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.
02/07/2012 [Tue]
Izu Shaboten Park 3 ― Ancient ruins [Ito]
Now, here comes “what I found” in Izu Shaboten Park ! As I told you in the last report, there are 24 varieties of ancient relics in the park. How many could I get ? The first is this one. My favorite♪ Do you recognize what this relic is ? I call it by myself “a headless giant”. I don’t know the exact name because the guide was away from me by then. Sorry for that.＾＾；
You will thus find ruins sometimes during walking around and this is the one I found on the cactus mountain which peacocks flocked around. I wished I could have reached there but cactus were on my way ! It would be better with the blue sky behind it.＞＜
These pictures make me feel as if I went to South America for real.＾＾； No wonder these relics look so real and well arranged because they were made with an authorization of the Mexican Government.
Now, I’ve reported “Izu Shaboten Park” in three reports and how do you like it ? Shaboten Park is full of attractions such as “Capybara no Yu”, animals, cactus, cactus dishes, and old relics ! Please rememer the beautiful Izu Kogen Highlands and Mt. Omuro of Geo Park always behind you ! Explore the world of Izu and discover enchantment more than the guidebook tells.
Izu Shaboten Park
Access ： 40 minutes by #6 bus from JR Ito Station ／ 20 minutes by bus from Izukyu Izu-kogen Station
Admission ： ￥1800／adult, ￥900／student ( 6 – 15 ), ￥300／children over 4 years old
Open Hours ：
9:00 – 17:00（ Mar 1 〜 Oct 31 ）
9:00 – 16:00（ Nov 1 〜 End of Feb ）
Capybara-no Yu bathing can be seen every day from 10:30 until Mar 31
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“Shizuoka Guide” is our official English blog website for events & sightseeing. Always with you ! ＾＾
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02/03/2012 [Fri]
Izu Shaboten Park 2 ― Animals and Cactus [Ito]
“Izu Shaboten Park” stands on a small hill named “Mt. Iwamuro” right beside “Omuroyama”. Mt. Iwamuro, as well as Mt. Omuro, is also a part of Geo-Park and I just heard that the pond in the park had been made on the crater !
Now, let’s see what’s in Izu Shaboten Park ! It is basically a botanical & zoological park in the natural Geo-site created by old eruption, which focuses on nature and animals in Mexico or South America. You can also find lots of re-creations of old relics such as Maya Civilization there. I passed through the entrance gate very excitedly. They say there are 24 varieties ( 34 works ) in the park. I’ll show you some of what I saw next time.
Soon after you walk in the park, you will see a huge statue of a bird and some pyramids.
What the hell are they ?
Squirrel monkeys came up to me. The guide told me that they were living free in the park. I, though not liking wild animals, tried to take some pictures. Say cheese !＾＾ There are more animals living free in Shaboten Park. Please try to walk on to find and check all animals on the brochure ! Brochures available in English.＾＾ Be sure to dress yourself for it because the park is vast enough to walk more than 1 hour. I here attach the map for your information.
Animals (793KB)
Map (903KB)
In about 20 minutes, I finally reached the enigmatic statue. It is an imaginary object mixed with mammals, birds, and reptiles and they say that it was on TV for Ultraman and The Masked Rider series, which startled me very much ! This is the doorway to the greenhouse, by the way.
ε(*´･∀･｀)зﾞHELLO
“Shaboten” is a Japanese word for “Cactus” and there are more than 160 varieties of cactus in the greenhouse. The walkway made me feel as if I had been walking through the jungle ! Under the pyramid, you can find a spacious area with mountains of cactus. Some of them are of 50 years old, 100 years old and more ! I wondered if they lived forever.＾＾； At the last greenhouse, you can enjoy cactus picking. Please choose your favorites and assort them in a pod !＾＾
After cactus picking, enjoy yourself by shopping or lunch, and don’t forget to try dishes using cactus. I found cactus ice-cream, cactus juice, cactus curry, cactus soba noodle, and cactus hamburgers. I tried the curry and it was not so bad ! Anyway, have fun !＾＾
Izu Shaboten Park
Access ： 40 minutes by #6 bus from JR Ito Station ／ 20 minutes by bus from Izukyu Izu-kogen Station
Admission ： ￥1800／adult, ￥900／student ( 6 – 15 ), ￥300／children over 4 years old
Open Hours ：
9:00 – 17:00（ Mar 1 〜 Oct 31 ）
9:00 – 16:00（ Nov 1 〜 End of Feb ）
Join us in Twitter φ(・ω・ )
“Shizuoka Guide” is our official English blog website for events & sightseeing. Always with you ! ＾＾
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Posted by Satoshi Nihonyanagi at 13:40 Permanent Link Trackback ( 0 ) Comments ( 0 )
02/01/2012 [Wed]
Izu Shaboten Park１ ― Capybara no Yu ( Capybara in the bath ) [Ito]
“Izu Shaboten Park” is a theme-park located right beside Mt. Omuro in Izu Kogen Highlands, Ito City, Shizuoka. There you can find one of the hottest animals this season in Japan. It’s “Capybaras” and of course they are by no means typical capybaras. Believe it or not, they bathe in the open-air hot water, and funny thing is that their faces look like old gentlemen in hot spa to me.＾＾； They take their time in it until they get tired of it, the very scene you can see in such a great onsen resort as Izu Peninsula.＾＾
Capybara’s bathing time begins from 10:30 – as long as they like to be in. Basically around one hour, they say. While they are munching breakfast, the keeper gives us an interesting description of Capybaras. Of course, in Japanese, though. So I’ll here talk about it in English.＾＾
Capybaras live in South America and considered as a kin of rat. They eat vegetables such as cabbages, potato and carrots, and grow more than 50kg ! “Capybara” originally means “a ruler of the field” and it does look so dignified as the name says.＾＾；
They say that capybaras basically like to be around water but their taking bath is totally another story. Once, they say, while the keeper was washing the floor with hot water, capybaras somehow flocked together around it. He wondered how it would it be if he filled a basin with hot water and the next moment, he saw capybaras bathing in it and thought that’s the very scene of Izu, the largest hot spring resort in Japan ! Now, capybaras of Shaboten Park are so famous and popular as to gather visitors from across Japan ! Please stop by to see them when you visit Izu area by any chance.＾＾
Izu Shaboten Park
Access ： 40 minutes by #6 bus from JR Ito Station ／ 20 minutes by bus from Izukyu Izu-kogen Station
Admission ： ￥1800／adult, ￥900／student ( 6 – 15 ), ￥300／children over 4 years old
Open Hours ：
9:00 – 17:00（ Mar 1 〜 Oct 31 ）
9:00 – 16:00（ Nov 1 〜 End of Feb ）
※Capybara-no Yu bathing can be seen every day from 10:30 until Mar 31
※English brochure available at the reception desk
Join us in Twitter φ(・ω・ )
“Shizuoka Guide” is our official English blog website for events & sightseeing. Always with you ! ＾＾
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12/13/2010 [Mon]
Walking around Mishima Station 2 – Rakujuen Park [Mishima]
In June, 2010, a monkey appeared in Mishima city to attack general citizens. It was reported that more than a hundred people had been raided by Oct. No one was allegedly dead or severely injured by good fortune. The task force member was organized and finally she was captured, on Oct 10, after 4 month long escape, by being shut in a room by a family.
Just in front of Mishima Tourist Association is an entrance gate of Rakujuen Park. Originally, it was a mansion of Komatsunomiya-akihito-shinno, a family of the emperor, and now it’s been administered by Mishima City. You can ask for free brochures in English, Chinese and Korean at the reception desk.
Passing through the gate, I walked in a small wood to the square. I was so lucky to come across chrysanthemum festival ! They were soooo gorgeous, especially with a castle that was temporarily built as an image of Matsumoto Castle. I saw many visitors taking pictures in front. I strolled around for a while and found a crowd before a cage.
So, it has a small zoo, Animal Square ! I saw lesser pandas, capybaras, alpacas, wallabies and other animals. Not very stimulating as lions and tigers but I felt somehow at ease with these animals lying about or eating grasses under the sun.
Then, I found a larger crowd. There she was ! Yes, the monkey ! She was caged after captured and named “Lucky” among public naming. Now, she’s become the hottest animal in Rakujuen Park. You have to be patient until she shows up because she has not yet been accustomed to be seen or observed in public. Wild animals should live in the wild maybe but it might be happier to be fully fed by humans.
Now, let’s go on. I passed through the animal square and the Museum of History and Folklore, and walked in the Japanese garden-like yard. That way led me to Rakujukan, the very mansion of Komatsunomiya-akihito-shinno. It’s built very simple but gorgeous of the tea-ceremony house style, opened to the public 6 times a day at 10:00, 10:30, 11:00, 13:30, 14:30, 15:00. Its garden is also spectacular ! The pond is not merely a pond. The water comes from Mt. Fuji ! It seemed just like a mirror, clearly reflecting the mansion and its surroundings with blue sky. And you know what ? A watchful visitor would realize something about the ground. Yes, it is of lava. Rakujuen Park is such an extraordinary spot !
It took me about 1.5 hrs. Almost being late for Mishima Taisha Shrine Formal Visit Tour ! I’m on my way out from the south exit to the narrow alley.
Next time, I will report Mishima Taisha Shrine.
Have a good day !＾＾
Rakujuen Park
Access from JR Mishima Station ： 1 minute walk
Admission ： ¥300 for adults over 15 ／¥50 for children over 4
Open Hours ： 9:00 – 17:00（April - Oct）／9:00 – 16:30（Nov - Mar）
Closed ： on Mondays, Dec 27 – Jan 2nd
“Shizuoka Guide” is our official English blog website for events & sightseeing. Always with you ! ＾＾
Posted by Satoshi Nihonyanagi at 17:09 Permanent Link Trackback ( 0 ) Comments ( 0 )
11/09/2010 [Tue]
At the foot of Mt. Fuji ― Makaino Ranch [Fujinomiya]
Now, back to Fujinomiya, I show you a paradise for animals. Taking an express bus from Shiraito Falls for 5 minutes, actually the next stop, you will find a roadside park-like hill. That is Makaino Ranch in Asagiri Highland. Quite vast. Open this map for your image. See ? Looks fun !＾＾
So, what are in this facility ?
1. Communication with animals
Docile animals such as horses, sheep, rabbits and marmots are waiting for you in each area. Find a vending machine around, and feed and touch them with affection. In my case, because I’m rather no good at animals, I could not have “Communication” with any of them.＾＾； I could tell from their eyes that they were very kind to me though. You try them !
2. Hammock Forest
One of my favorite places. Swing yourself in a hummock web in the refreshing air, listening to music, reading something, or taking a nap. I thought nothing to sing to myself and almost went back to my childhood wrapped in the web. The Adventure of Tom Sawyer, you know ? This is the world !
3. Mongol Town
A camp site. You can stay overnight in a furnished yurt room called “Gel”, and see stars of Asagiri Highland as many as those in Mongol. You can cook or BBQ in this area. From ¥10,000 for a room, up to 4 guests and with extra-charge from 5th. Though once I planned to stay there with my friend, it was broken off due to hard rain. I wish I could have another chance・・・you know, it won’t come again.＞＜
4. Crafts and Works
You can try to make butter, cheese and sausage, or wool-making, ceramic art, candle art, nature crafts and other works. It would be a good idea to make something as a gift to your family and friends.
5. Shops and restaurants
Their original dairy products and sausages are the bestselling, known as Asagiri Highland brand. A variety of cheeses are also very popular. In the restaurant, you can enjoy dishes cooked with local products of the foot of Mt. Fuji.
I strolled in Makaino Ranch for more than 2 hours and saw the evening sun reflecting on the pasture. A flock of sheep made me feel somehow desolate.
The wind was getting cold, telling me the end of the trip in Fujinomiya. Fujinomiya Tourist Association, Sengentaisha Shrine, Shiraito Falls and Makaino Ranch. If I had had more sufficient time, I could have been to Lake Tanuki. Maybe, next time.＾＾；
Oh, maybe you should be advised that you should find out the bus time before exploring Makaino Ranch unless you like to wait for it for more than an hour. Not many buses are available there.
Have a good day !
Makaino Ranch
Admission ： ¥700 for adults ／¥500 for children ( valid for a month )
Hours ： 9:00 – 18:00
Closed ： Every Wednesday and other temporary closing from Dec 1 until Mar 20.
“Shizuoka Guide” is our official English blog website for events & sightseeing. Always with you ! ＾＾
Posted by Satoshi Nihonyanagi at 10:03 Permanent Link Trackback ( 0 ) Comments ( 0 )