12/02/2020 / Last updated : 14/10/2021 d.d Early Summer Flowers Road Trip '19

Hosooka Viewing Point, Rokka no Mori 　細岡展望台と六花の森

June 15th. Hosooka Viewing Point The morning at Takkoku Campsite is damp and blustery but the only rain is an intermittent sprinkle borne on the wind. For an overall, last look at the wetlands, we set off for the Hosooka Viewing Point. From here there is a good scenic vista of the marshes and the meandering Kushiro River. There is a visitor centre near the viewing point, but parking is limited so it is better to park in the much larger parking area a little lower down. This large car park serves the tiny Kushiro Shitsugen station. The visitor centre is large and provides comfortable armchairs around a huge wood […]

01/02/2020 / Last updated : 15/10/2021 d.d Early Summer Flowers Road Trip '19

The Taushubetsu Rail Bridge emerges from the water　タウシュベツ橋梁

June 11th. Minami Furano michi no eki is a good place to stay. The parking is flat, the toilets are modern and clean, and it is away from the main road. It is busy in the morning and there are no rubbish bins, but a good place nevertheless.. Shikaribetsuko – Lake Shikaribetsu　　然別湖 We head off to Shikaribetsuko but on the way we run into fog at the Karikachi-pass on R.38 and when we drop down to the lake it is mostly covered in mist. The only access to the lake, we find, is by a large hotel. There is a jetty with boats to hire for fishing but little else. […]

01/01/2020 / Last updated : 24/06/2022 d.d Early Summer Flowers Road Trip '19

Yoichi Nikka Whiskey and Hamanasu no Oka Koen　余市ニッカウィスキー

June 3rd. Yoichi Nikka Whisky Museum Being a Monday, the space museum is closed so we opt for the Nikka Whisky factory/museum instead. This is, surprisingly, busy quite early in the morning. The popularity of the place is probably due to an NHK drama based on Taketsuru Masataka. And his Scottish wife Rita. Taketsuru is the father of Japanese whisky. By chance, we stumbled upon his birthplace (also popular) Takehara in Hiroshima on a previous trip. I had expected to see a working factory as the Nikka Yoichi factory is operational, but the public viewing is confined to historical or replica buildings. Hamanasu no Oka Koen　　ハマナスの丘公園 From Yoichi we move […]

14/12/2019 / Last updated : 14/07/2022 d.d Early Summer Flowers Road Trip '19

Mt.Chokai Waterfalls and Namahage Demons　鳥海山、男鹿ナマハゲ

May 29th. Mototaki Fukuryusui　元滝伏流水 A wet night at Kisakata michi no eki but by morning the weather is clearing. Mt. Chokai is still a mass of towering, grey cloud but there are patches of blue out over the Nihonkai (Japan sea). We set off for Mototaki Fukuryusui. This is about 15 minutes’ drive from the michi no eki. This is a natural spring, that forms many small waterfalls. It is fed by the numerous rivulets emerging from the subterranean springs of Mt. Chokai. The whole area is covered in a luxuriant moss due to the damp and shade. There is a pleasant ten minute or so walk through the woods […]

11/09/2019 / Last updated : 24/10/2021 d.d Shikoku and Kii peninsula 2018

Naoshima-Benesse House Museum 　直島

November 9th. Naoshima The rain in the night causes us no problem and we are awake early to catch the Shikoku Kisen ferry from Takamatsu to Naoshima. We arrive in good time for the 10 am sailing. It is a sunny morning, after the overnight rain, and the short boat ride to the island is very pleasant. ＊Takamatsu – Naoshima (Miyanoura) ; 990 yen / adult (return) On arrival at Naoshima, we have a picnic lunch at the ferry port with a view of Kusama Yayoi’s red pumpkin. We then take the 100-yen bus to the Chichu Museum but, rather than enter, we walk along the road devoid of cars, […]

29/08/2019 / Last updated : 26/10/2021 d.d Shikoku and Kii peninsula 2018

Tokoro Museum and Kirosan Observatory on Shimanami Kaido　しまなみ海道

October 30th. A very quiet night. Shimanami no eki Mishima is fine for an overnight stay. The toilet is basic and none too clean, but it is ok. Oyamazumi Shrine 　大山祇神社 We start the day with a wander around Oyamazumi shrine on Omishima island. This is next door to Shimanami no eki Mishima. The shrine is quite large with a fine Kusunoki (Camphor) tree. Some of the buildings are new, but these are in traditional style. A good example of a better than average shrine. Worth a visit. Tokoro Museum After a tour around Omishima island, we visit the Tokoro Museum. This is a small art museum, built as a […]

27/08/2019 / Last updated : 20/02/2022 d.d Kyushu Circumnavigation December 2017

Kirishima Open-Air Museum 霧島アートの森

Kirishima Open-Air Museum On a trip to see the eruption of Shinmoedake in Kirishima volcano, we discovered the Kirishima Open-Air Museum. This was a real surprise. As you wander around a large, pleasant park of grassy expanses and a woodland of spindly trees, you can view the work of a variety of artists. Being an open air exhibition, it is sculpture based. The works are, however, of wildly different concepts. They range from the outrageous pop of Kusama Yayoi’s huge polka-dot shoes, to the enigmatic, sinister yet vulnerable “Insiders”. Antony Gormley’s frail figures lurking in the thin trees. There is perhaps something for most tastes, solid stone, spindly things that […]

25/07/2019 / Last updated : 01/11/2021 d.d Tateyama and Japan's South-West Coast trip '17

Dinosaur Day in Fukui　福井県立恐竜博物館

October 23rd. The morning after A wild night, not the election, the weather. By the morning, one lift is out of action due to rain being driven down the shaft. The landing in front of the lift doors is strewn with detritus blown down the shaft and through the crack around the edges of the lift itself. Remarkable in a large modern building. Fukui Hotel Academia Breakfast, a buffet style affair, turns out to be much better than expected so for a cheap, excellent deal in Fukui consider the Academia. It also boasts a swimming pool, gym and restaurant/coffee shop as part of the complex. These remain untried. Today is […]