Note that this photo is a posed shot. You are supposed to cycling anti-clockwise around the lake! Haha If you are deciding between taking the train to Kawaguchiko or driving, you can check out the car rental prices at https://www.nipponrentacar.co.jp/english/user-guide/reservations.html and train prices at http://www.hyperdia.com/ It depends on whether you’re staying overnight at Kawaguchiko and the number of people travelling. Remember to add toll fees of about ¥4200 one way. We decided to rent a car but forgot about the toll fees so it ended up being more expensive. I’d say if you’re staying for one night and there are at least 3 of you, renting a car is a good option. If there are two of you and you want more freedom to move around (such as going to neighbouring places like Oshino Hakkai, Chureito Pagoda, Yamanakako etc) it is also better to rent a car. You should also be warned that traffic is congested upon leaving and arriving at Tokyo. We parked our car at ou...
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Japan September 2017: Harie Village of Living Water (針絵：生水の郷)
One of the many waterways in Harie 針槐の水路
Crystal clear spring water 生水
（すみません、日本語があまり上手じゃない。） Since we only called in the morning to book a tour (available times: 9AM, 1030AM, 130PM), only Japanese tour was available. I guess if you call early enough, you can request for an English-speaking guide. The train costs 970 yen per person and the tour costs 1000 yen per person. If you have money to splash, there is also an English tour available from http://www.yutour.net/tours/002_harie.html but it costs at least 10,000 yen per person which includes
English-speaking tour conductor (licensed guide interpreter)
Our visitor pass which allows us to visit Kabata in homes, led by Maeda san かばたに入れるのパス
Maeda san met us at the sign and brought us on a tour of the village. She explained that there are about 140 households with about 600 people. The village seemed quiet and for the entire tour, we only met the occasional elderly on a bike or walking around. Maeda san told us that the youngsters commute daily to the cities for work so at the time of our tour (1030AM), it's exceptionally quiet.
There are no restaurants and no vending machines in the village. Only a small preserved fish shop, a bean curd shop which was not open and what Maeda san described as 美人の店 bijjn no mise, shop for beauties. We spotted a Takkyubin van and Maeda san explained that they use takkyubin quite a lot due to the lack of shops in the village.
The highlight of this tour is really the waterways that run through the village and the kabata with Japanese carp, places where the villages draw fresh water for daily use. We were told that you can leave a pot used to cook curry in the kabata for a few hours and it will be clean. Amazing!!! 水路とかばたも面白かった！カレーを煮た鍋がかばたに入れて、３−４時間内は綺麗になる！
Kabata outside a house 家の外のかばた
Indoor kataba 家の中のかばた
The water maintains a constant temperature of 13 deg C through summer and winter. In the past when there was no refrigerator, people chilled their fruits and vegetables in the cold water. 水はずっと１３度保つ。夏も冬も同じ温度だ。昔のころ、みんなは果物とか、野菜とか冷やすために水に入れた。
The water maintains a constant temperature of 13 deg C throughout the year. The greens at the side are watercress which can be used in salads. 水の周りはサラダの野菜
Maeda san recommended a Japanese restaurant that serves food made with the village's water but it started to rain heavily on our way there and we spotted the little Italian-style restaurant called Restaurant Hinata so we decided to step in and were glad we did. The restaurant is run by an elegant middle-aged couple and the wood-fired Japanese curry pizza was really good! 前田さんは生水を使う料理のレストランを紹介させた。でも途中雨が急に降っていた。近くのレストランへ行った。このイタリアのレストランは本物のだ。カレーピザーはめっちゃ美味しかった！
Pizza oven ピザーのオーベン
Delicious Japanese curry pizza 美味しいカレーピザー
They grow various plants in their little garden いろんな植物
The Tsukuba Kasumigaura Ring Ring Road is a cycling route from JR Iwase station to JR Tsuchiura station and continuing to Lake Kasumigaura loop. The stretch between JR Iwase station and JR Tsuchiura station is 40km and the loop around the lake is about 100km so the total return trip is 180km. Map of Ring Ring Road from JR Iwase station to JR Tsuchiura station We only did part of the straight route and part of the lake so we covered only about 50km. Here’s a video of our trip. IMPORTANT NOTE: We based in Tsukuba because we needed to meet a dear friend. Tsukuba is not the best starting point for this cycling route because we had to cycle 10km to intersect at a part of the Ring Ring Road since public transport connection between Tsukuba and Iwase or Tsuchiura is poor. We took a taxi from JR Tsuchiura station back to Tsukuba (¥3400). When we told the taxi-driver our destination, he smiled happily and said Arigatou!! 🤣🤣 A better plan will be as follows: Use Mito in Ibaraki as a base. Mit...
Note that this photo is a posed shot. You are supposed to cycling anti-clockwise around the lake! Haha If you are deciding between taking the train to Kawaguchiko or driving, you can check out the car rental prices at https://www.nipponrentacar.co.jp/english/user-guide/reservations.html and train prices at http://www.hyperdia.com/ It depends on whether you’re staying overnight at Kawaguchiko and the number of people travelling. Remember to add toll fees of about ¥4200 one way. We decided to rent a car but forgot about the toll fees so it ended up being more expensive. I’d say if you’re staying for one night and there are at least 3 of you, renting a car is a good option. If there are two of you and you want more freedom to move around (such as going to neighbouring places like Oshino Hakkai, Chureito Pagoda, Yamanakako etc) it is also better to rent a car. You should also be warned that traffic is congested upon leaving and arriving at Tokyo. We parked our car at ou...
花見 hanami literally means flower-viewing and it's a really big deal in Japan. When I saw it for the first time, I can totally understand why 桜の美しさが日本人の心を捕らえる (the beauty of sakura has captured the hearts of Japanese). No words can describe the beauty of an entire park in full bloom or 桜吹雪 sakura fubuki sakura petals raining on you. Here are some of my favourite Sakura-viewing spots in Tokyo =) 1. Chidorigafuchi Park 千鳥ケ淵 Chidorigafuchi Park near the Imperial Palace has got to be my number one hanami spot. The palace moat, lined with sakura trees, transforms into a dreamy pink stream when the petals fall onto the water surface. You can also rent and row your own boat along the moat to enjoy a different view of sakura. Definitely highly recommended! It's rather strenuous! Melody enjoying the view from the boat Nearest station: 10 min walk from Kudanshita station You can couple the trip there with a visit to the Imperial Shrine of Yasukuni Shrine that commemorates those who pe...
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