Sugaya Tatara Sannai
24/07/2023 / Last updated : 24/07/2023 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Sugaya Tatara Sannai, Princess Mononoke’s world 　菅谷たたら山内

April 21st. 2023 Michi no eki Sakagura Okuizumo and Orochi no sato Michi no eki Sakagura Okuizumo Koryukan is a dead place. It is flat and has good toilets so for an overnight stay it is fine. Except that the signs tell you not to do that. As a michi no eki it has nothing except the sake products that it wishes to sell as it is basically a sake brewery. There is not even a drink vending machine, so we set off before breakfast in search of coffee. This we find at michi no eki Onochi no sato about 14 kilometres away. This is a much more pleasant place […]
Matsumoto City Museum of Art
09/07/2023 / Last updated : 09/07/2023 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Matsumoto City Museum of Art 　松本市美術館

April 15th. 2023 Shinshu Tsutakijuku provided a reasonable night, even in the rain that started around midnight. There were quite a number of overnight guests. Come the morning all vehicles converged on the parking spaces nearest the toilets. Michi no eki Kobuchizawa We leave, in relentless rain and drive a few kilometres to michi no eki Kobuchizawa to take a look as, we have heard, it has a bakery.  It does have a large prominent chain bakery which specializes in fancy, expensive, sweet things but does not really sell bread. Inside the michi no eki building is a much more modest, real bakery. This offers serious bread, baguettes and crusty […]
06/07/2023 / Last updated : 06/07/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Daizenji – Grape Temple and Shosen-kyo　大善寺、昇仙峡

April 14th. 2023 Michi no eki Otaki onsen We spent the night at michi no eki Otaki onsen. It was a Thursday night so the onsen was closed as was the restaurant. There is a F. Mart open until 10 pm but that is on another level up there with the road. The michi no eki car park etc. are below, deeper in the gorge. The first impression of the place is grim concrete, especially as a section of the parking is under the parking for the convenience store above. The michi no eki is connected to the F. Mart by a rusting spiral staircase. The facilities are also under […]
02/07/2023 / Last updated : 04/07/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Haruna Jinja and Mitsumine Jinja　榛名神社、三峯神社

April 13th. 2023 Michi no eki Green Flower Bokujo Oogo Green Flower Bokujo Oogo proves to be an excellent choice for an overnight stay. The parking area behind the buildings is away from the main road, quiet, flat and spacious. As the facilities can be accessed from either side of the building this is the obvious choice. The facilities themselves are excellent and well maintained though, from a personal perspective, the choice of music I found detrimental to the overall experience. There is also a spacious park next door with tulips and a replica windmill. This park has an observation platform to view the expanse of the Kanto Heiya (plain) […]
24/06/2023 / Last updated : 27/06/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Climbing Mount Tsukuba　筑波山

April 11th. 2023 Michi no eki Hakko no Sato Kozaki Hakko no Sato Kozaki is a reasonable place to stay. It is large with a lot of overnight visitors, but the facilities are large enough to cope and the rubbish bins are emptied regularly. Very busy and rather noisy in the morning due to the convenience store. There is a vegetable stall with exceptionally cheap produce sadly of no use to us. There is also a shop selling all manner of fermented things. Heavy on the miso. Climbing Mt. Tsukuba On leaving we drive to Mt. Tsukuba (877m) where from the shrine, we opt to take the Shirakumobashi course. There […]
Naritasan Shinsho-ji temple
22/06/2023 / Last updated : 22/06/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Nomizo Waterfall and Naritasan Shinsho-ji　濃溝の滝、成田山新勝寺

April 10th. 2023 Very good quiet night at Rosemary Park. In the morning we walk around the other section of the michi no eki. This is the, now abandoned, Shakespeare Park. This consists of a few replica Elizabethan buildings and a small formal garden in a state of some decay. Nomizo waterfall and Kameiwa cave From the michi no eki we drive to Nomizo waterfall and cave. From the parking area there is a short walk and then some steps down to a stream that less than cascades through a natural arch. This forms a pleasing and photogenic scene. Apparently, in the early morning at the equinox you can see […]
18/06/2023 / Last updated : 02/07/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Nokogiriyama Nihon-ji Temple　鋸山日本寺

April 9th. Tokyo Bay Aqua Line Leaving Tokyo via the Aqua Line which we had fondly imagined to be some kind of bridge across Tokyo Bay. It turns out to be a 9.5 kilometre tunnel full of crawling Sunday traffic. After the Umihotaru S.A. it does become a bridge to Chiba side, but the magic has gone. ＊Tokyo Bay Aqua Line ; 3140 yen (car with ETC ; 800 yen) Nokogiriyama Nihon-ji Temple Once in Chiba, a prefecture we are visiting as we have neglected it so far, we head for Nokogiriyama. To climb from the bottom, take the ropeway or drive to the top? That is the question. It […]
08/06/2023 / Last updated : 18/06/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Oomuroyama and Shimoda Walk　大室山、下田

April 2nd. 2023 Gyokuro no sato, as the name apparently suggests, is concerned with high class green tea. There are tea terraces visible from the car park and the merchandise in the shop is generally tea related. From a shachuhaku perspective, it is a very pleasant place for an overnight. It is small, quiet, nowhere near a busy main road and with excellent facilities. Though they are a little far from the parking, so a concern on a wet night. Oomuroyama Cherry Blossom Park It is mainly a driving day, but we want to visit Oomuroyama to stretch our legs. Planning to avoid the cherry blossom park, as it is […]