The beautiful Nature landscape of the Aso Mountains Unfolds, and it is a mountain towns with a population of about 3,000 people (as of June 2024) with a high elevation overall.
Traditional agriculture is thriving, and in addition to delicious Rice and vegetables, "Gokase Wine" made from 100% Gokase grapes is also popular.
In winter Japan the southernmost natural snow ski resort offers a spectacular panoramic view of the Aso Mountains seen from and Slope.
We look forward to seeing you in Gokase Towns!
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Full bloom of flowers 🌸
Today, Sunday, April 6, brought warm sunshine and a distinctly springlike atmosphere 🌞
The town’s flowers are now at their best ✨
The cherry blossoms and camellias at Mikasho Shrine are also at peak, drawing many visitors 😊
Traffic is heavy, so please take care when passing through!
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🌸 The weeping cherry trees at Josenji are now in bloom 🌸
In Gokasecho, the cooler-than-usual temperatures delayed the blossoms this year, but
the weeping cherry at Josenji has now reached its peak viewing period 🤗✨ (It is not yet fully in bloom!)
You should be able to enjoy the beautiful weeping cherry through the beginning of next week 🌸
The trees are also lit up after sunset, so please enjoy the night blossoms as well 👏✨
Please note that the Josenji illumination will end as soon as the peak viewing period passes 🙏
Expect heavy crowds, especially on weekends ⚠️ Follow the directions of traffic attendants around Josenji and take care when arriving by car 🚗
Nearby weeping cherries at the Harada residence and Kijiya are slowly coming into bloom as well, so enjoy them together 🫶
(And please consider entering photos you take in our association’s ongoing photo contest “#Gokase Hanami 2025” on Instagram 😘📸) https://www.instagram.com/gokase_kanko/...
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Gokase Sakura Project: Cherry Blossom Festival🌸
On Saturday, March 29 and Sunday, March 30, a cherry blossom festival took place around the weeping cherry tree in Kijiya.
This post shows scenes from Saturday, March 29.
Despite the low temperatures, the morning brought sunshine, and the venue buzzed with a wide variety of food stalls and kitchen cars and many visitors.
That evening, timed with the night illumination, members of Naniloa HULA studio performed a graceful hula dance.
Although the stage was set under a cold sky, the dancers’ beaming smiles warmed everyone’s hearts.
As of March 29, about 20–30% of the cherry trees were in bloom overall, so unfortunately they were not at full bloom.
Still, the lights that the students of Miyazaki Prefectural Gokase Secondary School worked hard to install cast a gentle glow that made the venue beautiful even with fewer blossoms.
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[🌸 Gokase Cherry Blossom Viewing 2025 🌸] From Thursday, March 20 to Sunday, May 11!
(Surely) with the last of the snow behind us, the season of flowers is finally approaching Gokasecho ✨ We’re running a spring Instagram campaign too 🤩🙌
Follow the Gokase Tourism Association account (https://www.instagram.com/gokase_kanko/)... and post photos of flowers taken in Gokasecho to Instagram using two hashtags: #GokaseHana2025 and #dateofphoto (e.g., #March20) 🤳❤️🔥
Every day during the campaign, one person will win a mini set of Gokasecho specialty products 🎁✨
This time, amazingly!
During the nighttime illumination of Kijiya’s weeping cherry tree organized by students of Gokase Secondary School’s “Gokase Sakura Project” (March 23 [Sun]–April 16 [Wed] ※updated 4/2), entries featuring photos of Kijiya’s weeping cherry will have double the daily winning chance 😮✨!?
Plus! Outstanding entries will receive a gift box of Gokasecho specialty products 🤩👏
And even more! This time there will also be a “Gokase Sakura Project Award”…🤭🌟!?
Submitted entries will be featured on the Gokase Tourism Association and Gokase Sakura Project social media channels as they are selected 💡
[Period] From Thursday, March 20, 2025 to Sunday, May 11, 2025
⚠️Other rules are posted on the Gokase Tourism Association website. Please be sure to read them before applying. https://www.town.gokase.miyazaki.jp/kanko/index.html...
⚠️Please take great care to avoid accidents while photographing.
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In spring in Gokasecho you can enjoy not only weeping cherry but also rhododendrons, akebono azaleas, and many other flowers 🌸
In the warm weather, how about a flower tour around Gokasecho 🤗?
We sincerely look forward to your participation ✨
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[Announcement ❄️ of Winter Gokase 2025❄️ Results]
Thank you for waiting! !️
Announcement 🥳🎉 of the results of "Winter Gokase 2025"
This time, in addition to the followers of the Gokase Tourism Association's Instagram Account, we decided 👏✨ the winning item by voting by Facebook and Google Form
Thank you to 🙇 ♀️💕 everyone who voted
Now, let's announce the 👇👇👇 results
[🥇 Gold Award]
Mr. @mas8787a
[🥈 Silver Prize]
Mr. @fowafuwarin5
[🥉 Bronze Award]
Mr. @yamabico_san
The Gokase Highland Ski Resort, which has been revived in yellowtail three years, and the winter appearance of Josenji Temple, which enjoys beautiful scenery in both Spring and autumn, won prizes 🤩✨
It is raining today, but there was a lot of snow this year, so ❄️ there are many difficulties, but I am always amazed 👏 by the power of Nature that creates beautiful scenery and by the people who express themselves through the viewfinder
Congratulations ㊗️🥳🎉 to all the winners
And There is a to 😭❤️ 🔥 everyone who applied, voted, and participated
Spring is finally here 🌸
We will inform you of the Spring campaign soon, so when you come to Gokase to enjoy cherry blossom viewing, please take many photos and cry when 😭💕 you participate
💫 Best regards
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【Cotton Cafe】Relaxing, yarn spinning experience 🧶
Today, I would like to introduce ☺️✨ the "Cotton Cafe" held on the third Saturday of every month at the former Kuraoka junior high school "Kuraokakura"
Feel free to Use the café only.☕💕
You can 😌 order delicious homemade cakes and drinks
Today's cake was a cake with kumquat jam and a cake 🍰✨ with apple jam (I had a lot of it, but it was 🤤 insanely delicious)
Everyone was having a relaxing time 🫶 while enjoying reading and chatting
Of course! There is a fee, but you can 🧶✨ also experience yarn spinning
Pick up cotton seeds with a "cotton gin"
↓
Use a tool called a "hand carder" like a large slicker brush to adjust the stream of fibers.
↓
When wrapped around a winding stick, a bundle of cotton called a "pony" is formed 😌☁️, which looks like a fluffy cocoon
↓
If you pull this out little by little with a tool called a spindle and twist it, you will get 😳👏 a magnificent thread as shown in the first photo
It seems that 💡 you can adjust the thickness of the finished yarn by twisting the fiber and the amount of force
You can make it thinner or thicker, or try to spin a single yarn with various thicknesses... There are There are fun of spinning your favorite yarn If 🤗✨ you are interested, please try 💪 it
When you visit Cotton Cafe, you don't need to make a reservation or anything, so 👌 please feel free to stop by and enjoy 😌🌿 your own time
【Date & Time】3rd Saturday 13:00~15:00
【Place】Kuraoka Kurara (Staff Room)
〒882-1201 5929 Kuraoka, Gokase-cho, Nishiusuki-gun, Miyazaki Prefecture
【Reservation】Not required
【Fee】Yarn spinning experience 1,500 yen, cotton (with seeds) 400 yen
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❄️ "Winter Gokase 2025" Voting Now Open ❄️【Until Sunday, March 16, 2025!】
Thank you all for entering "Winter Gokase 2025"!
We have conducted a careful first-round selection by the tourism association staff and chosen ten entries from all submissions.🙏✨
From these ten entries, we will ask everyone to vote to decide the prize winners.🤩👏
Among those who vote, ten people will be randomly selected to receive specialty products from Gokase Town as a gift.🎁💫 We appreciate your participation.🙇♀️
How to vote is explained below.💡
[Voting period: Until Sunday, March 16, 2025]
⚠️ Voting is limited to one method per person and one vote per account or individual.
<To vote via Instagram>
https://www.instagram.com/gokase_kanko/...
・Follow the Gokase Tourism Association Instagram account.
・From the posts marked with the hashtag "#Winter Gokase 2025 Vote," choose one of the ten featured entries and comment the photo number in that post's comment section.✍
⚠️ If you are not following the account, message exchanges may be unreliable and you will be excluded from the gift drawing. Please be aware.
<To vote via Facebook>
https://www.facebook.com/gokase.kanko/?locale=ja_JP...
・Choose one of the ten featured entries in this post and comment the photo number.
・Voting is limited to one vote per account.
⚠️ If you win the gift drawing, we will contact you via Facebook Messenger. If there is no reply within two weeks, the prize will be forfeited.
<To vote via the website>
・Go to the "Winter Gokase 2025 Vote" page from the Gokase Tourism Association website's news topics (https://www.town.gokase.miyazaki.jp/kanko/ivent/1994.html...)
・Click the URL on the "Winter Gokase 2025 Vote" page to open the voting form.
・Enter your email address.
・Choose one of the ten entries, check the box for that entry, and submit your response.
⚠️ If you do not enter an email address, you will be excluded from the gift drawing.
Please be sure to view the original posts by the applicants before voting.🤗
1. @yamabico_san (photo 2)
2. @gokase_entertainment (photo 3)
3. @photo_ay_umi (photo 4)
4. @mgm_1228 (photo 5)
5. @eco9syu_sekiryo (photo 6)
6. @goto0619 (photo 7)
7. @fowafuwarin5 (photo 8)
8. @thusandleavis (photo 9)
9. @mas8787a (photo 10)
10. @photo_ay_umi (photo 11)
We look forward to receiving many votes from everyone 🥰
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🎿 Ski Resort Final Event 🏂
Sunday, March 9 was the last day of operations for Gokase Highland Ski Resort ❄️
Under a clear sky, a big prize drawing took place from 11:00 AM 🎁
Cheers erupted each time the winning numbers for lavish prizes were announced, and the drawing ended in great excitement 😆✨
After the drawing, visitors immediately enjoyed the last runs of the season on the slopes 🎿
Gokase Highland Ski Resort, revived this season ❄️
Thanks to everyone, we were able to operate safely through today 😊
Thank you very much 🥰
We look forward to seeing you again next season!!
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Inochi no Hi Project in Gokase Town
On Saturday, March 8, I visited the "Inochi no Hi Project in Gokase Town" held at the Gokase Town Welfare Center 🤗
Although the event took a four-year pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has continued since the year after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake 😌
The beautiful event invited people to remember those affected by earthquakes and other disasters across Japan, to keep those memories alive, and to cherish life ✨
A donation box to raise funds for disaster recovery was placed at the venue, and visitors kindly contributed what they could ☺️
There were stalls selling tasty snacks and cute crafts, and the venue was lively 🥳
On stage, hosted by members of the organizing G Ongakutai, a full program of singing and dancing entertained the audience 🤩✨
Many songs in the lineup carried messages for disaster-hit areas, creating a program unique to a charity event 😌👏
The finale featured everyone joining in to sing "Hana wa Saku" together 🎶
At the end of the event, children lit wax balls in a lighting ceremony, and wrapped in gentle light, all attendees observed a moment of silence.
May the thoughts from Gokase Town reach those in the disaster-affected areas…🙏
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[❄️ Introducing photos submitted to Winter Gokase 2025 — Final installment ❄️]
The Gokase Tourism Association held the “#Winter Gokase 2025” photo event on its Instagram account through February 28.
This is the final showcase of the entries we received.🥹✨
@fowafuwarin5
@mas8787a
@mgm_1228
(in no particular order)
Making its long-awaited debut is Unoko Falls✨ These lovely photos capture the ski area where snow still lingers and the surrounding great outdoors.👏
Thank you all for so many submissions.😭
It was a harsh winter, but many of the winter photos felt warm and heartening.😊☀️
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