27/06/2022 / Last updated : 18/02/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Shirawakawago in spring to Kuzuryu　白川郷から九頭竜

18th April 2022 Michi no eki Hida Hakusan This was our second time to spend a night at Hida Hakusan. It is a good place for an overnight at least outside peak tourist season as the proximity to a world heritage site probably means it get seriously crowded. We shared the car park with perhaps four other vehicles and one person on a Honda 50 who erected a small tent. Kudos. Trucks grinding up the hill do make a noise but there are few. This michi no eki has an adjacent onsen which is spacious and pleasant. The outside bath was, sadly, not in operation due to lack of water. […]

26/06/2022 / Last updated : 19/03/2023 d.d Scenic Drive / Spots

Cape Kamui and Shimamui Beach　神威岬と島武意海岸

June 2019, You Yu Mori michi no eki You yu mori michi no eki is a reasonable place to overnight. The facilities are basic and somewhat odorous but adequate. There is a large car park with mature cherry trees and the odd shaped building offers a view of Hokkaido Komagatake. From the michi no eki we took route 5 for Oshamanbe. This is mostly a long, wide, straight road with low speed limits and numerous Potemkin patrol cars. A boring drive. The tedium was relieved by the impressive and unmistakable presence of Mt. Yotei. Niseko Oyunuma, volcanic pool　　ニセコ大湯沼 At Niseko, we took Niseko Panorama Line (R. 66) and at Niseko […]

26/06/2022 / Last updated : 31/01/2023 d.d Scenic Drive / Spots

Shimokita Peninsula Coast Road and Ferry to Hokkaido　下北半島から北海道へ

June 2019 Yokohama michi no eki was busy from dawn. From first light people were gathering and by 7am two busloads of baseball teams were overwhelming the facilities. Mutsu Bay Coast Road to Hotokegaura and Ooma We have to catch a ferry from Ooma at 1:00 pm so this gives us enough time to take the coast road (R.338) via Wakinosawa and Hotokegaura. This road has a bad reputation and most people avoid it. This seems to me overcautious as almost all the way to Hotokegaura it is two-way traffic. It even has a centre line, so it is merely, bendy. Initially, this route passes a natural harbour formed by […]

26/06/2022 / Last updated : 21/03/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Bense wetlands-yellow Nikko Kisuge and Takayama Inari Shrine　ベンセ湿原、高山稲荷

May 2019, Bense Wetlands and Nikko Kisuge We leave michi no eki Namioka on a cloudy but dry morning, heading for the Bense Wetlands. On arrival, we are pleasantly surprised to find, that the Nikko Kisuge are in bloom. D. thought it would be too early in the year. Nikko Kisuge are a yellow, wetland flower that romantically bloom at dawn and die at day’s close; to be replaced by another bloom the following morning. They are June /July flowers but were well established and beginning to form an expanse of yellow here at the end of May. They are normally followed by irises that change the carpet from yellow […]

22/06/2022 / Last updated : 18/02/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Hida Asahi village and Hida Furukawa Walk　　飛騨古川

17th April 2022 Hida Asahi Cherry Tree tour　飛騨朝日村 This morning we wander around Hida Ashahi-mura to see the, at least locally, famous cherry trees. We walk around the village and visit 4~5 cherry trees at shrines and temple. These are a little disappointing as they are either past their prime or yet to shine. So, we drive a short distance to visit another Shinmei shrine (Aoya district). Here the cherry blossom is reflected in a handily flooded rice field. At night it is clear that this is very special but in daylight with a stiff breeze rippling the water it is beautiful but not outstanding. Hida Furukawa Having had our […]

18/06/2022 / Last updated : 18/02/2023 d.d Scenic Drive / Spots

Achi-mura, Peach flower village　阿智村

16th April 2022 Oshiba Kogen　大芝高原 At michi no eki Oshiba kogen we spend a wet night in a large desolate car park. The toilets are good but would not be adequate if the car park were any less deserted. Our plan for the day is to visit an old wooden school building with a famous cherry tree, but first we wander around the lake at Oshiba koen. This is a very artificial landscape with severely manicured spherical bushes. The pond area is surrounded by pine woods and there are various paths through these woods, but I don’t think they extend more than a couple of hundred metres. There are kids […]

18/06/2022 / Last updated : 18/02/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Kirigamine Yashimagahara Wetland, Empty Walking Path in April　　霧ヶ峰八島ヶ原湿原

April 15th. 2022 Michi no eki Imai Megumi no sato gives us a quiet night of pouring rain but by parking next to the handicapped spaces dry access to the toilets. Kirigamine Yashimagahara Wetland　八島ヶ原湿原 Today we set off for Yashimagahara Wetland in Kirigamine, here there is a walking course of a few kilometres depending on which circular route you choose around the marshy ponds. We had planned to follow the Venus line to this spot, but part of the route is closed until the end of this month, April. So we followed the section that was open and drove for some distance in thick fog with no views at all. […]

09/06/2022 / Last updated : 18/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Shakuson-ji Temple　釈尊寺

April 14th. 2022 This morning we are off to towards Komoro to visit Shakuson-ji, also known as Nunobiki Kannon. This proves to be a very good choice far outweighing our expectations. Shakuson-ji Unimpressive at first, the car park is an anonymous patch of gravel under some trees by the side of the road. There are steps leading upwards. Starting to ascend, We soon find ourselves in a narrow gorge with a small steam, moss covered boulders, tall trees and towering cliffs. As we follow the steps upwards, the gorge becomes ever more dramatic until we come to a small temple gate on our right and high above clinging to the […]