Satoshi Nihonyanagi
Welcome to my blog, Green Tea Club !
I'll show you all the beauties and goodies in Shizuoka through this blog.
If you have any inquiry, please feel free to post your messages on it.
Hope to see you around in Shizuoka !
Main content starts here.
03/09/2012 [Fri]
Grinpa ３ ― Other attractions in/around Grinpa [Susono]
Here is another hot attraction in Grinpa. “Picasso no Tamago” ( The egg of Picasso ) is kind of Athletic ( obstacle ) course which you have to proceed thinking or imagining how you can get through it. It opened in July, 2010. I actually tried some of them and had a great fun. And you know what ? We are worse than children in this kind of activities. Sense of balance, imagination and intuition. Even easy-looking labyrinth puzzled me much then. 21 courses are available in Picasso no Tamago. Go for it to beat all clogs！♪
Yeti stands 5 minutes away from Grinpa. As I mentioned it in the last report, Yeti is one of the few ski spots in Shizuoka and lots of ski enthusiasts visit it this season every year. Five courses, from beginners to experts, are available and you can enjoy all-night skiing on weekend. I, by the way, have ever played skiing only once in my life when I stayed in Vancouver, Canada. I went to Blackcomb near Whistler in mid-summer and rode the lift around one hour to reach the top of the mountain. It was an awful experience to me. Steep and not well arranged. They told me the course was for pros or experts. Anyway, since then, I never try skiing to this day. But……I think I can try once more as I can do it such a good place as Yeti.＾＾ Anyone join me ?♪ You can enjoy skiing at Yeti until April 8. Open 7 days a week. For further information, please see the official Website in English.
Special rates and specified lunch for the Groups are also available. They even do lessons for skating and skiing for groups. BBQ available in Grinpa. Please feel free to inquire us or Grinpa through the website. From late April, Bandi, the golf course at the foot of Mt. Fuji, is going to open. 18 courses, par 72. Tee Shot toward Mt. Fuji sounds really exciting ! Wonderful, isn’t it ?♪
Anyway, you can enjoy activities around Mt. Fuji through the year. Please think about it and visit ”Grinpa”, “Yeti” or “Bandi” with your friends or family.＾＾
For Japanese (486KB)
Join us in Twitter φ(・ω・ )
“Shizuoka Guide” is our official English blog website for events & sightseeing. Always with you ! ＾＾
Tags :
Posted by Satoshi Nihonyanagi at 13:34 Permanent Link Trackback ( 0 ) Comments ( 0 )
03/07/2012 [Wed]
Grinpa ２ ― “ M78 Ultraman Park ” and “ Sylvanian Village ” [Susono]
Grinpa is not only for snow-playing. There are mainly 2 character zones in which kids and even their parents can enjoy.
“M78 Ultraman Park” is the amusement park especially for kids. You know Ultraman, by the way ? It’s a kind of Japan’s leading hero show that started from 40 years ago and regarded now as one of the greatest TV show that would never pass away. You can find in the park lots of cute Ultraman figures, and varieties of Ultraman goods are available in “SHOT M78” gift shop. Some are purchasable only in Grinpa. Find them for your friends ! ＾＾
©TSUBURAYA PROD．
There also is a wonderful restaurant ”M78 Planet Dining” where you can find Ultraman curry or noodle. I, without question, stepped into it but, because too many kids had been sitting at the table or still standing in line awaiting being served, I changed my plan to go to another place for lunch.＾＾； By the way, though I basically avoid attraction rides in the play-lands because I really feel scared about them, I dared then take a Ferris Wheel to see the fantastic view ! You know why ? This stands at the highest point in Japan ! You can see, not to mention Mt. Fuji, even Suruga Bay if weather permits. That day was not for the Suruga Bay, though……＾＾；
“Sylvanian Village” is mostly for girls. I knew it only by name, because you know, I was a boy, but “Sylvanian Family” is really popular among girls in Japan and this area is themed on it with dolls and doll-houses. I for the first time in my life see it closest and found all characters really adorable, which made me almost buy one of them.＾＾； Anyway, I stepped into the restaurant of Sylvanian Village “Mori no Kitchen” ( Kitchen in the forest ).
And this is what I got for lunch. Girls would shout with joy ! These dishes were really good for an amusement park. On the rice is drawn a cat, maybe, with curry sauce. Cute, isn’t it ? ＾＾
©2012 EPOCH CO.,LTD
After having lunch enough, I dropped at “Mori-no Pan-ya-san” ( A bakery in the woods ) to buy some souvenirs and got into the Sylvanian Family Shop, “Mori-no Market” ( A market in the woods ) to buy Miss Milk Rabbit, nope, I didn’t ! ＞＜ In the Sylvanian Village, other than shops and restaurants, you can find lots of life-size Sylvanian characters, houses and a school which definitely would take you to the world of Fantasy ! In spring, varieties of flowers will bloom abound. Please enjoy steeping yourself in the dreamy world with Mt. Fuji, flowers, and Sylvanian friends ! ＾＾
For Japanese (720KB)
Grimpa
Access ：
Winter-limited direct bus available from JR Shizuoka Station
JR Shizuoka 7:30 ⇒ Grinpa 10:30 ／ Grinpa 16:00 ⇒ JR Shizuoka 18:30
Bus Fare & Admission Ticket ￥3900／adult ・ ￥3200／child
（ Available until Mar 31／Booking Required ）
Route bus available from JR Mishima, Gotemba, and Fuji Station（ Please inquire for the operation day and departure time ）
Route Bus & Addmision Ticket ￥3600／adult ・ ￥2350／child
Open Hours ： 9:30 – 16:00 ( 17:00) See details from here ※ Basically closed on Wednesdays
※Sledding Area and Yuki Picasso may be closed without prior notice in bad weather conditions. Please be advised to inquire Grinpa beforehand.
Admission：
￥1000（One-day Pass ￥3200）／Adult ・ ￥ 700（One-day Pass ￥2400）／child
Direct bus from Tokyo also available now. Please contact us for more information.
Join us in Twitter φ(・ω・ )
“Shizuoka Guide” is our official English blog website for events & sightseeing. Always with you ! ＾＾
Tags :
Posted by Satoshi Nihonyanagi at 11:37 Permanent Link Trackback ( 0 ) Comments ( 2 )
03/01/2012 [Thu]
Grinpa １ ― Let’s play in the snow in Shizuoka ! [Susono]
Shizuoka is often known as a city of mild climate through the year but you know what ? We have some wonderful places where you can play in the snow ! As you know, we have Mt. Fuji in our city and there are some leisure facilities around it that people of all ages can enjoy with snow. First comes “Grinpa”. It’s been capturing lots of kids and parents for sledding or skating. I also had been intrigued as much as I visited there to find how it was like.
At 10:00 am, I stood in front of Grinpa on that day. Lots of tour buses were already there and I saw quite a few children and parents getting out of them and proceeding toward the gate with sleds. Here we go !
A few minutes later, I got to a snow-covered hill.
So, this is it ! Children sledding and yelping with pleasure. Parents also seemed joyful in the snow ♪ And for me, no exception because this is my first time to touch snow this year. Actually, for us living in Shizuoka, snowing is such an unusual phenomenon that TV would broadcast widely on the day.
Unfortunately, the sky was not clear enough then to see Mt. Fuji but here is a picture that you may see if you are lucky. Yes, right at the food of Mt. Fuji ! For those who like to ski, there is “Yeti” 5 minutes away from Grinpa. I’ll introduce it another day.＾ ＾
Next comes “Yuki Picasso” in Grimpa. This is the winter athletic area for kids with 6 attractions. The most catching one is “Go Go Tubing”, which you ride on a tire and slide on the hill. I gave it a try to feel the gentle winter wind but it goes too fast, and that made me a little bit scary…..because I’d gained weight too much ? ＾＾；
For Japanese (552KB)
By the way, I had had something in my mind when I saw the snow covered field. I finally set it into action at Yuki Picasso. Snowman ! I grabbed some simmering snow tightly into a ball and made it up with some felts. Adorable, isn’t it ? ＾＾
At Grinpa, you can have fun with sledding until April 1 and Yuki Picasso until Mar 20. Please enjoy the last days of this winter anyway !
Grinpa
Access ：
Winter-limited direct bus available from JR Shizuoka Station （ by way of Fujikawa Rakuza and JR Fujinomiya Station ）
JR Shizuoka 7:30 ⇒ Grinpa 10:30 ／ Grinpa 16:00 ⇒ JR Shizuoka 18:30
Bus Fare & Admission Ticket ￥3900／adult ・ ￥3200／child
（ Available until Mar 31／Booking Required ）
Route bus available from JR Mishima, Gotemba, and Fuji Station（ Please inquire for the operation day and departure time ）
Route Bus & Addmision Ticket ￥3600／adult ・ ￥2350／child
Open Hours ： 9:30 – 16:00 ( 17:00) See details from here ※ Basically closed on Wednesdays
※Sledding field and Yuki Picasso may be closed without prior notice in bad weather conditions. Please be advised to inquire Grinpa beforehand.
Admission：
￥1000（One-day Pass ￥3200）／Adult ・ ￥ 700（One-day Pass ￥2400）／child
Direct bus from Tokyo also available now. Please contact us for more information.
Join us in Twitter φ(・ω・ )
“Shizuoka Guide” is our official English blog website for events & sightseeing. Always with you ! ＾＾
Tags :
Posted by Satoshi Nihonyanagi at 11:04 Permanent Link Trackback ( 0 ) Comments ( 0 )
10/14/2011 [Fri]
Communication with animals ― Fuji Safari Park―２ [Susono]
After “Safari Zone”, I walked forward “Fureai ( communication ) Zone”. It’s also vast and enjoyable. It took me almost 2 hours to look around, actually.
Now, “Fureai Bokujo” ( communication farm ) comes first where you can touch and feed kangaroos or ride on horses in the pasture. You can also find some members of the Lion King like warthogs and meerkats there. I was lucky enough then because I could see baby tigers, too.＾＾ My favorite is “Dikdiks”, though. They are tiny as though they fit in the palm of our hands but you know what ? It’s bovid, a species of cow !
Meerkats
Dikdik
“Dobutsu Mura” ( animal village ) is a small zoological park. I was very intrigued by obviously vicious animals named “Lycaon”, wild canines inhabiting in Africa. And I found Hyenas as also in the Lion King. It looks……just ferocious, isn’t it ?＾＾； Squirrel monkeys were so adorable but be careful not to get your fingers bitten ! In this village, you can see more animals such as capybaras, alpacas and hippopotamuses.＾＾
Safari Park also has varieties of eating places. 4 restaurants, some snack stands and a bakery are available in Fureai Zone. It’s very nice to walk about viewing magnificent Mt. Fuji ahead !
I stepped in one of the restaurants “Safari Restaurant” to take a late lunch. I ordered the best sales of this restaurant, “Lion Omu-rice”. Isn’t it cute ? And tiger-faced bavarois for desert. All tasted so good, though my heart bled for breaking them apart.＾＾；
(620KB)
After my stomach satisfied, I visited “Safari Shop”, the huge gift shop beside Safari Restaurant. It has actually thousands of items as you can see from the picture. I found many limited original gifts of Safari Park as well.＾＾
I attach here a PDF map so that you can image Safari Park better. Please enjoy !
Have a good day！＾＾
Fuji Safari Park
Access ： 15 minutes by car from Susono I.C.／25 minutes by car from Gotemba I.C. of Tomei Expressway
Admission ： ¥2,700 for adults／¥1,500 for children
Open Hours ： 9:00 – 17:00（3/16 – 9/30）／9:00 – 16:30（10/1 – 10/31）／
10:00 – 15:30（11/1 – 3/15） ※open 7 days a week
Jungle Bus ： ￥1200（ over 3 years old, w/feed）
Join us in Twitter φ(・ω・ )
“Shizuoka Guide” is our official English blog website for events & sightseeing. Always with you ! ＾＾
Tags :
Posted by Satoshi Nihonyanagi at 10:48 Permanent Link Trackback ( 0 ) Comments ( 0 )
10/11/2011 [Tue]
Communication with animals ― Fuji Safari Park―１ [Susono]
Today, I’ll introduce one of the best attractions in Shizuoka. “Fuji Safari Park” is located at the foot of Mt. Fuji, Susono City, and as its name indicates, you can see various wild animals in nature there.
Now, let me begin with the main attraction, “Safari Zone” ! It’s the very paradise for animals because they can live almost wild in indigenous nature around Mt. Fuji. Accordingly, you tour the world of wild lives by cars, buses, or tour buses called “Jungle Bus”. Walking around is strictly forbidden no matter how brave you are.＾＾；
The course requires about 1 hour to tour around. It’s very nice that you can tour Safari Zone as many times as you like with no additional charge in case you get in there in your private car. In my case, I took a Jungle Bus (¥1200 per ride ). They have 9 varieties of tour buses that are shaped and imaged lovely Safari animals. All buses were full of visitors. I took the Lion Bus. In sitting the seat, I was handed a box with vegetables, chicken meats and something’s liver for feeding, which made me nervous and scared a bit.＾＾；
The bus moved and the driver began to make an announcement about animal lives. Even if you don’t understand his words, you can enjoy the pleasant atmosphere with English brochures in your hand that can be provided at the information desk.＾＾
Now, let me introduce some animals in Safari Zone. First come bears ! And you know what ? I fed them vegetables. Ever seen bears right ahead of you ? It’s kind of awesome !
Next appear Lions. You can feed them too ! The powerful life, how can I explain ? The lioness resting on the tree gave me the very image of “wildness”. It also made me feel scary even in the bus.
Tigers, cheetahs, elephants and other plant-eating animals follow in turn. The might of carnivorous animals and the sweetness of herbivorous animals. Both have the different kind of “wild power”. I felt very congenial when I saw a giraffe walking away into the forest. These scenes always, somehow, remind me of a song of Elton John, “Circle of Life” a theme song of a Disney movie, “Lion King”. I often sing it in Karaoke.＾＾ “Till I find my place, on the path unwinding~♪” What a song ! Very impressive with profound meanings. In Safari Park, by the way, you can see all the members of Lion King such as lions, warthogs, meerkats and hyenas. I’ll introduce them next time !
Have a good day !＾＾
Fuji Safari Park
Access ： 15 minutes by car from Susono I.C.／25 minutes by car from Gotemba I.C. of Tomei Expressway
Admission ： ¥2,700 for adults／¥1,500 for children
Open Hours ： 9:00 – 17:00（3/16 – 9/30）／9:00 – 16:30（10/1 – 10/31）／
10:00 – 15:30（11/1 – 3/15） ※open 7 days a week
Jungle Bus ： ￥1200（ over 3 years old/feed included ）
Join us in Twitter φ(・ω・ )
“Shizuoka Guide” is our official English blog website for events & sightseeing. Always with you ! ＾＾
Tags :
Posted by Satoshi Nihonyanagi at 17:41 Permanent Link Trackback ( 0 ) Comments ( 0 )