🐻🤎 Montbell Club Friend Fair Yokohama 2025 🐻 Thank you to everyone who stopped by the Sakuhomachi and Koumi booths! We showcased the high-altitude Lake Shirakoma, the mysterious moss forests carpeted with moss, and Yachiho Kogen, where you can enjoy nature through all four seasons—offering a full taste of Shinshu’s great outdoors.🌲✨ We were delighted that you picked up delicious local specialties and tourism brochures.😊🤍 Sakuhomachi and Koumi in Shinshu are perfect spots for a summer cooling getaway. We hope to meet you again amid Shinshu’s natural beauty.🌲🍁

👀Special Incense Exhibition 📢The Birthplace of Incense! A special limited-time exhibition of Sakai incense will be held!✨ The method of making incense came from China in the 16th century and spread nationwide. Sakai’s incense-making tradition is still carefully passed down by artisans today.🥰 Through the scents of incense, experience the roots of Sakai craftsmanship and the living traditional culture in daily life, and take this chance to appreciate the artisans’ handiwork and the beauty of fragrance Please do so now🤗 📅 Exhibition period: Friday, July 18 – Sunday, July 27 📍 Venue: Sakai Densho-kan, 2nd floor, TAKUMI EXHIBITION *Applications for the incense-making workshop on July 26 have ended. We look forward to welcoming you all👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Hyuga Mushiokuri The traditional event “Hyuga Mushiokuri,” held since the Edo period, will take place. Mushiokuri is a folk ritual performed across Japan to protect crops from pests. Date and time: Sunday, July 20, 2025, 3:00 PM Meeting place: Hinata Yakushi Participation fee: Free. If you carry a torch, an additional 500 yen applies (junior high school students and older). Contact: Hyuga Mushiokuri Preservation Society Office 090-3407-3205 (Yamaguchi) Please join this locally passed-down rite with your family and friends and experience it together.

Notice: Iwanai Shrine Annual Festival This year too, the Iwanai Shrine Annual Festival will take place over three days from July 7th to July 9th. Please be aware that some roads will be closed during the festival, so take care when coming to the area. Come and join the “Iwanai Festival.”😌 *The schedule was referenced from the Iwanai Shrine website.

Photographed on July 3, 25. I had an And at Iidabashi, and before that, I Prayer at Tokyo Daijingu Shrine. The Tanabata decorations were stunning. 🎋 Precincts around half past seven in the morning.

[Shinshu Sakuhomachi Nature Immersion Day Tour] 🍃🌿 \A day trip to soothe you in the great outdoors/ Event Date: Sunday, August 3 Highlights ✔︎ Walk around the moss-covered, mystical forest at Shirakoma Pond🌳 ✔︎ Tour a long-established sake brewery with tasting experience🍶 ✔︎ Lunch featuring local flavors: yamame fish rice bowl and soba set🐟🥢 ✔︎ Enjoy shopping at the Roadside Station Visitor Center✨🛣️ Departure and Return Locations ・Sakudaira Station, Asama Exit ・Roadside Station Yachiho Kogen Visitor Center ➡️If you live nearby, meeting and dispersing at the Roadside Station is convenient! Price: 9,900 JPY per person (tax included), includes lunch What to bring: comfortable walking shoes, rain gear Capacity: 25 people (minimum operation 15 people) Refresh your body and mind as you savor nature’s gifts with all five senses🫧 This charming day tour is perfect for making summer memories🌱 How to Apply / Inquiries Chikuma Kanko Co., Ltd., Saku Head Office Sales Phone: 0267-62-1000 (Hours: 10:00–17:00) ※Closed: Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays, and during the New Year holidays Please join us with your family and friends.

A morning view of Azumino with the Northern Alps in sight Mount Jonen stands clearly visible I imagine many climbers are pushing on toward the summit today as well This is the view from Ohisama Road 😄

Good morning. This is Azumino, greeting a wonderfully refreshing morning. The Northern Alps are clearly visible.

It is a thatched circle of Kawagoe Kumano Shrine.

Ikuta Shrine. Marriage Water Lottery. I was so fascinated by the scenery immersed in water that I hurriedly pulled up.

Warm compassion in a single skewer The owner of the storefront who stopped by suddenly. When you ask for mochi, they ask you how much you favorite, such as the amount of mitarashi and kina flour. A shop where you can talk kindly and cheerfully to school trip students, feel the care for customers, and enjoy mochi and smiles.

Today, it's the Great Exorcism of Xia Yue. It is a thatched circle of Kawagoe Hachimangu.

Azumino’s summer tradition returns this year with the Azumino Fireworks Festival It will take place on Thursday, August 14th🎇 Look out for a special star mine celebrating the 20th anniversary of Azumino city’s incorporation❗️ Last night’s test launch lit up Azumino’s night sky♪ Please look forward to it😁

Would you like to come and see a festival that has been around for almost 300 years? The Sawara Festival is a festival held in Sawara, Katori City, Chiba Prefecture for three consecutive days from July 11 to 13, 2025. It is a very powerful festival with 10 huge festival floats dragging around the town. Songs and dances are also performed at the same time. Held in from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The stalls of the many is also Stalls, so you can enjoy it all day long. Access from Narita International Airports is to take the Keisei Main Line to Keisei Narita Station, Transfer at Narita Station on the JR Narita Line, and Get off at Sawara Station.

A summer tradition praying for protection from misfortune✨ This is Taisai Shrine in Miyoshi-machi, Miyoshi City. It is a seven-minute walk from the Miyoshi Mononoke Museum. The shrine grounds, where the solemn main hall and centuries-old trees harmonize, cleanse the heart. Known as the setting for the manga Asagiri no Miko, which features a miko as the protagonist, the shrine is beloved by many fans. At the roughly 400-year-old Ring Passing Festival, worshippers pass through a large straw ring to pray for good health and freedom from illness, a traditional ritual still carefully preserved today. It takes place exactly halfway through the year, every June 30th. Also known as the Yukata Opening, people in yukata gather to decorate early summer memories. Wrapped in a cool breeze, why not spend a time at Taisai Shrine feeling nature and tradition✨ ／The 400-year-old traditional Ring Passing Festival is held／ The festival will take place at Taisai Shrine from the evening of Monday, June 30th. For details about the Ring Passing Festival, please check Taisai Shrine’s Instagram🔍 Taisai Shrine 📍1112-2 Miyoshi-machi, Miyoshi City, Hiroshima Prefecture 🚙About 12 minutes from Miyoshi IC on the Chugoku Expressway Priest and miko are not always on site. Please check Taisai Shrine’s Instagram for the days when a priest is in residence.

An observation deck sits atop Mt. Nagamine. Climb this deck and enjoy 360-degree views, including the Northern Alps 😄. Please note it will be closed for repainting from June 23 to July 18, so it won’t be available during that time… 😢 If you hike during the day, take care to avoid heatstroke.

Motonosumi Shrine The winding Gari approach to the temple leads to the top of the Quay with 123 vermilion Torii (shrine gates).

Superb view on the way back from Sendai National College of Technology, Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture

A cozy free relaxation spot in Azumino 😃 Hachimen Daio Ashiyu (Footbath)♨️ This footbath is inspired by Azumino’s folk tale, the Hachimen Daio legend The water is a mildly alkaline simple hot spring known for its skin-beautifying effects Feel free to enjoy the hot springs of Hotaka Onsen Village 😊

Azumino is enjoying fine weather this morning ☀️ Mt. Tsubakuro and Mt. Ariake were clearly visible too It looks like Koshin will be hot again today… Please watch out for heatstroke 🥵

NEW Orahomap The refreshed Orahomap, now packed with the charms of Sakuhomachi, has arrived with extra features 😼💫💫 Check out the adorable hand-drawn illustrations that make you want to go out just by looking 👀🎨 "I didn’t know a place like this existed!" "I’d love to visit here~" You might make discoveries like these...🤍💭 Be sure to stop by the Visitor Center to take a look 😸

Photographed on June 15, 25. It was the Ennichi of Kawagoe Kumano Shrine's Zenarai Benten. In the Precincts, a song by the Renjaku Town Sparrow Association was performed.

The crystal-clear water flowing from the wasabi fields of Azumino Fed abundantly by groundwater from the Northern Alps, this water is pure and transparent. When you touch it, it feels cool and refreshing — very pleasant 😁

📍Katori Shrine and Mt. Ariake in Azumino Katori Shrine stands quietly amid the rice fields of Azumino, with the graceful ridgeline of the Northern Alps stretching behind it. The mountain, shaped like Mt. Fuji, is Mt. Ariake, also called Shinano Fuji. Today, temperatures in Azumino rose nearly to a scorching summer level as the area soaked up strong sunlight. 📍Katori Shrine and Mt. Ariake in Azumino Katori Shrine sits in the heart of the countryside, with the beautiful ridgeline of the Northern Alps unfolding behind it. The mountain with a Fuji-like silhouette is Mt. Ariake, known as "Shinano Fuji." Today in Azumino the temperature climbed close to a heatwave level, and the landscape was bathed in summer sunlight.

Naha Hurley prays for the safety of the sea and abundant fishing / It is a traditional Naha hurley held every year at the Naha Port New Port Pier in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture. It is a traditional event of the sea in Okinawa that has continued since the Ryukyu Kingdom period about 600 years ago, and is Held in during Golden Week on May 3~5 to pray for safe navigation and good fishing. It features a dragon boat with a dragon motif, and it's amazing to see 32 rowers competing with each other! I went to see it again this year. The sound of the bell and the finger whistle were hot again this year ^^

Naha Hurley prays for the safety of the sea and abundant fishing / It is a traditional Naha hurley held every year at the Naha Port New Port Pier in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture. It is a traditional event of the sea in Okinawa that has continued since the Ryukyu Kingdom period about 600 years ago, and is Held in during Golden Week on May 3~5 to pray for safe navigation and good fishing. It features a dragon boat with a dragon motif, and it's amazing to see 32 rowers competing with each other! I went to see it again this year. The sound of the bell and the finger whistle were hot again this year ^^

Naha Hurley prays for the safety of the sea and abundant fishing / It is a traditional Naha hurley held every year at the Naha Port New Port Pier in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture. It is a traditional event of the sea in Okinawa that has continued since the Ryukyu Kingdom period about 600 years ago, and is Held in during Golden Week on May 3~5 to pray for safe navigation and good fishing. It features a dragon boat with a dragon motif, and it's amazing to see 32 rowers competing with each other! I went to see it again this year. The sound of the bell and the finger whistle were hot again this year ^^

Registered Tangible Cultural Property "Sakaebashi" 🌉 Completed in 1938 (Showa 13), it was designated a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 13 of this year. Every time you cross this historic bridge, you can sense the passage of the local community. 💭 Sakaebashi exists as a familiar part of the scenery that represents Sakuhomachi. Come and feel the town's history for yourself—be sure to visit at least once. 🫧🦋

At dusk, the scent of charcoal lured me to stop in my tracks. An act of travel, the blessings of the sea and the handiwork of people weave together an unforgettable taste.

Shiyama Shrine "Wish-Setting Festival: Passing Through the Chino-wa (Ring of Miscanthus)" Friday, June 13, 2025, from 10:00 AM [Ritual] From 10:00 AM on Friday, June 13, 2025 [Chino-wa Crossing] From Friday the 13th until 4:00 PM on Sunday the 15th At Shiyama Shrine on the 13th, the Wish-Setting Festival and the Great Purification of Midsummer will take place. Anyone may attend the shrine ritual on the day. If you visit Shiyama Shrine 20 to 10 minutes before the ritual begins, you can receive a katashiro (paper human) for the katashiro ceremony. In the katashiro ceremony, write your name and age on the paper doll (hitokata), breathe on it and stroke it, transfer and cleanse half of this year’s sins and impurities, and pray for good health and a safe summer for the rest of the year. For vehicle katashiro, write the owner’s name and the vehicle number, stroke the vehicle body or key to cleanse impurities and misfortune, and pray for safe driving. When you leave the katashiro at Shiyama Shrine, prayers for good health and traffic safety will be offered at the Wish-Setting Festival. From the 13th until 4:00 PM on the 15th, the Chino-wa Crossing will be held. Pass through the large ring made of kaya (miscanthus) leaves to cleanse the sins and impurities of the past six months, and pray for health and safety for the remaining six months—this traditional event is part of the midsummer Great Purification observed at many shrines across the country at the year’s midpoint. Shiyama Shrine 818 Oshima, Arao City, Kumamoto Prefecture 864-0057 Phone: 0968-62-1390 A 15-minute walk from Arao Station on the JR Kagoshima Main Line