Hida Furukawa
22/06/2022 / Last updated : 30/01/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Hida Furukawa　　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 […]
Hida Asahi mura
18/06/2022 / Last updated : 30/01/2023 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 […]
Yashimagahara wetland
18/06/2022 / Last updated : 30/01/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Kirigamine Yashimagahara Wetland　　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. […]
Shakuson-ji
09/06/2022 / Last updated : 30/01/2023 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 […]
Mt.Kobo Tomb
09/06/2022 / Last updated : 30/01/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Mt. Kobo Tomb Hiking　弘法山古墳

13th April, 2022 Michi no Eki Farmus Kijimadaira Michi no Eki Farmus Kijimadaira gave us a very quiet night. This michi no eki provides no rubbish bins and there are notices requesting you take your rubbish home. Today we are traveling to Matsumoto city in Nagano prefecture to view the cherry blossom of the 4,000 trees covering an ancient tomb. Nakayama Cemetery　中山霊園 Arriving in Matsumoto we make for the Nakayama municipal cemetery. From there, there is a short, about 5km. return hike to the tomb and 4,000 cherry trees. It was a surprise to find that the cemetery shares space with a mallet golf course. Mallet golf which, I suspect […]
cherry blossom
09/06/2022 / Last updated : 30/01/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Ohkouzu Diversion Channel　大河津分水

12th April, 2022 Ohkouzu Diversion Channel Museum Today is a tribute to civil engineering, as we visit Ohkouzu Diversion channel Museum. The museum was commemorating the 100th. anniversary of a the massive civil engineering project. This was to cut a new course, or an alternative course, for the Shinanogawa river in order to prevent the severe flooding to which it was prone. This was obviously a mammoth project, and it is clear that work, major work, is still in progress one hundred years later. If you have a passing interest in major engineering projects, it is worth a look. If not perhaps give it a miss. I found it interesting […]
26/05/2022 / Last updated : 30/01/2023 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Shogawa Mizukinen Park　　庄川水記念公園

8th. April, 2022 Elusive viewing point Leaving Kanazawa and heading north, our plan is to visit a viewing spot before traveling up the Japan Sea coast. Apparently, the viewing spot provides a birds eye view of the plains dotted with farmhouses each surrounded by its protective screen of trees (Sankyoson). These houses are a notable feature of the windswept plain between the Japan sea and the mountains of Teteyama. I cannot vouch for this as we failed to find it. Our navi. took us to two erroneous locations before we found the right spot but the after climbing past the now closed ski slopes the road ahead was closed until […]
Kanazawa
26/05/2022 / Last updated : 30/01/2023 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Kanazawa Walk　金沢歩き

7th. April, 2022 Kenrokuen　　兼六園 A beautiful, fine morning as we walk a few hundred metres to Kenrokuen a large park in the city centre. It is adjacent to City hall and a large, modern art museum ‘Kanazawa 21century Museum’. Kenrokuen is one of three famous Japanese gardens (The other two are in Mito and Okayama), it was created in the Edo era by a Daimyo in Kaga. There is as a rule an entrance fee to Kenrokuen but, unusually, in cherry blossom season this fee is waived. There are various paths to follow, a couple ponds and blossoms everywhere. In a separate area there is a plum grove, but these […]