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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.

New Azumino Exploring Guide!

Presenting the New Azumino Exploring Guide! April 2010
This April marks the budding of cherry blossoms all over Nagano and the release of Azumino’s new tri-lingual cultural guide and access map. The printed map will be available at train stations and tourism offices throughout Nagano or is available as a printable pdf from the “Suggested Routes & Map” page.

New Approach to Guide Maps
Azumino’s new Exploring Guide is a new approach to Nagano maps. The guide delineates where to go to enjoy the food, culture, and outdoors of Azumino, as well as provides introductory explanations on different cultural aspects like soba noodles, sake, and oyaki. In addition to highlighting biking and walking trails, the map provides three views of the area making even the outer areas with hikes and trails easy to access by car.

Release Gathering May 31st, a multi-lingual exchange
To celebrate the release of Azumino’s new Exploring Guide, native speakers of each linguistic group represented on the map (Korean, Chinese, English, and Japanese) gathered to share food and conversation. We did a workshop learning and reviewing basic greetings in all four languages and discussed similarities and differences in cultural and linguistic quirks like the expression of surprise. Azumino’s new Exploring Guide is really a confluence of cultures and people, like the varied interests and arts of the Azumino valley.

The Wasabi Farm and the Seasons

The last time I visited the wasabi farm was in the lush glow of Nagano’s green summer. So I was slightly hesitant that the landscape would not be quite as enthralling, nor the wasabi ice cream quite as appealing, in the cooler transition into winter.
However, I was pleased to find the blues and greens of the wasabi farm as bright as ever. As far as the wasabi ice cream… who was I kidding…of course I was going to eat it. Though I don’t think it has the kick anticipated from the unique Wasabi flavor, Nagano soft serve is always delicious.

Azumino’s wasabi farm is best known for it size. But being in the four seasoned Nagano, I love the wasabi farm for its reflection of seasonal, changing landscape. The blue water and green wasabi plants are surrounded by redish yellow Japanese maple leaves in fall, spiny branches in winter, pink cherry blossoms in spring, and green everything in summer. On my trip, I was extremely happy to catch the tail end of fall.

Soba Making

I’ve been told that local soba (buckwheat noodles) and rice are the most delicious during fall in Nagano, just after harvest. Also after a year of touting soba as my favorite noodle, due to its delicious taste and buckwheat health benefits, I figured it was time to learn. So I grabbed a friend and headed to Hotaka’s soba house, KoneKone.

Restaurants and shops throughout Nagano often have viewing areas or offer soba making opportunities, but KoneKone is the only soba house I have found designed to be half restaurant and half instructional school open to the public.

During my Sunday morning visit, I was delighted to find families, couples, and children learning as well. Reservations are recommended, but it seemed as though many Japanese families put their name in as they came and were accommodated as instructors and/or tables opened up.
Though there was a wonderful local family feeling, each class is individual and you or your group receives private instruction. It is nice to speak some Japanese, but I found you don’t really need it. All of the instructors are extremely warm and will show you how to do every step as you go.

The best part…eating your soba after! Kone Kone will cook your soba for you and serve it with their dipping sauce, local pickles, and tea. You can of course order their delicious tempura or oyaki from their restaurant menu as well. Or if you are in a time crunch or can’t eat all of your soba, they will pack your noodles with ice for you to take home and stay fresh.

Hiking and Biking in Azumino

This October, I enjoyed hiking and biking in Azumino.
One sunny day, I walked along an old railroad track. It was discontinued 20 years ago. The rails were taken away and an unpaved flat, straight route remains. So, it’s a perfect walking route without any traffic. I enjoyed a 15 km hike through the beautiful and peaceful woods.

There is a cool unused brick tunnel that was built 100 years ago. The course it getting popular among Japanese this year. I think it’s attractive also for foreign travelers since you can walk from JR Akashina Station.

The other day, I rented a bike from a bike shop near Hotaka Station and enjoyed biking along a really beautiful river near the wasabi farm with foreigners members of this site.
Azumino is one of the most fascinating places for hiking and biking in Japan!

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!

Full Opening Of This Site

We celebrated the opening of our new English Web site for Azumino on June 7th. Since our pre-open in January, we added links for the “Tourist Info Center”, “Suggested Routes & Map”, “Eating Out”, “Events”, and “Guestbook”. We encourage and look forward to any posts, comments, or questions in the Guestbook!

On our opening day, we celebrated with a BBQ party at Tenpyo-no-mori BBQ house at Mt. Nagamine. We enjoyed the food, nature and fantastic view from the mountain and hope our website will help you also enjoy the hidden wonders of the Azumino valley and Japanese Alps range.

There is such an enormous wealth of events, galleries, and changing activity in the Azumino valley that we hope you will continue to check-in with the website for new posts and information as the year continues!

Mount Jonen Hike

At an altitude of 2,857m, Mount Jonen (常念岳) is one the highest peaks in all of the Northern Alpine range and overlooks the vast majority of Azumino as well as the neighbouring Kamikochi area. Having lived in Jonen’s shadow for the best part of the last three years, I finally decided to make a go of hiking this magnificent mountain by conscripting the company of my good friend and Japanese mountain-expert, Brian, and making a 2-day camping trip of it with the hope of taking in the Azumino sunset and sunrise.

Getting up to the base of Jonen can be tricky without a car, but taxis in the area often take hikers up to the parking area, which is about 5 minutes walk from the hike’s starting point. As we were intending to camp near Jonen’s summit, we started the hike just after lunch and passed several hikers making their descent along the way. The first part of the hike is perhaps the most challenging as it involves a rather steep ascent up a forest trail. After about a 700m climb, the trail became more manageable and we found ourselves overlooking a spectacular panorama of the surrounding mountainside as well as the valley below.

After getting to Mae-Jonen, a resting-point about 200m below the peak, we set-up our tent in a small but comfortable mountain hut that was to protect us from the freezing mountain winds and serve as a vantage point for watching the sunset that evening, as well as the sunrise the next morning. As we had hoped, the views failed to disappoint, and we were treated to one of the most beautiful scenes that can be found in Japan - even spotting Mount Fuji in the far horizon!

Details: Trail head begins at Ichi-no-sawa (beware: there is an alternate hiking route that begins at Mitsumata and is much more difficult) which is about 20 minutes by car/taxi from Hotaka train station. (From Matsumoto, north to Hotaka, it takes about 30 minutes by car or train.)
From the trailhead (restrooms, drinking water, shelter) the route follows a beautiful mountain stream as it gradually narrows; the trail gets steeper, then the final hour is mostly switchbacks leading to the saddle where the lodge is located. Trailhead to lodge is about 3.5 to 4.5 hours, then another hour (steep) to the summit. Hikers are advised to allow some time at the top as it is one of the most beautiful vistas in the Japanese Alps.

Hotaka Shrine Festival

May 2 to May 17, 2009

This huge festival takes place only once every 20 years, so don’t miss it! The entire wooden shrine was rebuilt after 127 years and the festival is being held to welcome the God back into the new shrine.

During the 15-day festival, there are a ton of different things taking place at the shrine.

**Performances every day from 5 to 8pm, upon the shrine’s large stage (only a few highlights are listed below)

**Around 100 life-sized dolls are displayed upon the shrine’s grounds. Normally kept in a museum, the dolls depict scenes from traditional Japanese folktales. (Lit daily until 8pm)

**A variety of food and entertainment booths

Event Highlights

May 5: <3pm> Children’s Parade (6pm if rain)

May 10: <5:30 to 7pm> Traditional music and dancing
<7 to 8pm> Taiko performance

May 16: <5:30 to 7pm> Traditional music and dancing

Note: No performances on May 8

**Stop by the excellent Visitor Center located next to Hotaka Station for more information.
English-speaking staff is usually available.

Access

By Train: Take the Oito-sen Line from Matsumoto to Hotaka Station. The shrine is an easy 5 minute walk from the station.

By Car: Streets surrounding the shrine will be closed during the festival. While several parking lots are available in the area, expect them to be full, especially during the Golden Week holidays.

Hiking & Climbing Season

April and May sees the start of the hiking season in Azumino.

We climbed Mt. Hikarijoyama on April 18th. We enjoyed a great view of the cherry blossom canopy and the Alps.
Mt. Hikarijoyama is 912m high and can be climbed by people of all ages and abilities starting in March.

Azumino is also a ‘gateway’ to mountains in the Japanese Alps, such as Mt. Yari, Mt. Hotaka, Mt. Jonen and Mt. Tsubakuro, which are some of most popular mountains among climbers in Japan.

This year, there wasn’t as much snowfall as in the past, resulting in easier spring climbs in the higher mountains. But mountains like can have snow until June or July, so be prepared with the right equipment!

Stagione - Italian restaurant selected in “Zagat Survey in Nagano”

I went to Stagione, which was listed as the second best Italian restaurant in the Zagat Survey in Nagano (published this March in Japanese).
It is located in a good place in the Hotaka area and you can see authentic rural Japanese scenery and a wonderful view of the Japan Alps from its wide window.
As Zagat reported, the restaurant is very neat (perhaps too “neat” for a place to eat), the dishes and desserts are tasty and stylish like the photo, and it’s not so expensive.

Zagat Survey is a guidebook (also called “American Michelin Guide"). It has a voting system that relies on locals. They ranked restaurants and hotels in Nagano using the result of 5,000 votes.

Departure of Swans

There are two “swan lakes” in Azumino. 500 to 2000 swans come from places in the north, like Siberia in October through December and stay in Azumino for the winter. The number of swans that winter in Azumino depends on the year (this year there were about 500).
Starting last month, February, and ending in April, the swans are to fly north. This year, the swans started departing earlier than ordinary years because of the warm winter.
In Azumino, we can see many other birds that migrate,like wild ducks.
I hope they reach Siberia safely, bear their babies, and come back to Nagano with their kinds next autumn!

Welcome to the newly opened Azumino English Web site!

The Azumino area offers a wealth of opportunity for travelers and much of its charm lies in the museums, galleries, and cultural centers hidden throughout the valley. The new Azumino website is a great resource for English speaking travelers because we will be continually updating the website with better directions, tips, events, and access points for all that Azumino has to offer.

I am continually impressed by the uniqueness of the Azumino area which has been seemingly inaccessible to travelers until now. Cozy book shops, internationally significant art galleries, locally unique ecology, rare silk, renowned wasabi farm land, specialty glass work, soba making, and some of the best landscapes and outdoor activities in all of Nagano ken.

The website is still very new, so please feel free to post comments under this blog with any questions regarding travel in the Azumino area and I will do my best to answer them or forward them onto someone who can.

Sincerely,
Whitney Conti

(website photographer and volunteer living in the Azumino area)