Kofu/Obina/Ashigawa/Yamanashi: 5th July 2015

Today was planned to be an exciting day as we had arranged to meet Koga-san for our road trip to explore places that are off-the-beaten track. Our itinerary had been greatly modified depending on weather conditions. We initially wanted to visit Nishizawa Ravine. However, due to the weather forecast, we decided to change places and visit spots whereby even in the rain, it is still manageable to visit!

So yes, we met Koga-san at the lobby of our hotel! Today, he would be our driver and our guide. We set off to our first stop: Obina community at Kofu city. Well, this is a local place, not known to many people. I could not even find enough information of Obina from the internet and I did not know this place until Koga-san introduced me to. The focus of this place is to see the beautiful rice-fields and hopefully to catch farmers working.

The air over there was very fresh and we could see greenery everywhere accompanying the beautiful rice fields. It was still not time for harvest. But, the vast land available for rice planting was quite amazing. The well-known most popular rice production comes from Niigata. And also priced the most expensive. But, in general, I think rice planted in Yamanashi should taste equally great! So far, for the rice that we had eaten during our meals, they were all yummy, sweet, and delicious! Tasted totally different from rice we had at home.

Planting Rice in the midst of mountains and fresh water

We walked around a little as we went down the hill in our car, something amazing happened! We spotted a baby fox :D

It only showed us its face for less than 2 seconds and it ran away as fast as it could! That was wildlife. You only felt a sense of excitement and happiness after experiencing it! No words could describe our feeling at that point. haha

So yes, we drove off after our brief encounter with the fox. And went to our next stop: 

Ashigawa community in Fuefuki city. Ashigawa is a village in Yamanashi Prefecture.This is a small traditional mountain village hidden in a valley. Same thing. Another place which I never knew it existed! So we were very excited and when we arrived. Koga-san informed us there was quite some walking for this stretch and we were all looking forward to explore this area.

Walking up to Ashigawa community....

The holy tree with the shrine beside it

Sweet corn in the plantation

Us in the middle of Ashigawa while exploring

Out of Nowhere haha

 We basically walked around the neighborhood up the mountain and explored the vicnity. We saw the ancient majestic tree that was valued as a shrine for the community, came across corn fields, households with beautiful dogs, interesting architecture of the houses we saw along the way...

Dog saying Hello!

After enjoying the fresh air and scenery, we came across this traditional house that was constructed for guests to come in, have a rest and appreciate what is usually seen in this type of house. According to Koga-san, it is known as the Kominka "Fujiwara House". And we encountered a friendly old lady at this place who was very hospitable as she served us very nice green tea, sweet peaches, and pickled vegetables. I guess she must be very old and she refused to divulge her age to our amusement. She still looked very energetic though. As we sat by the fireplace, she shared information of the Ashigawa community, the history, the culture bit by bit with us. We understood some of it through Koga-san. She was very nice and motherly I felt. I guessed there isnt too many visitors so when we came by, she was very chatty and talked to us a lot which we did not mind at all! It was a very authentic experience for us to come by to this place, which we had never planned to!

It was past lunch time hour by the time we finished Ashigawa. Boy we were famished! Koga-san introduced a really nice place for lunch where we had soba at this quaint restaurant known as Kawazashiki Suzuran Restaurant. The food and serving size were enormous and what added to the pleasure of dining at this place was that it was located just next to a beautiful river with rapids!

The beautiful greenery accompanying the river! How nice to have lunch at this wonderful place :D

I was very glad Koga-san brought us here, given that we did not manage to visit Nishizawa Ravine this time haha.. but this picture gave me very beautiful memories of enjoying summer in Japan!

We next visited the Shirayuri Winery , also known as L'Orient winery in Yamanashi city. We have never done so, one of the reasons is that most tours were given in Japanese and it will be very challenging to visit one when my Japanese language is just of medicore standard haha..so this time luckily, Koga-san was with us and he became our translator to unveil and understand the beauty of wine making at this winery.

Over there, we got to see different varieties of grapes like Kyoho and Pione grapes. Unfortuntately, they are only in season in August so we could not try it! A pity indeed when both of us are Kyoho-diehard fans! haha

Very friendly aunty who brought us around

There are some very unique wines like the cherry wine which we purchased back home. And also their Rose which tasted very smooth. We also bought their mini-sized peach wine to try since it is the peach season in July! A very happy visit followed by a quick look at the nearby glass-making workshop located next to the winery! 

Our last stop would be the Hottarakashi onsen, located in Yamanashi city. I never knew this onsen exists, once again after Koga-san's introduction, we got kinda excited for this visit as on a good weather, you will get to enjoy beautiful scenery, and even Mount Fuji!

We did not see Mount Fuji that day as it was pretty cloudy, but we were greeted by beautiful view of Yamanashi city. It is a public rotenburo (outdoor bath) and is famous with locals because of its scenic view. One may feel embarassed in front of many others while going for an onsen, but once you can overcome this, it is all worthwhile! I enjoyed my visit totally! No camera is allowed so below is an image taken from the internet.

Photo Courtesy of Hottarakashi Hot Springs

Attractions:

1. Obina community at Kofu city

2. Ashigawa community in Fuefuki city

3. Kawazashiki Suzuran Restaurant

4. Shirayuri Winery

5. Hottarakashi onsen

We concluded the trip after the onsen as Koga-san sent us back to the hotel at Kofu city. I'm so glad we took up this tour as we uncovered many places which we had never thought of visiting. And I do hope I have enticed you through my blog to visit these places when you have the opportunity to visit the Yamanashi prefecture!

We were going to meet Koga-san again 2 days later for a wild-life spotting tour! I was totally excited about it and hoped to see many animals..but wildlife is still wildlife..you need to depend on luck, time, weather etc..haha...so just hope for the best!

Contact details of Koga-san are as followed:

Email address: KOGA@fujisancurator.com

Koga-san's website: http://www.fujisancurator.com/

You can also contact the Mount Fuji Yamanashi Guide-Interpreter Association (FYGIA) for Yamanashi travel via the following website. They have many guides proficient in English, Chinese and French too!

http://www.fygia-japan.com/english/

We ended the day at a nearby restaurant for some local specialty of Yamanashi Prefecture.

Looking forward to the adventures the next day!

Kofu/Kawaguchiko: 4th July 2015

After a good night's sleep, we woke up bright and early, had breakfast at some cafe and went to pick our Toyota Car! This was our first time driving in Japan, so naturally we were excited! I made a reservation via their Japanese website some time back. For English, unfortunately you need to dial their hotline in order to make a reservation. The reservation website is only in Japanese. However, there is still a website that explains the various vehicles and rental rates from Toyota Rent a Car. It was quite a challenge but managed to go through, just that we need to opt for English GPS, and that could not be stated in their system. So I had to dial them up to reserve the English GPS.

When we arrived at the office located near Kofu station, minimal English could be used as the staff could not understand. Fortunately, there were still some English brochures to explain the rules of car renting. After we made payment and made sure everything was fine with the car and GPS was good to go, off we went! Im very amazed at the car system in Japan. Navigation system was in-built and it was dead-accurate even at very rural places! You could not go missing with such navigation system =D

Our Axio Toyota

The GPS Navigation System

Our first stop was to Nakagomi Orchard. It is a fruit farm with seasonal fruits available for picking. What was in season for late June/early July includes peaches (also known as momo), cherries and plums. We opted for the peaches and cherries and began our maiden experience at picking these fruit.

With the GPS, it was quite easy to reach this place after about 30mins drive from Kofu station.

Upon reaching the farm, there was a Japanese guy who knows how to speak English. So that makes communication much easier. We realized there were some international volunteers who came by to help out at the farm. The weather turned slighly better with less rain, to our relief when we reached the farm. After having some crash course on how to pick fresh peaches, we started our adventure.

The peach-picking duration was 1h followed by 45min of cherry picking. We were more interested in the peach and we ate really a lot of peaches! 

Dear was very happy that the peaches that he chose were all very sweet! (amai in japanese). 

We proceeded to the cherry farms thereafter. 

Very fresh and red cherries which tasted best that I have ever tried!

After the cherry experience, we left the farm. As the weather was still raining, and we just realised that there was fireworks that day at Kawaguchiko in view of the start of the Mount Fuji climbing season, we made a decision to go Kawaguchiko that day instead!

It was about an hour and 20mins drive to Oishi Park, where the fireworks can be viewed.

Along the way, there was beautiful scenery, aside from the rain. We went round mountains and steep bends and many tunnels. Must say that the road system in Japan is really well-organised, not just the train networks. All roads are well-paved and well-connected!!

A glimpse of Mount Fuji behind!

By the time we reached Oishi Park, we were famished! But what delighted us is the huge spread of lavender in front of our eyes. Amazing view. Too bad it was cloudy, we only got to see a slight glimpse of Mount Fuji. Sigh...but that did not dampen the crowds that day! I only thought of Hokkaido when lavender is the topic. But, I'm surprised at Kawaguchiko, you could also enjoy such great view of lavender when in bloom!

Other flower displays

We tried the blueberry softcone icecream at the souvenir shop in Oishi Park. It was a great time enjoying the scenery outside while savouring this icecream. Our first time! After shopping for a while for lavender-related products, we decided to find somewhere to settle our lunch. We wanted to try local food and we chanced upon this shop which sells ほうとう. Apparently, Yamanshi Prefecture is well known for this dish and it is a must-try especially in cold and rainy weather!

We tried the Crab (かにほうとう）Houtou! It was of huge serving and very nice that warmed our stomachs that day :D

After a hearty lunch, there was still some time away from the fireworks which was scheduled at 8pm. Since it was raining, we decided to visit some indoor attractions and this was one that caught my eye since it has animals!It is the Kawaguchiko Sarumawashi Theater (河口湖/猿まわし劇場)

Photography was prohibited during the performance so no photos until end of performance when you could take photo with the monkey-in-action.

So these were monkeys (really cute) which are trained to be part of a performance together with their human buddy. We bought tickets to watch the last show. Duration was about 45minutes. There were english subtitles on the screen as the whole performance was carried out in Japanese. I understand Japanese so it was quite entertaining for me to hear the jokes that the human trainers were saying to the monkey haha..but not for dear.. The monkeys could really jump high and far, across many poles. Sometimes, the monkeys could give very funny expressions. However, after the show I had mixed feeling about this.

I have been to animal farms and sanctuary and I know monkeys do not behave like this. They do not walk around with two limbs just like human beings. But the monkeys here were able to do so. No doubt they looked cute while standing like a little adult, but I could not imagine how much training they might have to undergo to reach the performance standard. It must also be tiring to perform every hour. One of the monkeys looked quite lethargic. So yes, I guessed I would only visit once. Kids would definitely love it though but one has to think of a bigger picture I guess.

This little one looked lethargic. Every audience has an opportunity to take photo with her.

As all other attractions were closed at 5pm, we practically had no where to go.

We headed to Yagizaki Park.

This park has also many lavender fields, just like Oishi Park. But, you can enjoy the view of Mount Fuji while at Oishi Park. Yagizaki Park is still one of the top choices to experience the Herb Festival held from June to July. As the weather was still bad, we didnt stay out for too long. But I was pleasantly surprised by the huge spread of hydrangeas. Much nicer than the ones I saw at Shizuoka!

Shops were all closed by then. Actually Yagizaki Park also opens at night and there are night bazaars. But looking at the miserable rain, we decided to stay inside the car haha.. I saw an uncle closing shop and I asked if it is better to see fireworks from Oishi Park or Yagizaki Park. He told me Oishi Park is better! So, we drove back to Oishi Park, awaiting for the firework moment!

It was quite a long wait and very cold. We munched on the tidbits we brought along. When 8pm finally arrived, we saw the fireworks appearing across the lake..It didnt shoot high up into the sky unlike pictures which I have seen online..so I kinda suspect those were photoshopped! I managed to take some photos of the fireworks..glad to catch this moment! :D

While waiting for the fireworks... that peak is Fujisan!

Fujisan in the Blue Hour

Great Outburst of Colors and Creativity!

With the end of fireworks, we drove all the way back to Kofu, an hour drive away in the wet rainy night! It was a little INITIAL-D feeling as we drove up and down the mountains. I was pretty scared actually but we managed safe.. and our hungry stomachs couldnt wait that we decided to make a stopover at the Lawson store to get some nice cup noodles! I missed that taste!

Attractions:

1. Nakagomi Orchard

2. Oishi Park

3. Kawaguchiko Sarumawashi Theater (河口湖/猿まわし劇場)

4. Yagizaki Park