)

Photography locations are limited to the west side of the pond, and in the afternoon the surface of the pond reflects light, making it unsuitable for photography.   The best time to take photos is in the morning, because the pine forest on the east side of the pond acts as a light shield and prevents the early morning sunlight from directly reaching the water surface, making the water surface look like a mirror.

shirakoma pond0 cover photo
go back to itinerary