Last weekend, I drove through the scenic road "Hakusan Shirakawa-go White Road", which connects to Shirakawa-go of Gifu Prefecture from Shiramine of Ishikawa Prefecture. It was raining, but this kind of scenery was also good because the autumn leaves were moist and looked calm. Wild monkeys who were on the side of the road looked chubby in preparation for the winter, I couldn't take their photos, though. The service period of this road is until November 10th. Soon It becomes impossible to see that sight until next year.
T.S
I went to the Yuri*-no-sato Park in Sakai City, Fukui Prefecture.*Yuri means lily in Japanese.
As the name says, the park is well known for lilies. However, the season of lilies is around every June. Now, instead, you can enjoy roses. A couple of big typhoons hit this year,
so a lot of the flowers had fallen. Yet some of them were survived and I was able to see different types of roses.
In the spacious park, there are a lawn area with play equipment, a roofed barbecue site,
a water wheel and a fountain. So, you can enjoy in summer, too. There is a coffee shop which you can watch the beautiful sunset from the rooftop. You can take out their menu and you can eat it anywhere you like in the park like a picnic. Also, there is a farmer's market, so mothers can buy foodstuff for dinner after they played a lot with children. The park is illuminated and shows images by projection mapping in the evenings all year. So, it seems that the park provides a different atmosphere to the visitors at night. (H.S)
The season for autumn leaves is finally starting, and it is one of the highlights of autumn in Japan. Especially in Kyoto, many visitors enjoy watching Japanese scenery which has old temples, shrines or traditional Japanese gardens, and the beautiful autumn leaves together.
Today, I would like to introduce some of the amazing spots for enjoying autumn leaves in Kyoto.
This is the video of 4K KAWATE “2017 Autumn Leaves in Kyoto TOFUKUJI [4K]”. Tofukuji Temple has such stunning autumn leaves that it has been listed third in a popularity ranking of autumn leaves spot in Kyoto. Especially, Tsutenkyo-bridge is as known as the best spot to view the autumn leaves there.
As you can see in the video that there are many visitors at Tofukuji Temple, so make sure to have enough time and patience to enjoy it.
Let’s take a look at top 5 popular autumn leaves spots in Kyoto for this year (2018).
*The ranking result is based on the numbers of searches done for each autumn leave spot in the website,
Peak: The middle of October ~the beginning of December
*Kodaiji Temple is the most popular spot for viewing the autumn leaves in Kyoto and visitors can enjoy the illuminated garden, the area around it and autumn leaves together.
Peak: The middle of November~the beginning of December
*Kitano Tenmangu Shrine is covered by about 350 of the blazing yellow and red colors of maple leaves during the season of the autumn leaves. At night, visitors can enjoy the illuminated colorful maple leaves and bamboo forest.
Peak: The middle of November~the beginning of December
*Eikando is called “Eikando of Momiji” in an affectionate way. The reflection of orange and yellow autumn leaves, and the hall of Eikando on the pond are amazing.
Mikuni is one of nice towns to visit in Fukui Prefecture. Today, I would like to introduce
some areas in Mikuni. Soon after turning an arterial road along the seaport in Sakai City,
Fukui Prefecture, there is a small street which has townhouses and merchant houses.
It used to be a busy area around here from Edo period (1603-1868) to the beginning (1868-1889) of Meiji period (1868-1912) for the trade of Kitamae-bune cargo ships.
It is fascinating to walk in the historical townscape. It makes visitors feel as if they had
stepped back in time.
The former Kishina house
The former Kishina house was built about 190 years ago (late in the Edo period), which was a machiya house. Machiya house is a type of residence and/or store in the central part of a city.
The Kishina family which used to run a lumber business and the family had lived in this house for generations. The house has been designated as a cultural asset of Sakai City, Fukui Prefecture. The house has been preserved to pass down the culture and history.
There is also an amazing gelateria, stylish cafes, variety stores, restaurants where you can have fresh fish and shellfish, etc. I can recommend you to see the ocean and relax
at the beach, walk around the small street which has townhouses and merchant houses,
learn some history of the area, and enjoy having Japanese foods, gelato and/or coffee.
Satoshi Kako, who was a picture book author from Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture, died at the age of 92 on May 2nd. It is unimaginable from his generous picture books, but he was a militaristic young person who aimed to be a fighter pilot during the war. However, he had bad eyesight and gave up becoming a pilot. His classmates who aimed to be a pilot became Kamikaze pilots and died. He regretted from the heart about his judgement and hopeed that children wouldn’t have a mistaken idea. So, he devotedly continued creative activities for children until right before his death. He was truly a person of strong conviction.
Although he was already 92 years old, I believed that he would continue being well yet.
I wanted to commemorate him and to feel the world of his works, so I went to the “Picture book museum of Satoshi Kako” located in Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture.
When I got its parking lot, I found that there were a few cars from other prefectures.
Inside the museum, it was impressive that not only families but also even adults were quietly reading picture books by Satoshi Kako.
You can read his popular series, “Human”, which is known for its precise description
and “Beautiful paintings”, which introduced famous paintings by Gogh and Picasso there.
Also, they sell items related to Kako’s books. On the second floor, the original drawings by Mr. Kako and I knew that he was a serious and well-organized person. I was moved by the fact that how great he was. (H.S)
The signboard of the museum
At the entrance, a photo of Mr. Kako and the familiar characters of his books welcome you.
There are “Daruma” characters on the wall as well.
There was a message corner for Mr. Kako. (Until end of June)
The appearance of the museum
A sign saying “Don’t follow strangers!” at the parking lot.
The“Daruma” has a strong impact, doesn’t it?
