This is a spring scene viewed from Motohakone in Kanagawa Prefecture.
The combination of Mount Fuji, Lake Ashi, fresh green foliage, and a torii (shrine gate) looks like a painting.

Event Announcement 📣

This one-day-only event lets you enjoy natural wines from Aizawa Winery, where grapes are lovingly cultivated as close to nature as possible.🍇
Taste a variety of wines alongside handmade pizza, pasta, and cheeses.🍷

📍Date and Time: Sunday, March 8, 2026

📍Hours: 2:00 PM–8:00 PM

📍Venue: Pontise shop, 16 Nishi 3 Jo Minami 10 Chome, Obihiro City

📞Inquiries and Reservations: TEL: 0155-63-7723, Email: info@aizawanouen.com


https://tokachibare.jp/sake-museum/

❄️Mori no Snow Park 2026❄️
Here is a brief look at the recent “Mori no Snow Park 2026 in Kawayu Onsen.” There were plenty of activities, including cross-country skiing, a tipi bonfire, an Akaezomatsu (Siberian fir) distillation workshop, slide talks, snow candles, and a variety of delicious foods!!

This winter event is now an annual tradition, so if you couldn’t attend this time, please come next year. Look forward to it!

Photographed on March 1, 2014.
After the monthly ceremony at Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine, I relaxed at Starbucks Kanetsuki‑dōri Store.
I had an Earl Grey bouquet and a tea latte, and an Earl Grey Basque cheesecake.

The 87th 'Kurofune Festival' crowdfunding campaign opened for contributions on Sunday, March 1st! 🚢✨
This project aims to bring everyone together to make the Kurofune Festival even more exciting🤝🌊

We offer a variety of rewards depending on the donation amount🎁✨
We sincerely appreciate your support! 🙇‍♀️🔥

*If you visit the site and add the project to your favorites, it will be featured as a highlighted project⭐
For details
🔍 Search for "CAMPFIRE Kurofune Festival"

〈Crowdfunding page〉
https://camp-fire.jp/projects/918377/view
〈Contact〉
Kurofune Festival Executive Committee Office (Shimoda City Tourism and Exchange Division)
0558-22-3913

My first visit to Japan turned magical when I found a lone Sakura at the entrance to Ueno Park, blooming early on the first day of March. Locals, tourists, people of all ages, and even birds were enjoying the symbol of Spring.

To immortalize their joy, I simply had to photograph the birds enjoying the blossoms.

I feel proud of this photo, and very lucky to have witnessed such a magical Spring moment in the heart of Tokyo.

Today I attended the monthly ceremony at Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine.
In keeping with the Hinamatsuri on March 3, I received amazake and a doll and had a ritual to ward off bad luck.🎎
Because Hinamatsuri is also called the Peach Festival, I took a photo of a pink aidaimeshi omikuji (love-shaped sea bream fortune).

Photographed on February 15, 2014.
This is the hanachozu (flower-filled water basin) at Kawagoe Hachimangu Shrine.

Nana Field Road 2026 in Kamogawa City, Chiba Prefecture runs through Sunday, March 8, 2026. Feel spring in a field of four million rapeseed flowers.
Stay at a partner hotel in Kamogawa City to receive a free flower-picking ticket (10 stems).
It takes about two hours from Tokyo Station by train, express bus, or car. It is an 18-minute walk from Awa-Kamogawa Station.

The 28th Minami no Sakura and Nanohana Festival Finale

Town’s 70th Anniversary Commemoration “Night Cherry Blossoms ☆ Shooting Stars”
Period: Friday, February 27, 2026; Saturday, February 28, 2026; Sunday, March 1, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM–7:30 PM
Release section: a 400 m stretch from Harumachi Bridge to around Kinomiya Bridge
※The event may be canceled due to rain or other conditions.
※The Inoriboshi® will be released a little upstream from the Roadside Station.
※This event is expected to be very crowded.

↓If you want to avoid crowds, please join the tour below.↓
・Tour organized by Minamiizu Town Tourism Association: Night Cherry Blossoms ☆ Shooting Stars Tour (until 2/28)
Reserve/Apply here → https://x.gd/EGMCM

・Vendors will be located behind the Tourist Information Center and Yunohana Chokubaijo (Yunohana Farm Stand).
There will be special vendor stalls during the Night Cherry Blossoms ☆ Shooting Stars event from 2/27 to 3/1.

※The posted images are from 2015.
※The Milky Way Project🄬 is a registered trademark, so unauthorized use is prohibited. Commercial use by entities other than individuals is also prohibited.

【The 28th Minami no Sakura and Nanohana Festival】
Held from February 1 to March 10

🌸About “The 28th Minami no Sakura and Nanohana Festival”
https://x.gd/8BXol

🌸Bloom status (updated regularly)
https://x.gd/iyca6

🌸Parking status (updated regularly)
https://x.gd/zbToA

🌸Live camera
https://x.gd/smGtI

Tsukigase Plum Valley Plum Festival
Now underway!
More areas are coming into full bloom♪
Please come and visit!

Photo credit: Yasunori Okamoto

The illumination of the World Heritage site Shirakawago is held only a few times a year. Lately it has become hard to get reservations, and even when you can, finding heavy snow is rare. I managed to go there twice to shoot: the first time there was almost no snow. The second time, however, I succeeded in photographing Shirakawago in such heavy snowfall that walking was difficult. I take landscape photos with gratitude for those encounters.

I went to Oshino Village in Yamanashi Prefecture for a photo shoot one early morning in February. The sky was clear, and I was able to see the magnificent Mount Fuji. The temperature was below freezing; there was no snow, but a white frost covered the ground. Corn cobs were hung out to dry and gleamed in the morning sun, so I took a shot with Mount Fuji in the background. Japan’s number one Mount Fuji shone brilliantly.

Photographed on February 15, 2014.
This is the hanachōzu (flower water basin) at Kawagoe Hachimangu Shrine.

Nagano Prefecture Kirigamine Venus Line.

A snowy plain landscape.
Deer tracks led across a deep, untouched snowfield where no people had ventured.

Photographed on February 14, 2014.
These are the hana-temizu flower water displays at Kawagoe Hachimangu Shrine.

Crystals of light dancing in Taisho-era romance

■Location
Ginzan Onsen, Yamagata Prefecture

■Background and thoughts behind the work
Ginzan Onsen sits quietly in the deep mountains of Yamagata. On a night when snow piled softly on the streets steeped in Taisho-era romance, I attempted something for the first time.

I used the built-in flash to capture the “expressions of snow invisible to the eye.” Until then I had cherished natural light, but that evening I felt a strong urge to make each drifting snowflake shine like a jewel.

The instant the flash fired, pure white snow crystals appeared against the dark, and the warm orange glow of the gas lamps contrasting with the cold snow created a dreamlike scene. In the subzero cold I kept shooting until my fingertips went numb, and when I saw the glittering snow on the preview screen, I felt an indescribable emotion.

Through my first strobe shoot, I rediscovered the beauty of movement dwelling within frozen time. This photograph is an unforgettable and precious image for me.

📣 "Himo Toke ba" Sakai Cycle Stroll will take place 🚲

Explore the moated area and other spots by bike using the limited "Himo Toke ba Sakai 2026 Stamp Passport" ✨
🚩Meet the conditions and receive a "Myaku Myaku × Haniwa Chief collaboration pin badge" as a later gift! 🎁

📅 Date and time: Sunday, March 15, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
📬 Applications: Until Tuesday, March 10

🔍 For details, search for "Himo Toke ba Sakai Cycle Stroll"!
🔗 https://www.city.sakai.lg.jp/kurashi/doro/jitensha/sansou/himotokebasakaisansou.html

Tabete Fukkatsu 2026 - Kawayu Onsen Akkeshi Clam Fair

Enjoy Akkeshi clams raised in Akkeshi's rich seas - large, plump clams packed with concentrated umami! Tabete Fukkatsu!

This March, three inns belonging to the Kawayu Onsen Ryokan Association will host the "Tabete Fukkatsu 2026 - Kawayu Onsen Akkeshi Clam Fair"!

We've also featured this in our "Information Bulletin" section, so be sure to check it out ✔︎✨

Let's enjoy lots of big, plump Akkeshi clams! 🌊

16:55
Today’s sunset in Kushiro 🟠
What a beautiful color!

Let’s head to Okhotsk this spring! We present the Spring Flower Tour Campaign at Frespo Suzuran Plaza (Flower Tour Festival).

Held at Frespo Suzuran Plaza, which opened in July 2005 in Obihiro City (Inadacho Minami 8-sen Nishi 10-1), Hokkaido, this event brings you the charms of Okhotsk centered on spring flower viewing.

The event features plenty to enjoy, including pre-trip information for Okhotsk tourism, the ever-popular mascot gathering, a drift ice exhibit, a prize questionnaire, sales of local specialties, hands-on experience booths, and a coloring corner.


Discover the attractions of Okhotsk over these two days. Please come and join us!!

Photographed on February 13, 2014.
This is HK Tea’s lemon honey and a chocolate-banana egg waffle.
Chocolate and banana go so well together. 😊🍫🍌

Tsukigase Plum Valley Plum Festival
Now ongoing!
More areas are coming into full bloom♪
Please come and visit!

Photo credit::Mr. Yasuki Okamoto

Photographed on February 13, 2026.
This is HK Tea’s lemon honey. 🍋🍯
I love it. 😊

The moment you open the door, a gentle aroma spreads through the lobby.

Experience a moment of relaxation as you take in the scenery.

Would you like to experience Kushiro at Kushiro Prince Hotel?
You can book via the profile URL.
https://www.instagram.com/kushiroprincehotel/

Open-house-style presentations on the redevelopment of the Kawayu Onsen district will be held.

Notice from the Tourism and Commerce Division, Kawayu Onsen District Redevelopment Office
In Teshikaga Town, as we promote tourism—the town’s core industry—we have been advancing the redevelopment of the Kawayu area. In October 2023, we adopted the Kawayu Onsen District Town Development Master Plan to guide the revitalization of the Kawayu Onsen district.


At the times below, panels and other displays will be available, and staff will be on hand to explain the progress of the Kawayu Onsen district redevelopment whenever you visit.
No specialized knowledge is required. Please feel free to drop by!


Venue
Kawayu Furusato Hall
2-3-40 Kawayu Onsen

Dates and times
Sunday, March 1, 2026 — 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Monday, March 2, 2026 — 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM
No advance registration is required; if you wish to attend, please come directly to the venue.
The program will be the same on both days.


Organizer
Teshikaga Town
Contact
015-482-2940
https://www.kawayu-onsen.com/news/1034/

The winning entries of the 15th Teshikaga Photo Contest have been announced! This time, we present three Special Prize winners and the Executive Committee Special Prize.

✶ Special Prize ✶
Erisa Nitta "The Back of MtKamuinupuri"
Takashi Kuroda "Rime in May"
Koji Yajima "Standing at Dusk"

✶ Executive Committee Special Prize ✶
Taiga Takahashi "Ice"

The winning entries of the 15th Teshikaga Photo Contest were announced recently. Here we present the special prize winners 👀✨ Enjoy.

— ⋆⋆✶ Special Prize — ⋆⋆✶
Noriyasu Masuda "Overwhelmed by Vast Nature"
Nobuyuki Yamamoto "go!go!go!"
Takahiro Kori "Intermingling Plume and Cloud"
Hieeda Hiromi "A World of Silence"



For other winners and winning works, please check Teshikaga Navi. Congratulations to all the prizewinners‼︎ Thank you to everyone who participated‼︎ We appreciate your continued support for the Teshikaga Photo Contest and Teshikaga Navi 🙇❣️

https://www.masyuko.or.jp/news/photocon_r08/

The winning works of the 15th Teshikaga photo contest were announced recently. Today we present the selected entries for your viewing👀✨ Enjoy.

— ⋆⋆✶ Selected — ⋆⋆✶
Shoichi Koike "Rays of Light"
Fumiaki Nishikawa "Solitary Thoughts in the Morning Mist"
Murakami Grace "Dripping Winter"
Urata Marunī "Dragon’s Mist"
Rie Ishida "Reflection — Capturing Summer"



You can check other winners and winning works on Teshikaga Navi. Congratulations to all the prize winners‼︎ Thank you to everyone who participated‼︎ We hope you will continue to support the Teshikaga Photo Contest and Teshikaga Navi🙇❣️
https://www.masyuko.or.jp/news/photocon_r08/

Photographed on February 13, 2026.
This is Udon Tatsu-mi’s COEDO bukkake.
This udon is something I crave regularly. 😊