Jun 29, 2017
Magome to Tsumago: Walking the Nakasendo Way
During the Edo era the Tokkaido and the Nakasendo roads were the two main routes that connected the new capital of Edo (now Tokyo) and the old Capital of Kyoto, with the latter, as the name suggests, passing through the mountainous centre of Japan and the former following the coast. While there are today more convenient ways of traveling from east to west, there are parts of these old paths that are still well maintained, and they are a great way to enjoy Japan’s beautiful countryside as you take a step back into Japan’s history.
Just 90 minutes from Nagoya, the 8km (5mi) passage between Magome and Tsumago, respectively the 43rd and 42nd stops along the Nakasendo, is one such stretch that makes for a lovely day out, pretty much no matter your fitness level.
Magome
An Edo period-style building in Magome
Probably the best way to take the trail is starting in Magome and heading towards Tsumago. The reason for this is that this direction is downhill for the most part (although it may not seem like that as you begin, more of which later). The town of Magome is quaint and charming in the rural Edo period style, although it has been mostly recreated to encourage tourism, and upon arrival you are likely to find that you are far from alone. When I visited there, dozens of us got off the local bus where we met a fair few tour buses of Japanese and Chinese tourists, and I was concerned that the trail would be quite busy, but after we walked to the top of the town, we found that most of those were there just to capture photographs of the view and buy souvenirs, after which they returned to their buses. Many websites will tell you that Magome is the more attractive town (hence the proliferation of tourists), and as beautiful as it is, you cannot escape the feeling that it was rebuilt only with this tourism in mind. However, the view from the top of the town, with the mountains ahead of you as the valley falls away below is quite breathtaking.
The view from the top of Magome
The walk to Tsumago
Perhaps the beauty of the walk to Tsumago, apart from its natural beauty, is its accessibility. For a start it is very well signposted, and at pretty much every twist and turn along the way you will find clearly marked directions in bth Japanese and English, so there is very little danger of getting lost. Also, it is relatively easy going. I walked the trail comfortably enough in running shoes, and I was joined by my parents, both of whom are in their 60’s, although admittedly they do a fair bit of walking back in the U.K. The first part of the trail is quite uphill and tiring, though it does afford some beautiful views. It is recommended that along with plenty of water you carry a small bell attached to your person to ward off bears, however we didn’t have one and as such made good use of the bear bells periodically stationed along the route.
Ring the bell, keep the bears away
While we fortunately didn’t run into any bears, we were lucky enough to come across a tribe of monkeys hanging out in a rice field enjoying the morning sunshine which absolutely made my father’s day. If you do the same, remember to keep your distance as they can become aggressive and are known to throw stones at people that they feel are encroaching on their patch. Monkeys, that is, not my father, although…
All along the route there are many shrines, for which there are some explanations of what they are in English, and for those that are not explained, you can probably find information on in the route map that you can pick up from one of the tourist stores when you start out in Magome.
The pathway to Tsumago is, for the most part, well maintained with paving, and there are even a few toilet stops along the way. One of those, my mother was flabbergasted to find was even equipped with the Japanese washlet seat, which is not something that you have at rest stops on any U.K. equivalent walks, where your toilets tend to be bushes, if you are lucky.
As the path very occasionally crosses main roads, if you are flagging in the energy stakes or should the weather 
turn on you, you have the possibility to catch one of the semi-frequent buses that serve the area. But if you do so, you should try to at least get as far as the waterfalls that are about two thirds of the way along the course. While they are not as remarkable as what you will find at Yoro, they are still beautiful, and the rushing sound of the water and the sensation of the spray helps you to cool down and reenergize you for the remainder of the walk to Tsumago.
Tsumago
While guidebooks will have it that Magome is the place to visit, in my opinion, Tsumago is the more attractive town. As mentioned, while the former has been recreated to affect the Edo era village, Tsumago is the real deal. While it is a little more rough around the edges, it is all the more charming for it. It is well worth an hour of your time walking around the town, basking in the old-world feel of the area and going into one of the many restaurants and unwinding with some local food and a couple of beers (if you are that way inclined, and after the walk, my parents and I were very much that way inclined).
But, as a word of warning, keep a track of time, as the buses from Tsumago to Nagiso station are few and far between, and my parents and I enjoyed it so much that we overstayed and had to get a taxi back to the train station.
Mind you, it was well worth it.
Getting to Magome
The closest train station to Magome is Natsugawa, from which runs a bus service taking about 25 minutes. Times on weekdays are 7:42, 9:10, 9:40, 10:15, 11:15, after which they are 12 minutes past the hour until 5:12pm, with the last bus at 18:30. On weekends and public holidays buses run at 8:10, 9:10, 9:40, 10:15, 11:15, then again at 12 minutes past the hour until 16:12, with the last bus at 17:45. (Magome map)
Leaving Tsumago
Returning to Nagoya from Tsumago you should take the train from Nagiso. Buses leave Tsumago to Nagiso station at 7:44, 9:14, 9:41, 11:16, 11:54, 13:51, 14:09, 15:26, 16:04 and 17:41. Should you not want to hang around or you miss the last bus taxis can be found at the bus station, although not so many outside of peak season. (Tsumago map)
Mark Guthrie
Images: Mark Guthrie (own work)
Jun 29, 2017
English Language Yoga Classes in Tokyo
With its combination of strength, stamina and flexibility, there are very few forms of exercise that gets your body into peak physical fitness like yoga. Having originated in India, the discipline has spread throughout the world and it continues to grow in popularity, with one 2016 study showing that 20.4 million Americans practice it, up almost 20% from 2004.
If you are one of the many millions who prefer posing as a mountain to climbing one, or for whom their favorite type of dog is the downward variety, living in Tokyo should not preclude you from continuing the pastime. There are many yoga schools in the city, a few of which hold classes in English. So, whether you are just a fresh faced new ‘warrior’ or someone for whom the ‘wounded peacock’ holds no fear, you are likely to find a studio that caters for you.
Yoga Jaya – Ebisu
Yoga Jaya is one of the most popular yoga studios in Tokyo. Classes for all skill levels are held throughout the day and many of these are taught in both English and Japanese simultaneously depending on the instructor, with drop-ins welcome (though booking in advance is advised). They regularly host yoga workshops with local and international yoga teachers of different styles and backgrounds, and they even run teacher training courses for serious yogi.
- Where: 1-25-11 Ebisunishi, Shibuya (map)
- Website: yogajaya.com
Be Yoga – Hiroo
There are just three class levels to choose from at Be Yoga, Japan’s first ISHTA yoga school, which means it may not be a place for beginners to start out, but if you know your Ashtanga from your elbow, it’s well worth checking out. With its opening hours being during regular working hours, its main clientele tend to be housewives with an average age of 40-ish, but these women (and a few men) know what they are doing. Don’t expect to spend your time gazing out of their floor to ceiling windows, be prepared to work!
- Where: 5-10-26 Minamiazabu, Minato-ku (map)
- Website: beyogajapan.com
Bikram Yoga – Aoyama
For those of you who like it hot, the Aoyama branch (or one of the six other locations in the city) of the Bikram Yoga school should be right up your alley. While the originator of this studio, California based Bikram Choudhury, is considered somewhat controversial, his style of yoga continues to be extremely popular. Though practicing yoga in a 40 degree Celsius (104F) room may sound like torture to some, many devotees of the style swear by its ability to aid in flexibility and improve postures with no warm-up needed. What is needed during their twice weekly English language courses, however, is drinking water, and plenty of it. Not to mention a good shower afterwards.
Shizen Yoga – Kichioji
Pre and post-natal yoga is available at Shizen Yoga
If the heat of Bikram or the advanced level of Be Yoga concerns you, then perhaps you should try out Shizen Yoga. Ideal for beginners, they offer gentle, relaxed classes focusing on meditation and recovery, making it perfect for those easing their way into yoga or using the discipline as a form of rehabilitation. They also offer classes for post and pre-natal care and as they have family passes, they are one of the few studios that actively encourages you to take your children along.
- Where: Entopia Kichijoji 201 2-5-9 Kichijoji, Musashino (map)
- Website: shizenyoga.com
Yoga Tree – Hiroo
Yoga Tree prides itself on being accessible for all levels of yogi, which is reflected in the fact that there are no initial membership fees and drop ins are welcome. Being in Hiroo, amongst the embassies, there is a distinct international vibe, and they offer classes in English, Japanese and a combination of the two. They don’t adhere to a single style of yoga, however they are strong believers in the value of practicing with attention to alignment, employing a method called Blueprint Alignment that helps them place you in a class that is befitting of your needs.
- Where:Shibuya, Hiroo, 5 Chome – 5 -1 Tanaka Building (map)
- Website: yogatree.jp
By Mark Guthrie
Image by Hamza Butt (Own work) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via flickr.com (modified)
Image by Aktiv I Oslo.no (Own work) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via flickr.com (modified)
Jun 28, 2017
The Orix Buffaloes – It’s Baseball, Japanese Style
Baseball is considered the biggest spectator sport in Japan but if you find yourself at a Nippon Professional Baseball league game do not expect to merely sit and watch. In most of the Japanese professional sports there are “performance” sections where at the very least you will be expected to sport the correct team’s colors and are likely to be a participant in coordinated cheering led by cheer captains.
Baseball in Japan started in the 1870s when students returning from the United States and visiting professors and other Americans introduced the game. In Kobe the local franchise is the Orix Buffaloes. Nippon Professional Baseball is composed of twelve teams playing in two leagues; the Buffaloes play in the Pacific League. Unlike American professional sports, Japanese teams play in the uniforms of corporate sponsors not their hometowns. The Buffaloes baseball lineage traces back to 1936 when they were one of the country’s first professional nines operated by the Hanshin Kyuko Railway Company. The Buffaloes competed in the Japanese Baseball League at the time and later became a charter member of the Nippon Professional Baseball circuit in 1950.
The franchise came to Kobe in 1991 and became the Orix BlueWave. The 1990s were a time of glory for the team as Orix was led by Ichiro Suzuki, the greatest Japanese export to the Major League in the US. Suzuki set Japanese records for highest batting average and most base hits in a season while playing in the city where he was known as the “Hit Manufacturing Machine.” Suzuki’s lifetime batting average with Orix was .353. In 1996, Orix won its only Japan Series since moving to Kobe. In 2004 the league underwent a realignment and the Blue Wave merged with the Kintetsu Buffaloes to become the Orix Buffaloes.
The team splits its home schedule between the Kobe Sports Park Baseball Stadium and the Kyocera Osaka Dome, two completely different facilities. In contrast to the indoor stadium, Hotto Motto Field Kobe is one of the rare baseball fields in Japan that would be familiar to an American fan – the playing surface is all grass in the infield and outfield and there are dirt basepaths.
Japan loves its big furry mascots and baseball games with the Orix Buffaloes are no exception. Buffalo Bull was the first golden-horned cheerleader to take the field with his repertoire of antics. Bull was popular enough but he has been overshadowed as the lead team mascot since the arrival of his sister, Buffalo Bell. The city loves the pink-haired BuBell who is said to be the most popular of all the Japanese baseball mascots. Her merchandise outsells brother BuBull three to one. He wears uniform number 111, she cavorts about in #222.
Like baseball everywhere, food and beer are a big part of the Japanese baseball experience. You can find traditional American hot dogs at Japanese baseball stadiums but the local delicacies are most sought after. At Orix Buffaloes games that means Kobe beef croquettes. The beer comes from beer girls who roam the ballpark aisles with pony kegs strapped to their back, ready to pour a fresh cold one for fans. And when you go to a game, don’t forget to wear your gold and blue Orix Buffaloes colors.
By Sakuraikubuki (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Jun 28, 2017
There Is No Other Place in the World Like Tottori’s Sand Museum
At Japan’s one-of-a-kind Sand Museum, the art has as much in common with the sand sculptures built at the beach with a plastic bucket as the works of the great masters do with children’s finger paintings. The Sand Museum is located in Tottori across the peninsula from Kobe, known for its 16 kilometres of dunes on the western seacoast. But not that well-known, Tottori has the smallest population of any of Japan’s 47 prefectures. Not many tourists make it to the area as well.
The idea back in 2006 was to create a tourist attraction for Tottori based on its majestic natural dunes. The hills of sand are the largest in Japan, bits of earth carried for some 100,000 years by wind and the Sendai River down from the Chugoku Mountains. Sand sculptures were not only a natural fit for the area but also expressed the ethos of frailty and impermanence that is a Japanese virtue. The catch is that none of the sand in the great dunes can be disturbed since they have been declared a national park and natural treasure. But there were tons of sand around Tottori that had been displaced over the years during road-building projects.
So artists from around the world were invited to come and create art in the sand. The sculptures were protected by tents and crumbled in about six weeks. The project attracted about 100,000 curious sightseers. The sand art gained notoriety and after a few years a permanent facility – the Sand Museum – was erected to house the sculptures. Now the artists work with 3,000 tons of sand and the sculptures stand for eight months. There is no natural erosion and the artwork must be bulldozed down each year to make way for the next year’s artists and a new theme.
Katsuhiko Chaen is the artistic director of the Sand Museum, a former champion in the World Sand Sculpting Championships. He invites artists from around the world who come from the professional international sand-sculpting circuit. Their tool kits include shovels and chisels. So far Chaen has yet to invite a Japanese artist to present in the Sand Museum but he believes the local talent is fast catching up with its foreign brethren. Visitors to the museum are encouraged to try their hand at the sand-sculpting technique as well.
The annual themes are geographically based which encourages many architectural and historical reproductions. The treasures of Italy were the first to be depicted and since then Africa, Great Britain, Russia and Germany are some of the countries to have been explored in the sand. This year’s theme is the United States and sculptures include the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the New York City skyline.
Typically there are around 20 intricate works, taking weeks to create, for the annual 500,000 visitors to admire. The Sand Museum is approximately a 2 hour, 40 minute train ride from Osaka. There is no hurry – but you can’t wait too long because the sands of time will eventually run out.
By Mti (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Jun 28, 2017
Suma Aqualife Park: A Full Day of Fun at Suma Beach in Kobe
Kobe is a city built on the water and Suma Seaside Park is the people’s link to the sea. Suma Beach stretches for two kilometres and offers white sand framed by pine trees; it is a fixture on the annual list of the country’s best beaches. Summer means sunbathing and swimming in July and August when the beach is officially designated to be open. At night the music starts playing and the beach parties commence. And it is free.
At the west end of the park is the Wada Misaki light station that once guided traffic through Kobe harbor from its location at the tip of Wada Misaki. Built in 1884, the historic hexagonal cast iron pyramidal tower was decommissioned and relocated to the park as a monument. But the big attraction at the beach is the Suma Aqualife Park.
The municipal aquarium opened in 1957 and today is one of the largest celebrations of underwater life in Japan. The park mixes education with recreational rides and a playground. The main building is home to a two-story tank holding 1,200 tons of sea water energized by an artificial wave maker to simulate familiar conditions for the sharks and stingrays and sardines that swim there. There are night time tanks and daytime tanks to accommodate species from different depths of the sea.
The star sensory experience is Japan’s first underwater tunnel called Amazon World. Here massive freshwater fish from the planet’s most mysterious river environment swim atop the visitor. Nearby in the Fish Live Theater, intimidating schools of carnivorous piranhas swim past. Next door the World Fish House amazes with some of nature’s most exotic creatures including four-eyed fish. Impressive skeletons of whales and orcas hang overhead in the Cetacean Gallery.
This is a place that takes aquatic life seriously. When it was discovered that turtles trying to cross the West Japan Railway railroad tracks were getting stuck in between the rails, small U-shaped concrete ditches were fashioned under the tracks to let the hard-shelled amphibians fall to safety where they are collected and brought to the aquarium.
Suma Aqualife Park is all about the shows. The Big Show Pool seats 1,700 people for the dolphin live shows that take place every ninety minutes or so. The Penguin Pool is connected to the pavilion and the aquatic birds often make their way onto the dolphin’s stage. The four times-daily feedings at the Sea Otter House always draw a big crowd.
The biggest summer show at Suma Aqualife Park begins every evening at 5:00 p.m. through August with the Kobe Suma Aqua Illuminage. This year’s theme is Aloha!! Hawaii with inspiration drawn from the tropical paradise. Images are projected onto the water of the Pavilion Pool and against the back wall. The illuminations react to the movement of the water and dance with the lights to create aquatic-themed light sculptures.
Suma Seaside Park is accessible from all over Kobe – the local trains even have their own stop there at Suma Beach Station. From there it is only a five minute walk to the fun.
By harum.koh from Kobe city, Japan (redtail catfish (Phractocephalus hemioliopterus)) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Jun 28, 2017
Cutting the Rug Japanese Style – Take a Japanese Dance Class with WAK
For the first 40 years of her life Michi Ogawa was “an ordinary housewife with no experience working outside the home.” She prepared meals, looked after her four children, and drove her professor husband to his classrooms. She was well-educated and traveled often with her family. On her journeys, Ogawa was always drawn to the people and cultures rather than the monuments and architecture in foreign lands.
In her forties she decided to look for a job, but no one seemed interested in hiring an intelligent, well-traveled woman of her age. Instead of landing employment, Michi Ogawa created a group of twelve women much like herself who spent their lives as housewives while nurturing other skills. The Women’s Association of Kyoto (WAK) was born with the goal of “introducing foreign visitors to Japanese culture in daily life.” The year was 1997.
Twenty years on, WAK offers programs across a spectrum of Japanese life in flower arranging, calligraphy, origami, cooking, book binding, tea ceremonies, music, and Nihon buyo, traditional Japanese dance.
There are probably 200 different types of Japanese dances that stretch back hundreds of years in origin. Dances are performed in celebration of events important in Japanese culture – a successful harvest, a new life beginning, the arrival of springtime cherry blossoms, and so on. All, however, combine the elements of three styles of movements. Mai is a traditional style that emphasizes deliberate expressive motions. Mai is said to express the workings of the human heart from its participants.
Its long-time companion odori introduces lively steps and energetic leaps to tell a story. The physicality and freedom of movement in odori is more of an expression itself than a conveyance of meaning. Odori is often accompanied by music.
The third, and most modern, influence is furi that introduces meaningful gesture and pantomime that is intended for stage performances. The signature dances of the Japanese geishas are rooted in the furi style of Nihon buyo.
Those familiar with Western dancing know that dances are taught by learning steps which will eventually be built into a complete performance. Often Western dances celebrate the heavens with arms pointed toward the skies and bodies lifting on toes. Japanese dances are taught as a single expression – the entire dance is learned from beginning to end. Eastern dances are meant to express a love for earth and contact with the ground is stressed during the performance.
Instructors approach Nihon buyo in their own idiosyncratic styles. Some may inject Western music and influences into the teachings to make the art more attractive to foreign students. Others toe a strict traditionalist line to the Japanese arts, right down to the specific application of make-up to get into character for the dance.
When booking a traditional Japanese dance class through WAK it a matching of available instructors to schedules. However it is sometimes possible for individual instruction to be arranged during a vacation. For those living in Japan, Home Visit Programs can be arranged for short courses.
Check out this authentic Kyoto cultural experiences at: http://wakjapan.jp.
By Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Jun 27, 2017
Kobe Love Port or the Minato Matsuri 2017
The Kobe Love Port (Minato Matsuri) is an annual festival held on Dainitotte (the 2nd Pier) east of Meriken Park close to the Port Terminal station on the Portliner. The festival celebrates Marine Day, express gratitude for the blessings of the ocean, and hope for prosperity in the coming year. This festival has a distinct nautical theme, but in most other ways you will it a standard Japanese festival featuring delicous food and entertainment. Each year is different, but the festival hosts a dedicated stage where a wide variety of acts from taiko drum displays to bands and “talents” are invited to perform.
You can get there via a free shuttle bus between Sannomiya, Motomachi, and Kobe stations on the JR line and the festival, but the nearest station is actually Port Terminal Station on the Portliner. If you are highly motivated, getting to the festival takes 20 minutes on foot from Sannomiya.
Kobe Love Port・Minato Matsuri 2017
July 16, 17th (Sunday & Monday) 2017, 10:00 to 20:00
Pier No. 4 in the Shinko neighborhood of Kobe
2 Shinko-cho Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo-ken 650-0041 (Google Map)
www.minatomatsuri.jp/page/english
www.facebook.com/kobe.minatomatsuri
Jun 26, 2017
Tomonoura: The Seaside Village of Wolverine and Miyazaki… and Medicinal Sake
Summer has officially arrived and the beach and all things cool and refreshing are the flavours of the month. The days are long and the blue skies and sunshine combine to create the perfect conditions for a trip to the seaside. Nowhere is more perfect or picturesque than the sleepy little fishing village of Tomonoura. Not even the longer than average train trip to Fukuyama Station and then the bus ride to Tomounoura can dim your excitement of finally getting away from the hustle and bustle of city life and taking some time out to relax.
Although Tomonoura is well-known for other more traditional things, it has recently become famous as the setting for the Hugh Jackman movie, ‘The Wolverine,’ and was also the inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film, ‘Ponyo.’ In fact, Miyazaki spent two months living in the village and drawing on the scenery around him to inspire his work. To all the Hugh Jackman fans out there (and by that, I mean the hordes of women!), there is nothing more exciting than standing on the same patch of ground that he did.
Perhaps the best part of Tomonoura though, is that despite the fact that it’s become more well-known, few foreigners actually take the time to visit. Depending on when you decide to go, you may be lucky enough to be the only one (or ones) there. Rather than feeling self-conscious and shy, you will be welcomed with open smiles and nods from the villagers who appreciate the fact that you’ve come to see a place that is clearly very special to them.
Tomonoura is the kind of place that makes you feel as though you’ve stepped back in time. The cobbled paths that twist and turn through the village can lead you to the recommended tourist attractions that it’s famous for or simply allow you to wander aimlessly. I guarantee you will go with grand plans to go here and there with your Google Maps app and checklist, but you will soon realise you don’t want any of that. You will want to just get lost here and forget the outside world for a moment in time.
Perhaps the most famous of the recommended attractions is the Joyato Lighthouse which was built during the Edo Period (1603-1869). It remains to stand guard over the harbour, guiding small fishing boats and ships to safety. The steps that lead down to the water are a favourite spot for locals to sit and contemplate life… or maybe nothing at all.
Although there are a number of museums and historical houses to visit, the lack of explanations in English make them redundant for most expats. I do, however, thoroughly recommend sampling the houmeishu, a type of medicinal shochu made with 16 herbs for longevity. It can be found at a number of stores that are dotted around the village. I also purchased a bottle to take home with me to try and recapture the feeling and spirit of a tiny but truly enchanting and traditional place in Japan.
From Hiroshima Station you have the option of taking the Shinkansen or local train. The Nozomi Shinkansen will have you there is only half an hour and costs just over 3000 yen for a reserved seat. The local train takes a taxing 1 hour and 45-minute ride and yet will still cost you nearly 2000 yen.
When you arrive at Fukuyama Station, proceed to bus stop number 5 which is right in front of the exit. The thirty-minute ride from here to Tomonoura will cost you just over 500 yen and the scenery from both sides of the bus will soon have you in the mood for a day in the quaint village.
Tomonoura is the perfect day trip for summer days and is a place that will be etched into your memory for many, many years to come.
Photo by 663highland (Own work) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons
Jun 26, 2017
Fruits of Your Labour: Fruit Picking in Hiroshima
Summer is here and the weather is perfect for eating fresh fruit and fruit-related products. Sure, you can go to a restaurant and eat away to your heart’s content, but why try fruit picking instead? Fruit picking is an extremely popular social activity for Japanese people and something young women in particular often do together. Summer is one of the busiest seasons but it’s something you can do any time of the year with different seasons involving different types of fruit.
One place,not far from Hiroshima in Miyoshi City, is Hirata Kankou Farm. From December to May you will find sweet strawberries, June is exclusively for cherries, and July and August sees plums and peaches with grapes appearing in August. Once you’ve picked the fruit you can either simply eat it as it is or take the time to make some jam from it. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays you can make jam between 11 and 1pm, with a one hour session costing you just 1000 yen.
This place is particularly fun and interesting because you can also try your hand at making soba. For someone who has made soba and knows how difficult it is, I would highly recommend it. The sense of achievement in finishing and then eating the fruits of your labour (or in this case, soba of your labour) as it were, you will be thoroughly impressed with yourself. If you’re more of an arty and creative soul, there is also the option of dying cloth and then using the cloth to make clothes or give as a gift to a friend.
Everyone in Japan is familiar with the blue and white label of Aohata Jam Deck and so they should be since it’s the number one jam company. Also located in Miyoshi, you are able to make the jam from scratch and then take some of your product home to be reminded daily of your efforts. Perhaps most exciting of all, the jam jars for this activity are decorated with seasonal designs and cannot be found in any supermarket.
A little closer to home in Asakitaku, Hiroshima City also owns a place called Seishonen Yagaikatsudo Centre or the Hiroshima City Farm Centre. This place is so under-utilised that many Hiroshima locals don’t know about it and are absolutely shocked (in a good way) to discover that everything is free. Yes. EVERYTHING! The only condition is that you need to bring one child to take part in the activities. In other words, if you are single or married without children, you need to beg, borrow or steal one.
Monday to Friday is mostly used by school trips, but on the weekends the place is virtually empty and even though it’s on the edge of the city, it’s so quiet you will think you are somewhere much further away. I went recently with my kindergarten students and we all had fun planting sweet potato, picking strawberries and having a picnic lunch in the grounds of the farm. The farm also has camping grounds available and plenty of hiking trails. Best of all, it’s not too far from downtown Hiroshima and thus, can be used for a simple day trip or a longer getaway.
Summer might mean the rainy season, but once that’s over and days are filled with sunshine, fruit picking is a fun activity to try with your friends or family.
Pick away!
Hirata Farm
- www.marumero.com (in Japanese)
- 728-0624 Hiroshima Prefecture, Miyoshi, Uedamachi, 1740-3 (map)
- 0824-69-2346
Aohata Jam Deck
- www.aohata.co.jp/mc004_factory/index.html (in Japanese)
- 729-2316 Hiroshima Prefecture, Takehara, Tadanoumi Nakamachi, 1 Chome 2-43 (map)
- 0846-26-1550
Seishonen Yagaikatsudo Centre (Hiroshima City Farm Centre)
- www.cf.city.hiroshima.jp/yagai-ac/
- 731-1171 Hiroshima-ken, Hiroshima-shi, Asakita-ku, Asachō Ōaza Ogauchi, 5135 (map)
Photo by Sujit kumar (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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Jun 20, 2017
Nagoya Octoberfest In July!
Yes, October Fest in July; why not? Drop by and sample German food, and BEER; lots and lots of German beer. I am all about imbibing of some bratwurst, sauerkraut, pretzels, and if I am really lucky I might be able to find some strudel… yummy yummy yummy!
Admission to the festival is free, so just bring enough money to buy your food and beer, and remember to be careful drinking in the summer sun! It is very easy to drink a bit too much while trying to cool down.
Nagoya Octoberfest 2017
Friday, July 7 to Sunday, July 23
Weekends & national holidays 11:00 – 21:00
Weekdays 15:00 – 21:00
Until 20:00 on the final day.
Hiasaya Odori Koen, Hisaya Hiroba (near Yabacho Station) Map
