How about a drive to the Echizen Coast with everyone? 🚙 I especially recommend the sunset viewed from the coastal road. It’s nice to share summer memories while watching the sunset.

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Amakusa Area designation within Unzen-Amakusa National Park on July 20, 2026, the two-day cycling event "Amakusa Round! Amaichi Granfondo 2025" will be held in Amakusa 🚴 Granfondo is an Italian term for long-distance cycling events. Rather than racing the clock, participants ride at their own pace, enjoy rest and meals at aid stations, and take in spectacular views on this relaxed cycling event♪ Event Overview Dates: December 13 (Sat)–December 14 (Sun), 2025 Location: Amakusa area, Kumamoto Prefecture (Amakusa City, Kami-Amakusa City, Reihoku) Capacity: Up to 200 riders per day, totaling 400 riders over two days. Applications accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Courses: (1) Shimashima Trial Course Saturday, December 13, 2025. Start and finish at Tomioka Port in Reihoku. A roughly 140-km route around Amakusa Shimashima (Amakusa City and Reihoku) for 30 riders experienced in cycling around the Amakusa area. (2) Shimashima Main Course Saturday, December 13, 2025. Start and finish at Tomioka Port in Reihoku. A roughly 80-km route around Amakusa Shimashima (Amakusa City and Reihoku) for 170 riders. (3) Kamishima Course Sunday, December 14, 2025. Start and finish at the Hiwado Regional Promotion Center, Kami-Amakusa City Hall. A roughly 80-km route around Amakusa Kamishima (Amakusa City and Kami-Amakusa City) for 200 riders. For registration details and more information, search for "Amaichi Gran" and visit the event website provided by Local Gain Co., Ltd. (080-7577-2505), or check the announcements section on our company website! Why not spend this December enjoying Reihoku’s food and nature while having a refreshing cycling experience around Amakusa? E-bike rentals are also available, so please take a look!

Thanks to everyone’s support, donations have surpassed ¥1,000,000 (including town office contributions). The donation period runs until December 18, and our goal is ¥4,392,000. We appreciate your continued support! We would be grateful for your replies so more people will join us—please reply if you can! 🙏

Photographed on October 18, Year 25. This is the hikikae (float handover) between the Nakaharacho float of Kawagoe Taro Shigetada and the Shintomichō 2-chōme float, Mirror Lion.

Good morning ☀ This morning in Tsukigase.

Photographed on October 18, 2013. This is the Seibu Hon-Kawagoe PePe and the Kagami-shishi float.

Reihoku Sunset Marche — November Event Notice📣 This is the announcement for the Reihoku Sunset Marche taking place in November♪ 👀Highlights of this edition of the Sunset Marche👀 ❣Reihoku Sunset Marche will feature agricultural products, processed foods, and prepared dishes from Reihoku. This time it will be held on the same day as the 10th anniversary and olive harvest thanksgiving festival of the neighboring Fukuda Family Olive Orchard.❣ We look forward to seeing everyone 😊 Don’t forget to bring your own shopping bag 🛍✨ 🙇Please note that parking is expected to be crowded, so you may also use the Chamber of Commerce parking lot.🙇 【Planned produce for sale】 ・Cucumbers ・Rice (new crop, late-season) ・Taro ・Sweet potatoes ・Zucchini ・Onions ・Mikan (mandarin oranges) ・Cherry tomatoes ・Peanuts ・Lettuce (sunny, leaf) 🥦🍅🥕🍠🥬🧅🫑🌽🌶🫛🍆🫚🥔 Reihoku Sunset Marche 【Date】Sunday, November 9, 1:00 PM–3:30 PM 【Venue】Amakusa Reihoku Tourism Association (general incorporated association) ※Reihoku Town Product Center facility (4535-1 Kamitsufukae, Reihoku)

We will hold the 4th “Amakusa Reihoku Literary Walk” tourist route creation workshop 🎊 On Wednesday, November 19th from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, the Amakusa Reihoku Tourism Association will host the 4th “Amakusa Reihoku Literary Walk” tourist route creation workshop♪ This session will use the proposed tourist walking routes developed from ideas and discussions in previous workshops to finalize the route🔥 A recap of sessions 1–3 is included, so drop-in participation for this workshop is perfectly fine! If you are interested in literature, history, tour guiding, or community development, please feel free to join us ✨ Date and time: Wednesday, November 19th, 2:00 PM–4:00 PM Venue: Amakusa Reihoku Tourism Association, 2nd floor (4535-1 Kozufukae, Reihoku, Amakusa District, Kumamoto Prefecture) Registration deadline: Monday, November 17th 👉 Please check the announcements section on our website to apply! This workshop is held as part of the FY2025 Kumamoto Future Creation Startup Grant program. Contact: Amakusa Reihoku Tourism Association Secretariat, Ogata TEL: 0969-31-1136 E-mail: info@amakusa-kankou.com

Photographed on October 18, 2013. After the evening festival ends, the floats are being prepared to start moving. There are many photos from the Kawagoe Festival….

Panoramic view from the summit of Mount Nagamine The chilly Azumino valley lies under a sea of clouds, with the Northern Alps towering beyond You can only see a scene like this on an Azumino morning!

Azumino Full Moon This is the Harvest Moon setting behind the Northern Alps On cold mornings a sea of clouds spreads below, and the view of the Northern Alps from Mount Nagamine is spectacular!!

Photo taken on November 3, 2013. Yabusame (horseback archery) ceremony at Izumo Iwahi Shrine (出雲伊波比神社).

Shiojiri-juku Location: Shiojiri City, Shiojirimachi The old Nakasendo route that crossed Misawa Pass, Ono-juku and Ushikubi Pass from Shimosuwa-shuku was abolished in 1613 (Keichō 18). From 1614 (Keichō 19) the Nakasendo was rerouted via Shiojiri Pass and the new Shiojiri-juku was established. The town layout work was overseen by Ogasawara Hidemasa, lord of Matsumoto Domain. He laid out the new Shiojiri-juku in an east–west plan southwest of the old post town. The honjin was one of the largest on the Nakasendo, and the post town also featured a noticeboard area and a Matsumoto Domain checkpoint. Plots in the post town were typically three to four ken wide. By 1843 (Tenpō 14) the town had 166 households, including 75 inns — the largest number among the 26 post towns of Shinshu, due to its position at a road junction below Shiojiri Pass. Major fires in 1828 (Bunsei 11) and 1882 (Meiji 15) destroyed much of the town, but the Ono family house, a National Important Cultural Property, still evokes the town’s former appearance.

Blue sky This is a morning photo of Kozu Coast in Odawara.

I visited the famous Toohoku peak MtAdatara (1,700 m). I took the ropeway from Okudake Trailhead to Summit Station, passed MtYakushi (1,322 m), and reached the summit of MtAdatara. Then I was moved by the stark volcanic landscape of the explosion crater (Numanodaira Crater), continued to Mount Yahazu (1,673 m), and enjoyed the autumn colors painting the slopes of MtTetsu (1,709 m). Location: Nihommatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture

I visited Mt. Kurikoma (elevation 1,626 m), the celebrated Tohoku peak praised as the "carpet of the gods." At the temporary shuttle bus stop, Kurihara City staff warned that "bears have been appearing on the trail for four consecutive days!" and, ringing bear bells loudly, we made the ascent. By the grace of the gods, we encountered no bears and were treated to truly stunning autumn foliage. Thank you. Location: Kurihara City, Miyagi Prefecture

Why not try Koubai-eki (紅梅液) during the hot season? Takano Shoten (高野商店), which produces Koubai-eki, is a long-established store in the Imajo district dating back to the Edo period. It's the syrup that forms during the production of their popular sweet-syrup ume paste, and amazingly the only ingredients are plums and sugar! Ume is known to help relieve tiredness and guard against summer heat fatigue, making it a good choice in hot weather.

Photographed on November 3, 2013. This is the yabusame (mounted archery) festival at Izumo Iwai Shrine.

Photographed on November 3, 2025. This is the yabusame (mounted archery) festival at Izumo Iwai Shrine.

Grab a Tokachi Sake Travel Book and tour Tokachi’s wineries and breweries to collect original labels!! What is the Tokachi Sake Travel Book? It’s a keepsake booklet you use while touring Tokachi to collect and enjoy each winery’s and brewery’s original labels. There are four ways to enjoy the Sake Travel Book😍 1️⃣ Tour and enjoy The booklet introduces Tokachi’s wineries and breweries, places to drink, shops to buy from, and accommodations where you can drink and stay. Savor the drinks as you make this your Tokachi tour book. 2️⃣ Collect and enjoy When you purchase one or more bottles (any brand) at participating wineries or breweries, present the Sake Travel Book at the register to receive that winery’s or brewery’s original label as a gift🎁🎁 There are six designs inspired by each winery’s or brewery’s features😊 The booklet includes pages where you can stick each label✨ Make it your label-collecting book. 📌Participating wineries and breweries 📍Tokachi Wine (Ikeda Wine Castle) 📍Tokachi Makiba no Ie Winery 📍Tokachigaoka Winery 📍Memuro Winery 📍Aizawa Winery 📍Hekiun Kura 3️⃣ Record and enjoy Write down your trip notes, the drinks you tried, and the snacks or dishes you paired them with to create your own memory book. 4️⃣ Read and enjoy Read the tourism information about Tokachi’s drinks to learn more about the region. The Tokachi Sake Travel Book is distributed free of charge, so please pick one up and take a look🤗 The booklet and label distribution run from November 1 to February 20. https://tokachibare.jp/sake-museum/news/saketabi-techo/...

Azumino was pleasantly warm, but a sudden passing shower arrived… When I looked up at the sky, there was a double rainbow

Photographed 11/3/25. It is the Yabusame Festival of Izumo Ihabi Shrine. It's morning.

Photographed 11/3/25. Prayer at Izumo Ihabi Shrine. It is the Yabusame Festival.

It was a change of pace. It's a gingerbread latte and an Earl Grey scone.

Divine glow ✨ On the way back from photographing Shirataki Falls, the pampas grass lit by sunlight looked divine, so I took a picture 📷 You can see gleaming pampas grass around town right now 👀 The temperature swings between morning and evening have deepened the autumn colors 🍁 Peak foliage may still be a little way off, but you can already feel the autumn scenery and breeze beyond the leaves 🌰

Mindfulness tourism was held at Kikuchi Gorge in Kikuchi City, Kumamoto Prefecture. We offered the ultimate retreat in nature’s clear streams to maximize mental and physical performance. Away from everyday noise, participants enjoyed a special experience that sharpened the five senses while feeling the breath of nature. The program featured mindfulness walking incorporating meditation and breathing techniques. Participants walked through Kikuchi Gorge together with a resident priest. At each spot, people quietly faced nature—lying on rocks, sitting in zazen, or otherwise pausing in reflection. In the calm atmosphere, attendees refreshed their minds and bodies and seemed to find new insights. On the first day, we held “Mindfulness Walking and a Tea Ceremony.” A tea master conducted a tea gathering within Kikuchi Gorge. The water of Kikuchi Gorge was used for the tea. In the silent morning space, guests settled their minds and quietly enjoyed delicious tea. On the second day, participants experienced “Mindfulness Walking and a Breakfast Gathering.” They ate breakfast in the crisp morning air while sensing the surrounding nature. They enjoyed their meal in a relaxed, peaceful state. The dishes used the soft water from Kikuchi Gorge, offering clay-pot rice and meals made with local Kikuchi ingredients. Everyone seemed to enjoy the experience in their own way. By walking and touching nature in the morning, many said they were able to forget work worries and busyness. The matcha tea ceremony eased tired bodies, and the sound of the clear stream sharpened both hearing and taste. Meditating in nature with the murmur of the river and the cool air felt pleasant. Freshly cooked rice in a clay pot and nameko mushroom soup warmed body and soul; the dishes were elaborate, truly delicious, and left guests very satisfied. These were among many comments we received. It was a luxurious time to experience Kikuchi’s food, nature, and moments of self-reflection with the five senses. Instead of letting a day pass by unnoticed, participants seemed to appreciate spending time in nature solely for themselves.

I Outbound to the Yabusame Festival of Izumo Ihahi Shrine. It is a morning event. I was even there for the ceremony, but I couldn't see the ceremony because of work.

In Kono in Minami-Echizen Town, a summer fireworks festival is held every year. The dynamic sound that reverberates off the mountains is breathtaking!

Autumn leaves on floating islands A floating island located at the Anegawa Dam in Shiga Prefecture. The Autumn leaves season is spectacular.

Photographed 11/1/25. After Prayer to Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine, I relaxed. Strawberry Mousse & Joyful Medley Tea Latte and White Mocha Cake.