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Jazz Concert

I went to a Jazz concert organized by La Casta in Omachi city. The admission fee was only one thousand yen! La Casta offers us a garden. It was awesome as usual. Unfortunately, it started to rain as soon as the chairperson introduced the singer and players to us. We ran into the building and went to the large room. They gave us fans and cold refreshments for free. We had not only rain, but also thunder. Furthermore, we experienced blackouts. In a terrible situation, the concert began….
Surprisingly the singer had a powerful voice. Without a microphone and an electronic piano, her voice was OK. Her voice reached the people in the back. It was husky and beautiful. She sang songs with only a guitar, but we were impressed with her voice! She changed a song in the program and sang a song related to the rain. She hosted the concert and told some jokes. We really enjoyed the concert very much in spite of the rain. La Casta gave all of us towels which had eucalyptus’s smell last.

Concert in Garden of La Casta

I went to a concert in the open air, held in La Casta in Omachi which offers us a beautiful garden and aromatherapy. The entrance fee was eight hundred yen. We didn’t have to pay an additional fee for the concert! How generous they were! About the concert, a Chinese instrument which has two strings was played by a Chinese performer and a Japanese pianist accompanied him. Their music was beautiful and it released my stress.
As for La Casta, the garden is cleanly kept. You can see various flowers in each season. To see the garden, you have to make a reservation in advance. They can accept about one hundred guests in one day which means they are taking a good care of the garden. Unfortunately it’s closed from late November to early April. They also have a beautiful building. It’s a two-story building and it’s connected to a four-story building which is like a tower. The 4th floor has a fine view of the countryside.
La Casta sells aromatherapy and body care goods. You can make your original fragrance by mixing your favorite scents. I learned citrus and flowers make a good scent from the shop keeper. They care a lot about organic plants when they make their original goods. They offer us samples of shampoo and conditioner. I have an allergy to cosmetics, but their goods are OK for me! They are a bit expensive, but I would like to buy them. They have various kinds of goods such as bath salts, gel for legs, aroma candles, etc.

Rose Garden In the Toyoshina Museum of Modern Art

Do you know there is a beautiful rose garden in the Toyoshina Museum of Modern Art? And it’s free to see the garden. Every year, it makes me want to go there.
Every year I go and take some photos, which means the garden is not only beautiful, but also comfortable and superb. A lot of people visit in the rose season, even on weekdays. The garden has about 800 roses which include 500 different kinds. There are some arches twined with roses which are quite gorgeous.

Cherry Blossom and Ice Cream in Azumino

Cherry blossom season is over in Nagano. I think anywhere in Japan is beautiful when cherry blossoms are in flower.
This April I went to see the cherry blossoms in Misato. There are many cherry trees all along the banks of Kurosawa River. You can see a long array of the trees there. The banks of the river are not made of concrete and a lot of the trees have many flowers which was voluminous. Compared with the other areas, it is quite rustic, but tasteful. If the weather is fine, you can see the Northern Alps from the place. I thought the place was a good unknown place, but I saw some cars from other prefectures which is amazing. It takes about forty minutes to walk all along the trees. The time for cherry blossoms at their best is later than Matsumoto. It may be nice to see them after Matsumoto and then you will feel satisfied after seeing them in Misato. I can imagine that farmers must have enjoyed Hanami parties there in former times.
After I saw them, I went to an icecream shop called Misato Milk. They offer tasty ice cream cones which are famous in this area. I had two types of icecream which were Japanese orange called Buntan and corn. Buntan was refreshing and a bit bitter. Corn tasted very creamy. Cherry blossoms are like snow when they are in full bloom. They look soft and fluffy when you see them from a distance. Cherry blossom season is too short. It’s about one week. A lot of people are really looking forward to seeing them next season again, because one of the reasons is the season is very short.

Azumino Fireworks Show

I went to see Azumino Fireworks Show on August 14.
I was very surprised because so many people came to see the show. I parked my car near Tazawa Station and took a shuttle bus to the park. It was the third year for the fireworks show. The news announced that the Azumino Fireworks Show is the second biggest in Nagano. Compared to the Suwako Fireworks Show, which is considered to be the biggest one in Nagano, it’s much easier to get a good seat. Fireworks are a summer staple in Japan. The sound of fireworks reminds me of summer. Large flower-like fireworks burst into the night sky. I can’t forget it. I went there with my foreign friend. She was also impressed! We saw fireworks imitating the four seasons of Azumino. There were also cartoon characters and special messages to precious friends and relatives. I would like to see the show next year as well.

Azumino Bus Excursion

I participated in an Azumino bus tour with international students from Shinshu University.
At first, we visited the Wasabi Farm. After we got off the bus, a splendid scene unfolded before our eyes. The spread of the wasabi field surprised us. Personalized key chains fixed the female students’ attention. They are so cute!
The weather was so good that we could see the water in the field clearly. Azumino is known as the location for the movie “Dreams” directed by Kurosawa Akira. The scene with a watermill is espacially famous. We took a saunter in the park for a while.

Then we visited a large shop and museum called Art Hills which sells glassware. They sell very cute and quite beautiful items, but it’s expensive. There is a rose garden at Art Hills. It was the middle of June when we visited there. The roses were at their best. Arthills has an expensive and tasty restaurant.

The third place we stopped at was Azumino Winery. A new owner is looking after the winery. I was surprised because the winery has changed a lot. The large expanse is impressive. Roses are planted next to the vineyard because roses and grape vines get the same disease. Roses are weaker, so they get the disease earlier. They make not only wine, but also yogurt. We could see the process used in making yogurt. In the shop, they sell grape ice-cream.
A Chinese lady said to me, “Azumino is very beautiful, but there are only rice fields in Azumino. You could hardly see any houses. Maybe people live in the mountains.” I told her that Azumino is a city, but not so many people live there.
Azumino had not only these tourist spots, but also more. I wish Azumino could be famous worldwide!