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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!