Cool beauty in a hot town

It is recognized to be the city with the hottest temperatures in the whole of Japan. And to get to this city, I woke at 5am to make the journey, although the journey to this city is only 1.5hours away. You might question my sanity as of why I am waking up this early to expire to a city with the crazy hot temperature in the middle of the hot summertime. As some of you may already guess, I will do anything for any flowers that worth a visit ^^

This time, the highlight is a lake of lotuses located in the city of Tatebayashi. There are two things that are special about this place. First of all, it is a lake full of lotus blossoms! Secondly, you get to ride a boat to go up close and personal with the blooms.

The name of the lake is Jyonuma Lake (城沼 Jyonuma Ike) located inside the Tsutsujigaoka Park (つつじが岡公園 Tsutsujigaoka Koen) which is also a very nice azalea park in the springtime.

Nice and cool greenery

Although I reach the station early enough at 9.15am, it was already 32 degrees Celsius! Phew, they are definitely not joking about the heat. From the station, the walk to the boat pier across the park is about 35mins. There is an hourly bus service from the east exit of the station, which takes about 10mins to get to the park, but since I missed the bus by 5mins, I decided to walk to the park instead.

As I made my way on foot to the park, I can see signboard and banners to tell you to drink a lot of liquid, avoid prolonged exposure under the sun and other health advisories to avoid heatstroke. I think this is the only city that actually advises you to take heatstroke as a very serious matter.

The walk was pleasant in the beginning, but as you get nearer to the lotuses, it gets hotter as some parts of the walk are not covered or shaded by trees. I strongly suggest that you carry an umbrella if you do not want to end up as a heatstroke victim.

This part of the walk is really hot!

But once you are on the boat, the ride became really pleasant with the cool air breezing onto your face that refreshes you after that walk under the blistering hot sun.

Excited about the dragonfly

I was informed by the boatman cum guide that there are two varieties of lotuses in this lake. One kind is the flowering lotus which usually only flowers, but its root is inedible. The other one is the lotus with an edible root. The flowering lotus are smaller in size compared the other lotus.

I think this is the flowering lotus

I am sure this one is the lotus with the edible lotus root

The boatman also showed us how in the olden days, people used the leaves of the lotus plant to drink sake from it. He made a hole in the lotus leaf where the stem meets. He showed us that the stem itself has air holes in them and acts like a spout when you pour sake onto the leaf and drink the sake from the other end of the stem. They used to imagine that this is how elephants drink in the olden times ^^

The lotuses bloom when the air is cool so if you are planning to visit, the best time is to go in the morning before 11am.

When I was there, many of the lotuses are still budding and the boat guide informed me that this year was slightly cooler than last year, so it will take another two weeks for the flowers to be fully bloom. And when it does, I imagined that the whole lake will be peppered with pink blooms among the green leaves.

The Jyonuma Lake is easily accessible from the Tatebayashi station (館林駅) on the Tobu Iseseki Line (東武伊勢崎線). The walk is about 35mins along the main road to get to the lotus lake inside the Tsutsujigaoka Park. To get to Tatebayashi station, you can board the train, the Limited Express Ryōmō (りょうもう号) heading toward Ota (太田) from the Asakusa station. The fare is about 1,920yen and the journey is approximately 60mins.

Or you can do the cheaper way on local trains for Section Express (区間急行) heading toward Ota (太田) from the Asakusa station. The fare is about 890yen and the journey is approximately 1hour and 35mins.

The address for the Tsutsujigaoka Park is Tatebayashi-shi, Hanayamacho 3278 (館林市花山町3278). It is really easy to get to the park. You just have to follow the main road till you get to the City Hall and in less than 3mins walk, you will see the car park and entrance to the park. Or you can see the map on how to get there at the end of this post.

Another note on the bus service, it runs less frequently on weekends, which I think is ridiculous considering that there are more weekend visitors. I have the bus schedule which I obtained online which I also included here, but you can inquire for the latest bus schedule from the tourist office located immediately opposite the train station.

From Tatebayashi City Official website

From Tatebayashi City Official website

The fare for the boat ride (花ハスクルーズ Hanahazu kuruzu) is 700yen for adults and 300yen for children. The whole boat ride lasts about 30mins. Please note that they will sometimes cancel the boat ride if it rains heavily or if it is too windy as these weather might make the boat unstable. You may call ahead to check at the Jyonuma Tourist Information Center at 0276-73-7800 (in Japanese).

I believe you can see the lotus from July 10th till August 15th and the park is open from 8:30am onwards till 4pm.

Again, I am captivated by small creatures

Although the boat ride only lasts 30mins, but it was a fun ride! I definitely recommend visiting this lake if you want to get close enough to the lotuses.

Ducky is catching a fish in the shallow waters

Will you visit this hot town to see these beauties?

* I just have to update this post with this cute map I found from the website of the Tatebayashi City (in Japanese).

You can the boat pier located inside the park and the tanuki (racoon dog) is the symbol for Tatebayashi city ^^
Map from the Tatebayashi City

The direction from Tatebayashi station to the boat pier:

Map from the Tatebayashi City

Summer in Japan: Dancing in the street

What is fun to do on a hot summer evening apart from enjoying a cold beer with your friends is enjoying a cold beer with your friends while watching people dancing on the street.

Yes, I am enjoying my cold beer on a hot summer evening with my friends in the Niiza city (新座市) city watching the Awa Odori (阿波おどり) festival.

The famed dancing-in-the-street, Awa Odori festival, has a history of 400 years. It was originally performed in the Tokushima prefecture on the Shikoku island as part of the Obon festival (the festival of the Dead) to welcome the souls of the ancestors, but today it is considered to be one of 3 big folk dance festivals in Japan.

How Awa Odori festival started was an interesting one too. The story has it started with a drunken incident when a feudal lord was celebrating the completion of his castle by offering crates of sake to the villagers. The villagers drank and drank until they are totally wasted. One drunk staggered and another staggered and before you know it, the whole village is staggering into a dance. The drunk picked up musical instruments as they dance in the street. Like in a Bollywood movie with more drunks and less choreography. Personally, I think it will be pretty difficult to choreograph a dance when everyone is drunk ^^ but they did it so well that today, this dance festival has been performed in many prefectures in Japan, making it one of the most popular folk dance festival in Japan.

Today, the dance is usually choreographed (no more drunken dance performance), performed by groups of dancers dressed in a traditional Obon outfit accompanied by musicians. I really love the outfit of the dancers, all dressed in the vibrant colours of red, green and yellow outfit, perfect for this energetic occasion.

Love the colourful outfit!

As they danced through the street, the dancers sing. The men and women's groups have different dance style, although, you can also sometimes see a group of women (usually younger women) dancing using the men's dance style.

The dances are usually pretty energetic with lots of jumps and twirling and it is infectious that sometimes you will see spectators dancing along and you are encouraged to do so at the end of the festival which makes the spectators feel that they are a part of Awaodori festival. I feel that Awaodori has the best festival and it usually ends with many smiles (I am just not so sure if it is from the beer or the dancing).

While I can't attend the original Awa Odori dance festival in Tokushima prefecture, I managed to attend one that is held in Niiza city and there are other Awaodori dance festivals scheduled for performance in other wards in Tokyo.

The famous one in Tokyo is the Koenji Awa Odori. This year is the 58th year for the Koenji Awa Odori Festival. This 2-day festival takes place on the 23rd and 24th of August at 5pm. It is scheduled to finish by 8pm.

To get to the event's venue, the closest stations are JR Koenji station  (高円寺駅) on the Chuo Line (中央本線, Chūō-Honsen) and the Shin-Koenji station (新高円寺駅) on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line (東京地下鉄丸ノ内線 Tōkyō Chikatetsu Marunouchi-sen).

The map for the Koenji Awa Odori is available here (in Japanese because the English website doesn't seem to work) and it is included in this post too ^^.

Map from Koenji Awa Odori website, http://koenji-awaodori.com/

Map from Koenji Awa Odori website, http://koenji-awaodori.com/

Like all the summer festivals in Japan, it is definitely advisable to go earlier than the said time of action to get a good viewing spot. To attend the one in Niiza city, me and my friends went 2 hours earlier to get an okay viewing spot. Once you secure your viewing spot, it's time to relax and enjoy the beer.

Yes, here I am, soaking in the smiles of friends and strangers, laughing at the cute antics of little kids and toddlers dancing to the music and enjoying the overall festive atmosphere.

So, have you attend the Awa Odori festival yet in Japan?

This little one is also a dancer

Playing in the street

The Tunnel of Love in Hikawa Shrine, Kawagoe

Summer is hot in Japan and you know what else is hot in Japan? Love.

Summer is also the season for love in Japan as we celebrate the Tanabata  (七夕) or also known as the Festival of the Star Lovers. The festival is celebrated from July 4th till August 31st.

For individuals who are looking for love, a visit to the shrine during the summer season is one way to improve their chances of finding their true love. Therefore, love pilgrimage to the Kifune Shrine in Kyoto and the Izumo-Taisha in Shimane is important, if not, necessary for individuals who are looking for their true love. These shrines are known as some of the most ancient and important Shinto shrines in Japan and has been shrines for those who seek love.

If you can't make your way to the above-mentioned shrines, guess what? We have another relatively unknown love shrine in the well-known tourist town of Kawagoe. It is the Hikawa Shrine.

With a history of 1,500 years, this shrine is known as a shrine dedicated to love and improving relationships between couples, friends, co-workers and people in general. This shrine worships the God of Marriage and it is one of the shrines known for weddings other than the famous Meiji Jingu. There is a good chance that you can witness a wedding procession surrounded by greenery and not crowd of tourists as in Meiji Jingu.

In the past, there was a belief that if you take home a stone from this shrine and pray to it, it will improve your relationship with your partner. So there was one period when every morning, a shrine maiden will pick 20 stones a day to be blessed by the shrine's priest and these stones will be handed to the determined individuals who got up early to join the line outside the shrine's gate for the stones.

Well, that was in the past. Today, the shrine does not distribute the blessed stones anymore and no, you are not allowed to pick up any stones from the ground of the shrine. Oh no! Then, how can we enhance our love lives now, you might ask.

So, instead of picking up stones, Hikawa Shrine has prepared a special way for lovers and individuals who are looking for love to make their dreams come true. Hikawa Shrine has prepared two tunnels of wind-chime which is named as the 'tunnel of love'. The preparation of these tunnels is also the shrine's way of celebrating the Tanabata festival.

Wind-chime temple

The first tunnel which is located in front of the shrine and is filled with 888 small wooden plagues written by the shrine's worshippers hanging from the wind-chimes.

Super hot day in Kawagoe but the sound of the wind-chime cools me off

It's magical how the sound of wind-chimes can be soothing

And the other love tunnel which is located inside the shrine has wooden plaques where you can write your own prayers or wishes.

The entrance to the wind-chime tunnel

At night, the shrine's river will light up and projected as the Milky Way.

Part of the Milky Way

Every month on 8th and 24th at 8.08am, Hikawa Shrine conducts its own special processions. These processions are, none other than to improve your love life and enhance your relationship.

The shrine also has a reservation-only cafe, the Musubi cafe, that serves high dining 'cafe' food. For breakfast, the limit is to 20 diners. If you have a group of more than 4 people, you will have to call and make a reservation. The website is here in Japanese.

Within the shrine grounds, you will be surrounded by numerous trees over 500 years old and it is a place where even the local people come to relax and escape the heat in the city.

These lovely ladies allowed me to take their photos ^^ and I really love their yukata!

Who can guess that the wind-chime can be this romantic?
Looks like I must buy some wind-chime as decoration at home

I must say that one of the most pleasant shrines I have been to and a great nature escape to be in especially if you are in Kawagoe.

The nearest train station to the old town in Kawagoe is Hon-Kawagoe station (accessible on Seibu Line), but there are two other railway stations, Kawagoe Station (accessible on JR and Tobu Line) and Kawagoe-shi Station (accessible on Tobu-Tojo Line). Yes, to get to Kawagoe, you can take 3 different railway companies, the Tobu-Tojo Line, the Seibu-Shinjuku Line and the JR Line.

The old town of Kawagoe is accessible with a 10-15mins walk from Hon-Kawagoe station, but from the two other railway stations, the walk is an extra of 10mins walk.

If you want to stop at the Hon-Kawagoe station, then you can use Seibu Shinjuku trains. Each journey takes about 50-60mins and the train fare is 500yen per way.

If you don't mind the extra 10mins walk and stop at Kawagoe station, then, the Tobu-Tojo Line is the fastest and with the most frequent train service to get to Kawagoe. It takes only 30mins by express train from Ikebukuro station with no train change and the train fare is 470yen per way.

From Shibuya or Shinjuku or Ikebukuro station, you can also take the direct rapid trains via Omiya on the JR Saikyo/Kawagoe Line. The whole journey takes 55mins and it is 760yen per way  (yes, you can use your Japan Rail Pass for this trip).

When you reach Kawagoe or Hon-Kawagoe station, the city can be leisurely enjoyed on foot, by bicycle or by buses. There are two bus companies that operate almost similar routes that connects all the main attractions of the city. Both bus companies sell one-day pass which offers you an unlimited ride around the city. All busses are equipped with screen with English translation.

Do you like the sound of wind-chime? 

Love-nder in Lake Kawaguchi

Just imagine a whole field of purple lavender with Mt Fuji in the background.

And just imagine the air smells so amazing that you feel like you are in the heavens.

All these imaginations are enough to persuade me to go to the heavily-touristed area of Lake Kawaguchi (河口湖) to photograph this amazing place myself.

I usually avoid the tourist spots but this time, I cannot miss this wonderful and beautiful flower spot no matter how touristy the spot is. Just to make myself clear here - I avoided the well established tourist spots not because of the tourists, but rather, to avoid the pressure of taking the easy but more expensive way to travel.

Anyway, that amazing flower spot that I am talking about is the Oishi Park (大石公園) and from mid-June to mid-Jul, this park is full of blooming purple lavender.

And when you reach the Oishi Park, the place is filled with this an amazing lavender scent in the air. I have never smelled anything more wonderful than this. All this makes me want to visit the lavender fields in Provence.

To get to Lake Kawaguchi from Shinjuku, you can take the highway bus from the Shinjuku highway bus terminal to Kawaguchiko station for 1,750yen. The journey should take about 1hour 45mins if there is no delay.

If you have JR pass, you can board the train on Chuo-line at the JR Shinjuku station to the JR Otsuki station and change to Fujikyu line with the train heading to Kawaguchiko station. The train fare should be an additional of 1,140yen. The whole journey is about 2hours if you are taking the train.

It is relatively easy to get to the Oishi Park with the retro bus on the Red Line from the JR Kawaguchiko station. From the JR Kawaguchiko station, it is just about 20mins ride and the stop for Oishi Park is at Kawaguchiko Natural Living Center bus station (河口湖自然生活館).

Although I did not manage to find out how much it costs to go from JR Kawaguchiko station to Oishi Park but I believe it should be around 400-500yen per way (I was persuaded to get the two-days area pass for 1,300yen as I was making a few stops along the way). So if you are only visiting one place in the area, then, you probably won't need the two-days area pass, but if you are planning to make a few stops like I did, then, it is advisable to get the pass as the bus fare retro bus is not cheap.

I was told that there is also a local bus which is cheaper but the information for the local bus is also harder to get. As this trip wasn't planned (it is one of my random trips again), I didn't have enough time to search for the information and I am still trying to find the timetable for the local bus online. If I can find it, I will share it online ^^.

You can also rent a bicycle from the JR Kawaguchiko station and it should cost you about 600yen per hour or 2,600yen per day. But if you are staying in a hostel or some accommodation in Lake Kawaguchi, just ask if there is any discount. You can probably get a bicycle for 1,000yen for a whole day.

I think it is an amazing experience to cycle among the flowers

Although Lake Kawaguchi or Kawaguchiko area is a beautiful area with a really nice lake, but it is also a well-established tourist spot. It is a great place for anyone who can't speak or read Japanese because this area is easily navigable with lots of English maps, signboards and buses with drivers who can speak passable English.

All said, the Oishi Park is still worth a visit and you will probably never regret spending one good afternoon with the sweet-smelling lavender. I believe the lavender is still good till next week. Enjoy the photos!