In Kanaya Sta. of Oigawa Railway

This time, I planned a trip along Oigawa river all the way to “Sumata-kyo Onsen” making use of “Fujinokuni GoGo! Campaign”. First of all, let me introduce “Oigawa Railway” so that I can provide all information at a time.
Oigawa Railway goes along Oigawa river between Kanaya and Senzu station, and Senzu and Ikawa station. Not alike JR line, it’s fascinating because it proceeds, perpendicularly from JR Line, on and on to the north into mountains. While local people use it for their lives, it is definitely loved by lots of tourists, I would say because of the sceneries through the window and the various viewing spots along it. Above all things, what should be highlighted about Oigawa Railway is “SL” the Steam Locomotive.

A Steam Locomotive at Shin-Kanaya

Long time ago, before electric train was employed and became prevalent, SL had been a popular railroad in Japan. It basically runs on coals. I used to hear elder people talk that the smoke given off by the SL made all washed clothes black ! But in 1976, all SL was gone. Still, Oigawa Railway brought it back in the same year and it’s very rare now throughout Japan. Now, many tourists visit stations along Oigawa railway to take pictures of SL.

Local Train at Kanaya

SL is available every day but be sure to check out the departure time because it basically makes only one round trip a day and the schedule varies based on the day or season.

Must-see views come one after another !

Anyway, I got off JR train at Kanaya and moved to another Kanaya station beside it. In my case, because I needed to leave Kanaya very early on that day, I was meant to take SL on my way back to Kanaya. The local train has also such atmosphere as the one of old days. I took some pictures of it and finally stepped inside. “Retro” is the very word for it ! Picture-takers were pressing their faces against the window looking for, maybe, a lovely landscape.
Now, here we go !

Going up along Oi River

The train proceeded slowly along Oi River, mountains, and green-tea fields. I was just staring abstractedly at the passing scenery as if my mind had been taken away by the spirits of nature.
Next time, I’ll introduce a famous suspension bridge at “Shiogo” and around “Senzu” Station.

Have a good day !

Illustrated Map (1806KB)

Oigawa Railway ： Beside JR Kanaya Station.
＊In case you come by car, please drive for “Shin-Kanaya Station” for the parking lot.
＊Guide-map is available in English, Chinese and Korean. Please ask for it at the ticket desk.

“Shizuoka Guide” is our official English blog website for events & sightseeing. Always with you ! ＾＾

Mt.Fuji Shizuoka Airport

On June 4-6th, we made a great event for the 1st anniversary of Mt. Fuji Shizuoka Airport. Anyone who has ever come to Shizuoka using this Airport? Though it is not so big as NRT or KIX, actually merely a local airport, it has international flights to Seoul and Shanghai.

As you know, hundreds of problems and troubles follow against the construction of airport and we were no exception. But what with one thing and another, we finally accomplished to open the airport on June 4th, 2009.

Information Center

The fact is that we’ve been, or are being so desperate for customers to come in or go out through this airport with a big smile. Far from “stable” yet but it will be someday, and it must be!!

If you have any opportunity to come in this airport, please be sure to drop by the Information Center on the ground floor. You can find it very easily after seeing this picture, right? Just in front of the arrival lobby, the first thing you see when you get out of the gate, maybe＾＾； They have many guidebooks for visitors from abroad especially in English, Chinese or Korean. Get them as many as you can to save time and money!

All for English !

In the weekend, the airport gets flooded with people. Some are to get on the flight and others are with their friends or families to see the airplanes taking off or landing. The brief description in the building is that the check-in counter, the arrival lobby for domestic and international, the international departure lobby and the information center are on the ground floor, the domestic departure lobby, a large giftshop, the exhibition room of local information around the airport and “Omotenashi Corner” on the second, and an eating place and observation deck on the third.

Omotenashi Corner

You’ve got to visit Omotenashi Corner to taste the real green tea of Shizuoka!! Free of charge, of course. They serve local green tea and kindly explain the distinction of Shizuoka green tea and its histories. For those who don’t understand Japanese, they have good brochures written in English, Chinese and Korean.

So what about my guide of Mt. Fuji Shizuoka Airport? Please check the flight information from the official website below.

Oh, and one more thing !
We are just ready for your message or questions through this blog. Click “comments” to post them.

Have a good trip !＾＾

Mt. Fuji Shizuoka Airport
Access ： Direct buses are available as below. ※as of June, 2010
Airport 　⇔　JR Shizuoka Station　　50 minutes／¥1,000
Airport 　⇔　JR Shimada Station　　25 minutes／¥ 500
Airport 　⇔　JR Kakegawa Station　 30-40 minutes／¥700

“Shizuoka Guide” is our official English website for sightseeing, always with you ! ＾＾

Guess the color of “Tea” in Japan. It often happens that the original naming is quite different from the current image, right? You may imagine “green” for the color of “Tea” but we will point to the “brown”.
Tea was originally brought to Japan in the 8th century from China. Not powdered as today, but massed into a ball, half-fermented like oolong-tea which color is brown. That is how early Japanese named brown as “the color of tea”.
Tea ceremonies reached its peak in Muromachi era by Sen-no-Rikyu, as you know.
Here at Ocha no Sato, they thoroughly replicated the teahouse, tearooms and gardens of Masakazu Kobori, known well as Enshu Kobori, who was a grand pupil of Sen-no-Rikyu. He became a key figure of tea culture in the beginning of Edo era. Not only was he so deeply versed in tea manners as to make lessons to Tokugawa Shogun, but he was seasoned in Paintings, waka – the Japanese poetry, architectures and garden-makings.

Now as I’ve promised in the last article, I report my tea-ceremony-story at, of course, “Ocha no Sato”.
First, be sure you have the English brochure before entering the Teahouse. This brochure is really well-explained about the Teahouse and the Garden. Getting in the Teahouse, a guide will show you around in the house and lead you to the room where you will be treated as a guest of tea ceremony.
Tea ceremony is not merely a party with Macha. What is most important in tea ceremony is the manner. But don’t take it too formal. The master or mistress always　wants you to enjoy the taste and a talk with him/her.
Telling the truth, this was the first time I had Matcha served in a formal way. Too nervous I was, I could hardly smile, my body stiffened, I finished the beautiful wagashi – Japanese sweet and Matcha without recognizing if it was sweet or bitter. As the mistress said to me “take it easy”, I would also advise you to take it easy because……no one might expect you to act like Ensyu or Rikyu, right?

Wagashi of Dogwood

The way of tea ceremony, or what I did was……appreciating the wagashi saying “It’s beautiful” or “What is it molded after?” or something like that, seeing the mistress preparing Matcha. After the tea served, I watched the tea bowl and she made good explanation about it. I sipped it at my own pace. I’m not sure if this is the right way but it is best to get fun, isn’t it?＾＾

Anything you like!

And remember, everything has its meaning. The tearooms of course, the tea-bowls and even Japanese sweets have some reason to be chosen for, for you or each guest. It is a kind of riddle, isn’t it? Try to figure it out!
Free costumes are available for you!
There are many schools and branches about “the way of Tea”. I can’t make head or tail of these differences but if you have a curiosity about it, visit and attend in the various tea ceremony and find or feel it with your head and body!

Have a good day!

Ocha no Sato ： From JR Kanaya ⇒ 5 minutes by bus or taxi /or 30 minutes on foot
Admission ※ Information as of May, 2010
Museum ¥600 for adults / ¥300 for children under 15
Teahouse ¥500 for adults and children
Museum and Teahouse − ¥1,000 for adults / ¥700 for children under 15

“Shizuoka Guide” is our official English website for sightseeing, always with you! ^^

I know many people associate Shizuoka with green-tea. No wonder because we feel proud of the fact that Shizuoka has been known as the largest product district of green-tea in Japan.
There is a huge complex facility in the middle of tea-field in Shimada City, just like a castle standing dignifiedly on the hill. You will find a large Museum, decent Teahouse, graceful Japanese garden, and some hot shops and restaurants. Yes, this is The Tea Museum, “Ocha no Sato”

Now, let’s get in the Museum! Get a nice English brochure at the reception desk and see the floor-map. It tells you to go upstairs to the observation lobby first where you can find Mt. Fuji right in front if the weather allows. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see it for…for my unfavorable conduct?＾＾； No, just for the mischievous god!

Anyway, the hallway leads to the first exhibition room where you can have “Welcoming Tea Service”, monthly changed, of course free of charge.＾＾ You will also find display boxes of 90 teas which you can actually touch and smell. It was a big surprise that this museum is not only for Japanese tea but for teas of other countries! Going ahead, you’ll see tearooms of China, Turkey and Nepal, and each room is precisely reproduced with furniture and tea-sets that I could not even imagine how to use and serve. This time, fortunately I had an attendant clerk to guide me around. She told me all about TEA heart and soul, thankfully.

Again stepping the stairs down to the 2nd floor, you can study the roots of Japanese tea, see displays of various Japanese teas and miniature of early local life, and know how the technology of tea-making has been progressed.
Studying history makes you drowsy?
Now, time for an exercise!

See the pic. Yes, a millstone. You can have a small bit of “Ten-cha” at the reception desk. So what is Ten-cha? This is the previous incarnation of “Matcha”, the green-powdered tea used for tea ceremony. Now, put the Tencha on the millstone, and grind it by yourself at your own pace, for about 10-15 minutes, and then, Tencha is reincarnated as Matcha! I don’t know why this somber green becomes such a vivid yellow-green. Maybe because of the flavonoid or something like that? I don’t know……forget it for now!
Of course you can keep Matcha as a souvenir. Oh, and be sure and aware that this may cause muscle pain in your arms ＾＾ I tried millstone-turning and found it harder than I had imagined.

If you don’t have powers enough for the millstone, why don’t you make a bookmark of tea-harvester girl “Cha-Musume” dressed in traditional costume, with colored papers.
Matcha making and Cha-Musume bookmark making are both free of charge＾＾

Need a fresh air? So you can walk in the Japanese Garden. Many carps in the pond and I saw baby carps swimming along together. Smells of green, wind of blue, sight of rainbow, too poetic, isn’t it? But this garden has the very coziness to describe like that. Don’t expect tea-field in the Japanese garden! That is a different story but you can see it, or I even say you can’t come here without seeing green-tea field around. ＾＾
The house in the picture is the Teahouse. It is a great opportunity for you to go through formal tea ceremony with Matcha tea and Japanese sweets. I’ll report it next time with detailed explanation and its history.

After getting satisfied with Tea, be sure not to go back without souvenirs for your family! They sell various kinds of green-teas, tea-based sweets, special local products and the like. You will be welcomed with fine local green-tea served by the professionals. Why don’t you try?
You can also have lunch at a restaurant if you get starved.

Enjoy your life with authentic high-quality tea!

See ya!

Ocha no Sato ： From JR Kanaya ⇒ 5 minutes by bus or taxi /or 30 minutes on foot
Admission ※ Information as of May, 2010
Museum − ¥600 for adults / ¥300 for children under 15
Teahouse −¥500 for adults and children
Museum and Teahouse − ¥1,000 for adults / ¥700 for children under 15