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.
03/22/2012 [Thu]
Asagiri Food Park [Fujinomiya]
A new commercial facility is going to get started from April 1, 2012 in Asagiri Highland, Fujinomiya city at the foot of Mt. Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture. “Asagiri Food Park” is a theme park ( or a small town ? ) standing right beside the Asagiri Kogen roadside station, which will offer you the opportunity to touch the real local products such as Sake, Milk, Green tea and more. I joined the preview tour the other day to show you what it’s like. See the map anyway. Overwhelming Mt. Fuji is right behind the park !
One of the stores, “Fujimasa Shuzo” sake brewery is not only where you can taste and buy local sake but where you can learn how sake is produced because the sake factory is open to the public and you can study it through the window. Sounds fun ?＾＾ They also sell some cosmetic products including sake. Especially, the hand cream was really popular among tour participants.
The green tea shop is also my recommendation because you can there taste one of the most unique ice creams as in the picture ( this is only for tasting. You can ask for regular soft ice cream for ¥300 ). See ? Green tea powder on the crème. Believe it or not, fragrant flavor of green tea goes very well with sweet ice cream ! Other tea set menu with sweets is also available. By the way, they sell 3 hundred thousand yen／1kg tea ! Amazing, isn’t it ?
Lunch menu was really something to me. Buffet style, mostly consisting of local specialties such as vegetables, Yogurton Pork ( a brand name of pork in Fujinomiya ), trout, and other stuff ! I might be too greedy then. It should look more decent like Japanese Kaiseki Cuisine but no sense of beauty. Perfect lunch though !＾＾ I, needless to say, went for another plate of meat, vegetable and rice. For big eaters like me, nothing is better than buffet anyway ♪
Other than things above, you can study sweet potato confectionery factory, milk plant and Japanese confectionery making and buy these products. Lots of authentic local gourmet of Fujinomiya can be discovered in Asagiri Food Park. Please be sure to stop by when you drive around Mt. Fuji.＾＾
Please see the website for reference.
Asagiri Food Park
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Posted by Satoshi Nihonyanagi at 10:54 Permanent Link Trackback ( 0 ) Comments ( 2 )
03/15/2012 [Thu]
Wasabi Soft Ice Cream in mid Izu Peninsula [Izu City]
Amagi district, in the middle of Izu Peninsula, Izu City, is very famous for Wasabi and the best recommendation if you like to see or experience wasabi fields. On my way to Kawazu from Shuzenji, I stopped by a roadside station “Amagi goe” to drop at “Wasabi-no Sato”. Because there, you can find a wonderful soft ice-cream.＾＾ Ever imagined ice-cream with wasabi ? It tastes miraculously good ! Real just grated wasabi on the ice cream. Soon after you taste wasabi and feel the real fresh flavor, try it with ice cream. Indescribable harmony with wildness and modesty. How can I explain ?＾＾； At the other shop, another wasabi soft ice cream is available. Kneaded one. Compare those two below. Which one would you like ? ＾＾
As for Amagi, I like Joren Fall best ! Wasabi fields and wasabi shop are found along the river. The crystal-clear air and water will absolutely refresh your mind and soul. Just sitting is fine to me. In summer, it will cool us with minus ion. Anyway, for further information, please read our former report. There you can also try wasabi soft ice cream but, you know, I was not ready for the third ice cream then.＾＾； So you try and tell me someday.
Have a good day !
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03/13/2012 [Tue]
Numazu Deep Sea Aquarium [Numazu]
A newly established aquarium, “Numazu Deep Sea Aquarium” in Numazu Port offers the opportunity to see varieties of deep-sea fish around Suruga Bay, the deepest ocean in Japan ! I, as a fish lover, visited it to see what it was like. Deep-sea is the world of mystery or I would say, the treasure of mysteries. Now let’s get in ! ＾＾
The first thing I found was something really curious. It looks like a sow bug but it lives in the sea of 200 – 2500m deep ! See the pic anyway.
What surprised me most was its size ! Huge, actually. About 50cm ! Creepy but intriguing, isn’t it ? They said all customers stopped in front of this creature to gaze into it, which often made a line to the entrance gate. They surely would !
I made my way down the aisle, looking into enigmatic creatures, and stepped into a large room with a huge fish tank. It was really lucky for me to be there because it was just the moment when a new fish caught only an hour before was let in the tank, which was absolutely one of the most unusual fish of the world.
Ever heard of “Rabuka”, Frilled Shark ? It lives about 1000m deep and, according to the director, it’s almost never seen alive in the aquarium even through the world. He looked really exited then. How long can I let him stay alive, why is he swimming with his head down, question after question, he was talking to himself. However, the next day, it died. All his efforts finished in vain. Anyway, I was one of the few witnesses. Very sorry, though.
I went on to the next room, which is the highlight of Numazu Deep Sea Aquarium. Already extinct, maybe we never doubt it. But discovered in 1938. It lives unchanged since 350 million years ago. Can you imagine what I’m talking about ? Yes, Coelacanth, the living fossil ! The real stuffed specimen and cryopreservation can be seen only at Numazu Deep Sea Museum in Japan. They possess 5 of them.
Why do they have such long fins ? To walk on the sea bottom ? Why haven’t they been evolved for hundreds of millions of years ? Mysteries still left undetected.
By the way, you can also experience the taste of deep-sea fish at the restaurants around the aquarium. I was really stupid then to have finished lunch at other sushi restaurant, not knowing deep-sea fish menu. So maybe you try it and let me know by all means !
Numazu Deep Sea Aquarium
Access ： 15 minutes by bus from JR Numazu Station
Admission ： ￥1600／adult, ￥800／child
Open Hours ： 10:00 – 18:00 (– 19:00 in July and August ) Open 7 days a week
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Posted by Satoshi Nihonyanagi at 18:10 Permanent Link Trackback ( 0 ) Comments ( 0 )
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)
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“Shizuoka Guide” is our official English blog website for events & sightseeing. Always with you ! ＾＾
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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.
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