Start the New Year with events! Here’s what’s happening in January✨ 〈If you want to look back later, don’t forget to tap the save icon!〉 1. Togakushi Dondoyaki Festival Fireworks launched over the slope will glitter in the clear winter night sky. Sweet sake, red-and-white rice cakes, and good-luck rice cakes will also be served. Date: Saturday, January 17 Schedule: Torch procession departs 19:20 Dondoyaki sacred ritual begins 19:40 Torch procession arrives 19:40 Yagura lighting Togakushi drum performance Grand fireworks on the snow Location: Togakushi Ski Resort Chusha Slope *For details, see the Togakushi Tourism Association website* 2. Go-inmon Chodai (Receiving the Sacred Seal) This ceremony presses the three-seal treasure stamp—said to be a fragment of the Zenkoji Buddha—against worshippers’ heads. Receiving the sacred seal is believed to grant fulfillment of wishes and rebirth in paradise. Period: Wednesday, January 7 to Thursday, January 15 Hours: From around 9:00 until the evening Venue: Zenkoji Temple *For details, see the Zenkoji Temple website* 3. Shiroyama Zoo New Year Event @johyamazoo From New Year’s Day you can meet the 2026 zodiac horse and many other animals! Enjoy the popular New Year “Morumoru Line” and the sale of 20 limited lucky bags. Dates: Thursday, January 1 to Sunday, January 4, 2026 Time: 9:00–16:30 Venue: Shiroyama Zoo *For details, see the official website* 4. Chausuyama Zoo New Year Event @chausuyamazoo Celebrate the New Year with a variety of animals! Enjoy feeding experiences, osechi (New Year’s food) giveaways, animal interactions, photo opportunities, lucky bag sales, and more. Dates: Thursday, January 1 to Saturday, January 3, 2026 Time: 10:00–16:00 (last entry 15:30) Venue: Chausuyama Zoo *For details, see the official website* 5. Zenkoji Omotesando Illumination Zenkoji Omotesando and the area in front of Nagano Station will be magically lit by illuminations✨ Period: Saturday, November 15 to Monday, February 23, 2026 Hours: 17:00–22:00 Location: Zenkoji Omotesando (Nagano Station Intersection to Zenkoji Intersection) #Nagano City events #Nagano events #Event information #Nagano City #Nagano Prefecture #Nagano tourism #Nagano travel #nagano #naganocity

[Spectacular Views in Shobara City, Hiroshima Prefecture — This Is the Place!] Experience beautiful nature🍃 Top scenic spots in Shobara! Located in the center of the Chugoku region, Shobara covers a territory where 80 percent of the area is forest. This town, where people and nature live together in satoyama-style communities, still preserves natural wonders you won’t find in the city. Here are breathtaking vistas that remind you of the everyday, long-forgotten but precious gifts of vast nature and the kindness of its people. For more details, visit the Shobara Tourism Navi website🔽 https://www.shobara-info.com/spot/4019...

Photographed on December 22, 2025. cafe andon’s café latte and a strawberry and chocolate shortcake.

[Outdoor and Active Picks in Shobara City, Hiroshima Prefecture] Fun for everyone! 😍 Enjoy Shobara’s vast nature with these activities Blessed with expansive wilderness, Shobara is a summer retreat and home to Ogidani Auto Campsite, one of Hiroshima Prefecture’s largest campgrounds where you can even try rare snow camping in Western Japan during winter. Beyond camping, thrill-seekers can enjoy rafting, canoe and kayak experiences, and river walking. In winter, you can fully enjoy outdoor sports like skiing. For more details, visit the Shobara Tourist Navi website🔽 https://www.shobara-info.com/spot/4018...

Photographed on December 22, 2025. This is cafe andon's Christmas-limited strawberry and chocolate shortcake.🎄 The combination of strawberries and chocolate goes really well together.😊🍓

Now that I'm free from exam studying, I wandered around Kawagoe. This is the avocado and shrimp hot sandwich set from cafe andon.

Seven must-try ramen shops in Shobara City, at the northern tip of Hiroshima Prefecture 🍜✨ [Shobara Sightseeing Navi website: "Editorial Report" is up!] Check the article here 🔽 https://www.shobara-info.com/report/5445... In Shobara City, you can enjoy a wide range of ramen, from classic light broths to more unusual bowls. With so many attractive shops to choose from, a steaming bowl of ramen will be just what you want as the cold season sets in!! This time, we introduce ramen you can eat around Shobara City. We’ve summarized each shop’s appeal and characteristics. Be sure to find your favorite bowl 🍜✨

[Hot Springs and Day-Use Baths in Shobara, Hiroshima Prefecture — Your Go-To Spots!] Relax your body and mind 🍃 Hot springs in Shobara♨ These hot springs ease fatigue and offer soothing relief. With open-air baths framed by nature’s year-round scenery, both body and mind unwind. The freely flowing water from mineral-rich pools adds a touch of luxury. Whether on a trip or taking a daily break, be sure to enjoy Shobara’s hot springs. For details, visit the Shobara Tourism Navi website 🔽 https://www.shobara-info.com/spot/4017...

Photographed on December 18, 2025. This is Hanatetsu’s flower temizu (flower hand-washing basin).

Photographed on December 18, 2025. This is the hanachozu (flower basin) from Hara Florist. 🌹

Photographed on December 18, 2025. I passed a certification exam on November 30, so I celebrated. I enjoyed a gingerbread latte and a strawberry and chocolate tart.

Introducing the fourth in our Sake Tourism series 😊 On Saturday, January 24, 2026, we will host “A Farm Lunch Tour to Savor Tokachi’s Wines × Sake × Local Vegetables,” celebrating the agricultural heartland of Tokachi 😊 At Memuro Winery, four farmers each make wine from their own vineyards. You will learn directly from the winemakers about the characteristics of the wines each farmer produces and the barrel-aging process, and experience the depth of wine shaped by Tokachi’s terroir 🍷 At Kono Farm in Memuro Town, Chef Sugimoto will showcase his skills as you enjoy a farm lunch 😍 Taste a special menu featuring local vegetables paired with wines from Memuro Winery 🎵 The tour finale takes place at Hekiungura with a brewery tour and a sake tasting experience comparing three types of sake 🍶 This luxurious tour lets you enjoy Tokachi’s wines and sake all at once 🤗 https://tokachibare.jp/sake-museum/news/taxi-tour02-04/...

Photographed on December 15, 2025. This is the hanatemizu at Naritasan Kawagoe Betsuin. It is decorated for Christmas. 🎄❄️

Photographed on December 15, 2025. cafe andon’s café latte and a Tangy Red Apple (Kogyoku) apple pie.

Where to stay in Shobara, Hiroshima Prefecture: private rented traditional houses and more! A retreat in Shobara to soothe body and mind with satoyama scenery💛 A quiet traditional house hotel nestled in the great outdoors, offering a chance to experience satoyama landscapes you rarely encounter. This special inn pampers you from the inside out with open-air baths, a sauna, gourmet cuisine, and attentive hospitality. For details, visit the Shobara Tourism Navi website🔽 https://www.shobara-info.com/spot/4016...

Photographed on December 15, 2025. This is “Kogyoku Apple Pie with Shinrin no Bokujo Farm Soft Serve” from CAFE ANDON. It also contains my favorite cinnamon. 😊

Photographed on December 25, Heisei 25. This is CAFE ANDON’s Andon Chicken Curry.

#019 Long time no post! This time, I will introduce two municipalities connected to Tsunocho. I will touch on how those relationships came about, each town’s characteristics, recommended spots, and local foods. [Sister City – Itoman City, Okinawa Prefecture] Itoman City sits at the southern tip of Okinawa Main Island. Its population is about 60,000. The city tree is the banyan (gajumaru), and the city flowers are periwinkle (nichi-nichi-so) and bougainvillea. Tsunocho’s bond with Itoman City deepened during wartime (after 1944), when 82 parents and children from Itoman Town (now Itoman City) were evacuated as a group to Tsunocho. Forty years later, people who had been elementary school students at the time visited Tsunocho, which sparked further exchanges, and on December 1, 1993, Itoman City and Tsunocho concluded a sister-city agreement. Exchanges between various organizations continue to this day. [Specialties of Itoman City] ⦿ Seiika (common name: Sodeika) This squid is widely caught around Okinawa Prefecture and ranks among the largest edible squids, reaching about one meter in length and around 20 kilograms in weight. Its texture is pleasantly chewy, and it is used for sashimi as well as fried dishes. ⦿ ITOMAN / S craft beer This happoshu (low-malt beer) features label art meant to match fish dishes and luxuriously uses fruits produced in Itoman. The lineup includes Taman, a salt-lemon beer with fruity flavor and a sharp finish; Akamachi, a tropical beer with rich aroma and bitterness; and Irabucha, a spice beer that balances spiciness with citrus freshness. [Places to Visit in Itoman City] ⦿ Himeyuri Peace Museum Opened on June 23, 1989, the museum preserves the horrors of war and the importance of peace for future generations. Exhibits include belongings of the Himeyuri students, photographs, survivor testimony videos, and dioramas recreating part of the Nanjo army hospital cave and the interior of the Ihara Third Surgical Cave. Many visitors still come to offer prayers for peace. Postal code 901-0344 671-1 Ihara, Itoman City, Okinawa Prefecture ⦿ Roadside Station Itoman The seventh roadside station in Okinawa Prefecture and one of the largest in the prefecture. The site houses the Itoman City Product Center, a farmers’ market, the Itoman Fishing Cooperative Fish Center, and the Itoman City Tourism Association, bringing together sea and mountain specialties from Itoman. Shoppers from across the prefecture flock here for fresh vegetables and seafood from Itoman. Recommended for food lovers. Postal code 901-0306 4-19-1 Nishizaki, Itoman City, Okinawa Prefecture [Why Itoman Is Great] In February this year I visited Itoman for the first time as part of an exchange program. What struck me was the warmth of the people. Even strangers felt easy to talk to with no barriers. At the Itoman fair, people knew Tsunocho as if it were natural, and sometimes used dialects so strong I couldn’t fully understand them — yet even that felt warm. During the three-day visit we had welcome parties every night. I had worried about that beforehand, but those worries turned out to be unnecessary. The people of Itoman treated us without formality, offered hospitality, and showed a communal spirit and warmth I had not experienced in Miyazaki, making me want to return. [Friendship City – Saromacho, Hokkaido] Saromacho lies almost at the center of the Okhotsk General Subprefecture and faces Lake Saroma to the north. Its total population is about 4,600. The town tree is the large-leaved linden (Oobabodaiyu) and the town flower is the Ezo-murasaki azalea. Tsunocho and Saromacho began exchanges in 1993 through ties created by Toyo Tire test courses located to the south and north, and various organizations, including chambers of commerce, have deepened friendship through events and booths. In June 2014 they formally concluded an economic exchange partnership, and today each town’s roadside stations sell the other’s specialties. Especially popular is Saromacho’s young scallops, sold at Roadside Station Tsuno — they sell out almost immediately after restocking. [Specialties of Saromacho] ⦿ Scallops from Lake Saroma Scallops harvested in Saromacho, which has Hokkaido’s largest Lake Saroma, have firm flesh, a pleasant texture, and sweetness. As the birthplace of scallop aquaculture in Hokkaido, Lake Saroma scallops grow large and are shipped for raw consumption as shell-on scallops or raw adductor muscle. Processing facilities also make smoked oil–marinated scallops and dried adductor products, which are exported worldwide. These large, delicious scallops even converted me from someone who couldn’t eat scallops to someone who can! ⦿ Pumpkins Pumpkins are rich in vitamins, highly nutritious, and popular as a low-allergen food. At the JA Saroma pumpkin processing plant, pumpkins collected from growers are stored and sorted into fresh produce, winter-solstice pumpkins, and decorative pumpkins for Halloween. They also produce powdered, flaked, and frozen pumpkin paste as processed products. Decorative pumpkins are several times larger than ordinary pumpkins and turn orange through ripening rather than staying green. Their products contain no additives and are used even for baby weaning foods, making them popular as safe, versatile items. [Places to Visit in Saromacho] ⦿ Lake Saroma Observatory Horoiwa Mountain, at 376 meters, sits nearly at the center of Lake Saroma’s coastline. Because no tall mountains surround it, the view from here is outstanding. The Lake Saroma Observatory near the summit is the only place from which you can see the entire lake. You can see the sandbar separating the lake and the sea, the Sea of Okhotsk in the distance, and even the Shiretoko Mountains on the horizon. Enjoy this vast panorama that you can see only here. Postal code 093-0421 Naniwa, Saromacho, Tokoro District, Hokkaido ⦿ Roadside Station Saroma Lake and Bussankan Minori Along Japan National Route 238 facing Lake Saroma, you’ll find the roadside station and product center. The building is designed to evoke the town’s core dairy industry with imagery of a cowshed and a silo. The facility offers rest spaces for tourists and drivers and serves as a gateway for visitors to Lake Saroma. The product center sells local specialties and processed goods such as scallops and pumpkins from Saromacho, making it a hub for souvenirs from eastern Hokkaido. Shipping nationwide is available. The soft-serve ice cream made from local pumpkins is reportedly the shop’s most popular item. Postal code 093-0421 121-3 Naniwa, Saromacho, Tokoro District, Hokkaido [Why Saroma Is Great] First, Saroma’s great natural environment. I went to Hokkaido for the first time last year. What moved me then was the richness and vastness of Saroma’s nature. When people think of Hokkaido, they usually picture tourist spots like Sapporo or Otaru, but I want to recommend Saroma. Major tourist spots have their charms, of course. As someone who loves nature, I found Saroma extremely comfortable. I only stayed two days, but it felt livable enough to consider moving there. Roads are wide, grasslands are expansive, and everything feels huge. It was impressive. Above all, the food is delicious. The scallops that even I, who once disliked seafood, learned to enjoy are from Saroma, and the miso ramen made with Sapporo miso was superb. I also felt the kindness of the people. Perhaps their atmosphere reminded me of Tsunocho, which resonated with me. *I wanted to write more, but I ran out of characters…

[Roadside Stations and Shopping in Shobara, Hiroshima Prefecture — Your Go-To Spots!] Take a spontaneous drive! 🚗 Enjoy local food and shopping at roadside stations Roadside stations brim with local specialties. They gather regional produce and processed goods, and when you spot one during a drive or trip, it’s the kind of welcoming stop you’ll want to pop into—a pleasant place for everyone to relax. Come by and savor Shobara’s food and shopping offerings. Not only roadside stations but also direct-sale markets and product halls Why not drop by for some shopping on your drive ✨ For details, visit the Shobara Tourism Navi website 🔽 https://www.shobara-info.com/spot/4015...

Photographed on December 13, 2025. This is the hanachōzu (flower basin) at Kawagoe Hachimangu Shrine.

Photographed on December 15, 2025. After the monthly ceremony at Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine, I relaxed at Starbucks Kanetsuki‑dōri Store. I had a gingerbread latte and an Earl Grey scone.

Photographed on December 15, 2025. This is the koi-temizu (romantic hand-washing basin) at Kawagoe Kumano Shrine.❄️

"Roadside Station Engaru Mori no Okhotsk" is celebrating its 6th anniversary thanks to everyone's support! To show our gratitude, we will hold a Special Anniversary Fair on the dates below. Event dates: Saturday, December 20 and Sunday, December 21 (two days) At the fair, customers who spend 2,000 yen or more can enter a one-time lottery, and select items in the shop, food court, and experiences will be offered at special prices! Please come visit "Roadside Station Engaru Mori no Okhotsk" this weekend♪ Roadside Station Engaru Mori no Okhotsk 150-1 Nogami, Engaru Town, Mombetsu District, Hokkaido 099-0344 Phone: 0158-42-4536 https://engaru-mori-no-okhotsk.jp//

Meigetsuin Temple, famous for its hydrangeas This temple in the historic city of Kamakura also offers spectacular autumn foliage. Especially from the Satori Window, the view of the autumn leaves captures a timeless sense of old Japan.

Christmas is finally just a week away 🎄 In Amakusa City, light-ups are taking place across the area under the name Amakusa Romantic Fantasy 2025, and here is information about the illuminations you can see in Reihoku ✨ This time we introduce Hama-yū Rehabilitation Center. The entire entrance to the facility is lit up as a Christmas illumination 💡 (remarkably, the staff made it by hand 👀) When you visit, be sure to take a look ☺️ Here is the place we introduced👇 Hama-yū Rehabilitation Center (1215 Shiki, Reihoku, Amakusa District, Kumamoto Prefecture 863-2503)

Photographed on December 15, 2025. This is the ai-tai omikuji at Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine.

Photographed on December 15, 2013. This is the Ichinen An-tai Omikuji from Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine. The orange omikuji is vermilion.

Year-end and New Year Business Hours Notice: With just under three weeks left in 2025, we hope this message finds you well and prospering. We extend our heartfelt thanks to our members and the many others who have supported us this year. We ask for your continued patronage in the coming year and offer this as our year-end greeting. — Office Year-end and New Year Hours — Tourism Association Office and Tourist Information Center: Closed from December 29, 2025 to January 4, 2026. Normal business resumes on January 5. Please note that bicycle rentals at the Tourist Information Center will also be suspended during the period above. Thank you for your understanding. Sincerely yours.

Photographed on December 15, 2025. These are the autumn leaves at Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine. 🍁

Today I attended the monthly festival at Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine. I will be able to work in Kawagoe again next year. The practical exam I took in Tokyo last week ended with a disappointing result, but I will do my best again next year. Thank you for your encouragement. 😊