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 ! ＾＾

ECOPA Stadium in Fukuroi

Last week, we opened a booth at Ecopa. It’s kind of a sacred place for me because this is the stadium where J-League, Japanese professional soccer teams, especially my beloved Shimizu S-Pulse and Jubilo Iwata play games to vanquish other teams. However, that day was not for a soccer game.

B-class gourmet was held on that day.
I think it’s a great opportunity to report the event to introduce B class gourmet in Shizuoka to you.

Crown Melon Promotion

First of all come local products of Fukuroi City, “Crown Melon” and green tea ! They were so vigorous to promote them beside our booth and you know what ? Crown Melons in Fukuroi is known as one of the most luxurious products throughout Japan. Believe it or not, only a single melon sometimes may cost more than 10,000 Yen ( more than 100 dollars ) !

Cha-musume girls

To my surprise, they let visitors taste a bit of these melons ! I did as well. Soft and sweet. No wonder they are used for a special gift.＾＾
Now, because we have too many kinds of B-class gourmets in Shizuoka, I show here what I saw as many as possible.

Raw Sakura-ebi

From Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Oden and Sakuraebi Yakisoba ! Shizuoka Oden is now too famous and popular in Japan. Yakisoba fried noodle using sakura-ebi shrimp, one of our special products, is also nice with an abundant shrimp flavor with real Sakura-ebi and powdered one. I couldn’t regist it !

Shizuoka Oden

Sakura-ebi Yakisoba

Kikugawa Galette

One of the definitions of “B-class gourmet” is mostly to use local products. Now, here is a very unique gourmet from Kikugawa City. “Kikugawa Galette” is a buckwheat crape wrapping local vegetables or green-tea and sausage or meat. You can enjoy it as a meal or a desert !

Ino-chan Dog

Mori Town created, a brainstorming hotdog called “Ino-chan dog”. The sausage is, believe it or not, mostly made of boar meat ! I tried it and found out that the meat is by no means beast-smelling, rather tasty for its established texture.

Orange Rice

Another unique gourmet from Mikkabi. It’s actually shocking to me because you know what ? Mikkabi is known as the best production district for oranges and they invented “Mandarin orange rice” ! I wanted to try this most but it was surprisingly all sold out around noon.

Shio-katsuo Udon

One more thing I felt so interested was Shiokatsuo Udon of Nishiizu Town. Remember once I introduced Shio-katsuo ? The Ocha-zuke was really nice ! No reason Shio-katsuo udon was not. It was also all gone when I went get it. I’ll bet I will try it when I could find the opportunity to visit Nishiizu Town.

You know, we have also varieties of famous B-class gourmet such as Hamamatsu Gyoza of Hamamatsu, Tsuke-napolitan ( dip-and-eat pasta ) of Fuji City, Mishima croquette of Mishima, Kuro-hanpen ( minced and steamed sardine ) of Yaizu, Fujinomiya Yakisoba of Fujinomiya, and Shimizu Motsu ( pork offal ) curry of Shizuoka City. Be sure to find and try the local meal when you visit a city or a town of Shizuoka !
At the end of the report, I show you a picture taken with Japanese politician, Satsuki Katayama. She came all the way to cheer us and the event itself. Maybe anyone in Japan recognize her but can you guess which one is Satsuki ?

Have a good day !＾＾

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

After the fountain show, I stepped into the “Rose Garden” beside the “Crystal Palace”. The scent of roses got me to inhale deeply. I saw some kind of photographers around in the garden. Now is the very best season ! You can enjoy various kinds of roses and here, I introduce a very singular rose to you. “Blue Rose”. It’s basically believed that blue roses are impossible to be developed because they don’t have blue-pigment genes. So they tried it with that of Pansy, which is considered as one of the major methods to make blue roses. It looked actually purple to me and made me feel decent, rather than gorgeous. By the way, maybe I don’t have to mention this but it is strictly forbidden to pick off any flowers in the park. If you’d like some flowers, please visit the “Flower Shop” to find them.＾＾

Walking down the trail from Rose Garden, you will find a pond named “Mizudori ( Waterfowl ) Pond”. I took a break there, standing at the edge of water. Then, carps and gibels began to appear one after another. I could tell what it meant. There it was ! Fish bait in the bending machine. People are to buy it and feed them.＾＾
Walking along the pond, I found the entrance gate of “Hamamatsu Zoological Garden”. If you like to take a look around it, I would recommend you to get a common ticket for discount. I kept walking in the park for a while and found Louisiana Irises in water, and carps again around them.

I took a nice picture there with flowers and a carp and began to stroll again to reach “Iris Garden” that Flower Park is very proud of !

“Iris & Hydrangea Festival” is being held since May 27 until June 19. It has one million and of 720 varieties of irises, which is one of the largest iris gardens in Japan. Mountains surrounding the garden created an atmosphere as if I had been in a lovely countryside of the “Old good days”. Iris season has just come in, getting better day by day !

On my way back to the gate, I found a vast lawn field and a small amusement square that seemed to me the best for families, and almost 2 hours had passed when I finally got to the “Crystal Palace”. Works of “Mosai Culture”, largely held in 2009, was still there for visitors. Fountain show started, then. I went in a souvenir shop to the exit shooting a glance at the show and my trip of “Flowers in Hamamatsu” came to an end.

Map of Flower Park (2144KB)

Next time, I repot “B-class gourmet” of Shizuoka Prefecture !

Have a good day！＾＾

Hamamatsu Flower Park
Access from JR Hamamatsu Station ： 40 minutes by bus from #1 bound for “Kanzanji Onsen” to the bus stop “Flower Park”.
Admission ： ￥800 for adults／￥350 for school children
Open Hours ：　9:00 – 16:30 ( Oct – Apr )／9:00 – 17:00 ( May – Sep )
＊Admission is to be finished by 30 minutes before closing time.

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

Hydrangea Festival in Shimoda

June, in Japan, is the month of rain and marriage. Apart from “June Bride” that I mentioned last year, rain in June makes us sometimes feel disgusting. The south part of Japan, reportedly, has already been into rain season and it comes up to Shizuoka before long. Tons of rain every day. Still, at the same time, there are some things that rain brings to us. For example, Iris or Hydrangea goes well with rain. Fireflies enjoy it because they are originally from rainforest district. Rain this season is also a God-given blessing for plants and creatures.
Now, here is the Event Information in June, mostly featuring Iris, Hydrangea and Fireflies. If you’ve got interested in some of them, and if you’d like more information, please feel free to contact us from here.

Event Information in June

Be sure to take an umbrella with you every day in June !

Have a good day !＾＾

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

After leaving Hamanako Garden Park, I took a bus to “Hamamatsu Flower Park”. In the area of 30ha, you can see various kinds of flowers throughout the year.
Passing through the entrance gate, seasonal flowers come first to welcome us. The glasshouse, “Crystal Palace” over the fountain pool is definitely one of the must-see spots regardless of the season. This park is basically designed barrier-free. Impressive, isn’t it ? Even visitors in wheelchairs or with baby strollers can walk throughout the park. For those who don’t like to walk too much, you can take “Flower Train” for only ￥100 per ride.

Now, I headed to the huge glass-house “Crystal Palace” first. On the moment the automatic door opened, I gasped at the sight, as if I had been taken to a fantasy world. Varieties of colorful flowers ! Though I couldn’t tell each name, they were just so impressive and admiring ! Walking along the pathway, soon you will find a gorgeous garden that actually made me think of medieval Europe. There is a small café beside it. A group of ladies were having a chat over a cup of coffee. Very decent and aristocratic.

Proceeding further on the passage, you will find one of the most unusual things in the world. See the pic. It’s glowing in the dark. “Luminous moss” they call it. It still grows year by year on the rock, I heard.
Walking through the cactus area and stepping out of the glasshouse, there spread a rose garden ! The scent of roses passed me on the wind. It brought me an indescribable comfort. Then all of a sudden, I heard an announcement over the P.A. system. It said that a fountain show was going to begin. I stood at where I could see the water pool well. Suddenly, water splashed, symphonized with music. Onlookers began to flock together. I stood there for a while shooting a glance at the rose garden until the show ended after all. The fountain show begins at every hour on the hour and the half.

Hamamatsu Flower Park
Access from JR Hamamatsu Station ： 40 minutes by bus from #1 bound for “Kanzanji Onsen” to the bus stop “Flower Park”.
Admission ： ￥800 for adults／￥350 for school children
Open Hours ：　9:00 – 16:30 ( Oct – Apr )／9:00 – 17:00 ( May – Sep )
＊Admission is to be finished by 30 minutes before closing time.

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