22/04/2020 / Last updated : 13/10/2021 d.d Early Summer Flowers Road Trip '19

Tagokura Dam, Rokujuri-goe Pass and Kiyotsu Gorge　田子倉ダム、清津峡

June 23rd. Oku Aizu Kaneyama is a good place to stay. There was some major construction in progress, but the view is better than most, the facilities are good and rubbish bins are provided. Shachuhaku friendly. It is also set in a picturesque area. Very Nihon mukashi-banashi as in old folk tale. Tagokura Dam Today rain is forecast, but there is some hazy sunshine as we set off. First, we drive to the Tagokura Dam on the Tadami River. The road leading up the dam is very steep and delivers spectacular views. The dam was planned in 1939 but, after many difficulties, was finally finished in 1960, J Power is […]

31/03/2020 / Last updated : 14/10/2021 d.d Early Summer Flowers Road Trip '19

Urabandai hiking – Goshikinuma, Nakasenuma　五色沼、中瀬沼

June 22nd. Intermittent rain during the night at Ura Bandai michi no eki. The morning is overcast and threatening. Ominous clouds hang over the mountains. Goshikinuma We plan a short walk by the coloured ponds of Goshikinuma. Rain is forecast from 11am. but we hope we can manage a brief hike before then. After we set off, the weather improves and we are walking in intermittent sunshine. The weather remains changeable and the wonderful coloured ponds are frequently dimmed by cloud cover. This Goshikinuma hike is an excellent, easy walk (3.6km) for almost everyone. The path is mainly flat, the woods open and airy and the ponds a startling range […]

04/03/2020 / Last updated : 31/10/2021 d.d Early Summer Flowers Road Trip '19

Oguni Panorama Hiking course and Seseragi course at Urabandai　裏磐梯　雄国

June 21st. Ura Bandai michi no eki was very quiet, but the sun has us up before 7am. The other 3 overnight vehicles have already left. Today we plan a long walk, so set off, early-ish, for Laviespa Ura Bandai. This is an onsen, gym and swimming pool complex not far from the michi no eki. We park at the onsen car park and find the Oguni Panorama hiking course west side entrance behind the onsen building with the notice said ‘Beware the Bear’. Oguni Panorama Hiking course This is a fairly easy climb, the trail being clear well marked and a steady rather than a steep incline. At times […]

16/02/2020 / Last updated : 14/10/2021 d.d Early Summer Flowers Road Trip '19

Ura Bandai, Nihon Kitsune　裏磐梯

June 20th. Ferry to Sendai After a smooth night on the Taiheiyo ferry we arrive in Sendai at 10am. We carried our food and beverages (Thank you Seicomart) but this ferry line, I think, offers a better food selection than the Maizuru line. There is boiling water and a microwave available if you want to avoid the pricey restaurants. Shichikashuku and Tsuchiyu michi no eki Once off the ferry, we make for Shichikashuku on Route 113. This is a pleasant enough michi no eki, but it is not exactly on the dam lake as we were expecting. There is an adjoining park plus a park golf course and at the […]

06/01/2019 / Last updated : 09/11/2021 d.d Japan Summer Festivals Road Trip '18

Michi-no-eki in the Oze area

Oze Hinoematamura michi-no-eki. Michi-no-eki Oze Hinoematamura is very good for a restful night but even in mid-August it was cold. The morning temperature was 9 degrees and our thin sleeping bags not enough even with a blanket. Very early, we put the blankets inside the sleeping bags. This makes a world of difference and we sleep well until, at 8am. Then, sun forces us out of the oven. Today is a driving day, as we plan to skirt round the Oze area to the other, Gunma prefecture, side. This route 252 is a wild ride, until we hit route 17 and the road becomes very dull. Climbing up to and around […]

02/01/2019 / Last updated : 09/11/2021 d.d Japan Summer Festivals Road Trip '18

Hiking to Ozenuma, Byobuiwa and Hinoemata Kabuki　尾瀬沼、檜枝岐村

Ozenuma is our destination for today. We leave michi-no-eki Kirara 289 around 9am. It is a place I can recommend, with an adequate onsen, modern toilets plus, steps down to a picnic area, by a small river, that no one seems to notice and is sadly becoming overgrown. Byobuiwa　屏風岩 On our way to Oze National Park, or perhaps in it we stop, by chance, at Byobuiwa. Here is a splendid rushing ,rocky stream set against a sheer rock face precariously supporting quite large pines. A place well worth stopping to see. A hour or so later we reach Miike, where it is necessary to park and take a shuttle bus. […]

31/12/2018 / Last updated : 09/11/2021 d.d Japan Summer Festivals Road Trip '18

Jodo-daira and Ouchi-juku　浄土平、大内宿

Jodo-daira　　浄土平 After leaving Michi no Eki Bandai, we drive the Bandai-Azuma Skyline to Azuma Ko-Fuji. We park at Jodo-daira, at a cost of 400 yen. Due to a landslide, the result of the recent typhoon, from this point the road was closed on the Fukushima City side so, the restaurant was offering all meals at half price. There was a substantial queue, even though it was barely 11am and the restaurant not yet open. We planned to climb to the rim of the small crater and walk the perimeter. The weather, in the car park, was blustery cold with intermittent showers, so we broke out the light down jackets and […]

27/12/2018 / Last updated : 11/11/2021 d.d Japan Summer Festivals Road Trip '18

Sazaedo at Aizu Wakamatsu さざえ堂

Sazaedo An intermittently wet day, so we drive to Aizu Wakamatsu in Fukushima prefecture, via the Bandaisan Gold Line, to visit Sazaedo. This is a spiral, wooden pagoda that was once a temple in its own right. It is situated, naturally, at the top of a flight or two of the inevitable steps. At first we climb to the very top of the steps, to visit the shrine. This is dedicated to the young boy soldiers who committed suicide when they found themselves to be on the losing side of the Boshin War. This was one of the last ditch resistance attempts against the Meiji Restoration’s abolition of the Samurai […]