Adventure in Isawa Onsen!

 This time... a group of us rented a van and headed to Yamanashi prefecture to spend the night at a hotel in Isawa Onsen. After arriving in Yamanashi the first place we visited was Hottarakashi Hot Spring Onsen.

This is everyone in our group at the entrance to Hottarakashi Onsen.

I'm standing on the other side of the camera.

Hottarakashi Onsen is a public hot spring bath facility in the mountains north of Kofu. It offers spectacular panoramic views of the Kofu Plain and the surrounding mountains, including Mount Fuji when visibility is good. The bath opens one hour before sunrise and stays open until after dark to allow bathers to experience both dawn and dusk.

There are places here to eat, drink and be happy.

Just to the right of center Mt. Fuji is poking out of the clouds.

I can't take pictures inside the bathing area so this picture will have to do.

After I got out of the hot spring the clouds moved a little bit and I was able to get this picture of Mt. Fuji.

One more group picture before we left the mountain top Onsen.

Next up we went to a cherry orchard to pick and eat cherries.

This is the Cherry Picking office where we paid for the privilege of picking cherries.

We were instructed to only pick the cherries that were high-up in the trees.

For people that don't want to be bothered with picking there's a basket of a cherries ready to eat.

Everyone starts looking for ripe cherries to pick and eat.

Miko-chan looks happy to pick cherries.

Everyone carries a plastic bag for the cherry pits.

We can tell who ate the most cherries by looking at the bags.

It looks like Mari-chan is the winner!

After cherry picking we did some shopping in town and then we checked into the Shinko Hotel. This is the hotel's website Shinko Hotel

I think everyone had a good time at the hotel, I know that I did.

Next morning after checking out of the hotel we visited this local products center. 

Then we went to Kikyo Shingen Mochi Factory for an unguided tour.

Shingen mochi is a sweet that is eaten by pouring black sugar syrup and soybean flour onto soft mochi.

This factory tour is one of the most popular tourist destination in Isawa Onsen. 

It was fascinating to watch the manufacturing process.

Here comes so of the factory workers.

Yuko and Hiroko are checking things out.

Emi is checking me out 💗

After the tour we stopped by the snack shop to try some of the factory products.

Yes, this is me!

On our way home we decided to visit Oshino Hakkai (the Eight Ponds of Oshino) for lunch and sightseeing. There's a nice view of Mt. Fuji in the Oshino area. 

Time to eat some Udon for lunch. This restaurant was hard to find but it turned out to be outstanding!

We all ordered Niku Udon (Beef Udon) for lunch. 

It only took a few minutes for our food to come.

It's delicious!

The udon noodles are thick.

Say hello to the cook.

Lunch is over. Time to visit the 8 ponds. 

Oshino Hakkai (the Eight Ponds of Oshino) used to be a quiet place to visit, now it's overrun with foreign tourists. 

The ponds are fed from Mt. Fuji spring water. The water is very clear and clean.

One of the ponds is full of coins.

Lots of tourists walking about.

Posing for pictures is the thing to do.

Visitors from all over the world.

So, we'll take one last look at Mt. Fuji and then it's time to go home.

I think our Isawa Onsen adventure was a big success. Good friends, nice sightseeing and plenty of tasty food and drinks... I hope we will more adventures like this in the future.😊 

All the best,

Mike

Hitachi Seaside Park

 The Hitachi Seaside Park is in Ibaraki prefecture just north of Tokyo on the eastern pacific coast of Honshu. Emi saw an add for a day trip bus tour so we signed up for it.

They call it a seaside park but in my opinion that's a bit deceiving. The park is located near the ocean but it's a flower park not a seaside park. It's also a big park.

After we arrived the tour guide walked us from the Seabreeze entrance to the base  of the Miharashi-no-oka flower hill and then turned us loose.  

The hill is covered with Nemophila flowers... and people!

It was a beautiful day and there were plenty of people enjoying the Nemophila covered hill.

It's an easy walk, nothing too steep.

Everyone is taking pictures.

We're getting closer to the top of the hill.

Most people are taking pictures with their phone, some other people are more serious about their photography equipment.

A lot of couples are enjoying the park.

The view from the top of Miharashi-no-oka hill.

Smile!

We can see the seaside in the distance from the top of Miharashi-no-oka hill.

Hello Emi!

Yes, that's me.

And, me again. 

Starting our walk down the hill.

There are a lot of people here but it doesn't feel crowded. There's plenty of room for everyone. 

It's nice to see young people enjoying the park.

A lot of families too!

Boy meets girl, boy likes girl. 💕

I would say that about 50% of the flowers are in bloom. When it reaches the peak (100% in bloom) this place will be amazing!

We've left the hill behind us and we're heading for the Tamago-no-mori flower garden. 

A change of color from blue to yellow.

Passing through the Old Village House area.

Looks like there's a Princess ahead of us. 

There are some food trucks in the park. Lucky for us we ate lunch before we arrived at the park.

We have arrived at the Tamago-no-mori flower garden in the forest. 

Tulips in the forest... this is very enjoyable.

The tulips are beautiful.

Having a flower garden in a forest is a great idea.

It's getting late so we need to start working our way back to the bus parking lot.

There are quite a few foreign visitors in the park. 

Looking back at Miharashi-no-oka hill as we head for the exit.

Passing by a mother and her beautiful baby.

Back at the tour bus parking lot. Our bus is in the middle (license plate number 90-00). It's time to go home.

Our daytrip group tour was a big success; we had a good time. The park is beautiful and easy to walk around. Maybe we'll do this again next year! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Mike

Bonus shots!