Shizuoka Prefecture - Group Tour: Day 2 (part 2)

 Here we go! Part 2 of day 2 and it's time to ride a train!

It may be hard to believe but down there on that small peninsula is a train station. 

The tour bus dropped us off here at this lookout point so that we could observe the passing of the train that we would eventually be riding on. 

In this picture you can see people walking on the pedestrian side of the railway tracks. They are heading for Oigawa Railway's Okuōikojō Train Station.

And, as promised by our tour guide, there's the Oigawa train making its approach to  Okuōikojō Station.

At this point the majority of our group left the lookout for the trail that would take them down to the train station. A few of us stayed behind to take pictures of the train departing the station. This is my picture of the train leaving the station. 

This is our little group that stayed behind. Now we're following the trail that leads down to the train station. 

It's a good thing that we weren't with the first group because they took the wrong trail. This is the first group coming back down the wrong trail to join us on the correct path to the station. 

We're all together now and down we go.

Most of the people on this tour are retirees in their 70s. The trail is no easy walk in the park but nobody complains.  

We keep going down.

At last we arrive at the pedestrian side of the train tracks.

This is no place for people that are afraid of heights... that would be people like me!

We have all arrived at Okuōikojō Train Station. 

Looking at the sign it appears that one can spell it with a "Z" or a "J". 

Everyone is very excited when the train makes its approach!

The train was very crowded and the only seats that Emi and I could get were at the back of the train facing backwards. This is our view from the back of the train.

Sitting right in front of me was another photographer. He was kind of an intense guy that didn't notice us sitting so close to him. He was 100% focused on taking pictures. 

Passing by another train heading in the opposite direction.

At first I thought that sitting in the back of the train and only being able to look backwards would suck! However, after awhile I changed my mind and thought it was the best place to be seated and that the view was fantastic. 

Passing by the Nagashima Dam. 

There are a lot of curves on this train line.

Passing by the Abt Ichishiro Camping Grounds

The train follows along the Ōi River.

Passing under the Izumio Bridge.

As the train follows the curves of the river I get another view of the Izumio Bridge. I bet the people in the front of the train facing forward don't get a nice view like this!

We're getting close to the end of our 1 hour train ride. Here we are passing by tea bushes. Green tea is a major agricultural business in Shizuoka prefecture.

We are only minutes away from Senzu Station, our final stop on this train line. 

Arriving at Senzu Station and sadly we have reached the end of our train ride.

This was the end of our sightseeing. After arriving at Senzu Station we got back on the tour bus and proceeded to Shizuoka train station where we caught a bullet train home. We had a wonderful time on this tour. I highly recommend it for people that can handle a lot of walking!

Thanks for stopping by!

Mike

Shizuoka Prefecture - Group Tour: Day 2 (part 1)

It's day 2 and things are about to get exciting! We're going to start the day by visiting the Sumatakyo Gorge and we'll walk across the Yume no Tsuribashi Suspension Bridge.

To get to the gorge we have to walk through this tunnel.

On the other side of the tunnel it's not long before we get our first look at the gorge and the suspension bridge

As we get closer to the bridge it's plain to see that crossing it will be kind of scary.

I asked Emi if she was ready to cross? She shook her head no, but said yes.

Only 10 people can be on the bridge at one time. So, before starting we had to count how many people were on it. I went first.

Damn! This really is scary! The bridge sort of swings from side to side and the foot path is very narrow.

Don't look down! Oops, too late.

The color of the river water is magnificent. 

The bridge is one way only. Once you start you can't change your mind and go back. Here comes Emi.

Good job Emi! She said she never want to do it again. 

Since the bridge is one-way only we are forced to continue moving forward on the trail. That means that we have to go straight up for 300 steps to get to the observation point lookout. 

After going up 300 steps we are rewarded with this view of the bridge.

Now it's a long but easy walk back to the tour bus parking lot.

The trail takes us to the Hiryu-Bashi Bridge where we cross back over the Sumatakyo gorge and get another look at the Yume no Tsuribashi Suspension Bridge in the distance.

Emi insisted on taking a picture of me.

The road back is long but very easy to walk.

Going back through the tunnel.

Natural spring water by the side of the road is free, safe to drink and delicious. 

One nice thing about Japan is that wherever you go there's always a clean public restroom. 

After passing the rest room it wasn't long before we arrived at the tour bus parking lot. 

Next in part 2 of day 2 we're going to the Oigawa Railway's Okuōikojō Train Station.

Here's a sneak peek at the train station. It's down there on the small peninsula on the Sesso lake.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mike

Shizuoka Prefecture - Group Tour: Day 1

 When we signed up for a 2 day 1 night group tour to Shizuoka prefecture I wasn't expecting too much. Wow! I was wrong! It was great! So, here we go!

First day, first stop: Miho-no-Matsubara (Miho Pine Forest on Miho Peninsula)

The first thing that Emi and I did was walk the 500 meter long tree lined boardwalk known as "The Way of God".

At the end of "The Way of God" is the Miho Shrine.

It's a fairly small shrine but it was worth the walk.

Walking back to the pine forest along the 500 meter Way of God.

There are over 30,000 pine trees at Miho-No-Matsubara. 

On the other side of the forest is a nice beach. There's no sand on the beach it's all small stone pebbles and when the waves wash over them they rub together and make a chirping noise like small birds. 

This beach is famous for it's beautiful view of Mt. Fuji. Just our luck, Mt. Fuji was covered with clouds. That's okay, I have a nice view of Emi! 

Time's up everybody heads back to the tour bus.

Next up is a Mt. Fuji Shimizu Port boat cruise.

 https://www.shimizu-cruise.co.jp/en/ 

Here we go! The first thing we do is go out to view Mt. Fuji.

And, there it is covered with clouds. 

Well, the top of Mt. Fuji is just visible above the clouds... and, that's good enough for me!

Shimizu Port is a busy shipping container port. We can see all the colorful shipping containers through the boat's window. 

Shimizu port is also home to a large ocean going Tuna boat fleet. We can see tuna boats and the buildings behind them are massive freezer facilities.

Okay, the boat ride is over, time to disembark and head for the bus.  

One last look at the Tour boat before we get on the bus.

Next stop is Nihondaira Yume Terrace.

The first thing we saw when we arrived was this huge communications tower.

This is Nihondaira Yume Terrace located at the summit of Nihondaira.

https://nihondaira-yume-terrace.jp/

And, this is the view of Shimizu Port and Mt. Fuji from Nihondaira Yume Terrace.

Emi found a nice platform with a view.

There is a Mother and Child Statue of Akai Kutsu-No Onnanoko on the grounds of the Terrace.

This is the same girl as the famous Red Shoes girl statue in Yamashita park in Yokohama.

Okay, time to move on. Next up is Hōrai Bridge

Per Wikipedia: The Hōrai Bridge (Hōrai-bashi) is a wooden pedestrian bridge over the Ōi River located in the city of Shimada, Shizuoka, Japan. It was constructed in 1879 and rebuilt after a flood in the 1960s. With a length of 897 meters, the bridge was registered in The Guinness Book of Records as the longest wooden walking bridge in the world in 1997.

So, off we go to get to the other side.

A view of the Ōi River from the bridge.

When I got to the other side I turned around and took this picture of the bridge. It doesn't look very impressive from here but  the view of the bridge from up on a hill is much better.

See! It looks pretty good from the lookout point on the hill.

Another view through the trees higher up on the hill.

Time to go back across the bridge to get back to the bus.

There are a lot of temporary repairs on the bridge and a lot of the boards creak and squeak when you walk on them.  No problem, it's all part of the fun!

Emi insisted on taking a picture of me on the bridge. 

At the entrance to the bridge is a shop that sells matcha ice cream. 

Everyone was back on the bus and we're headed down this road for the last stop of the day. That stop is to check into our hotel for the night. 

Day one was great! Wait 'til you see day two, it's even better!

All the best,

Mike