The tulips are in full bloom at the shibazakura festival – Enjoy their beauty. Its worth going if you live in Saitama. Actually, its not that far from Tokyo. Mountain cuisine is truly great and the people are just wonderfully nice and welcoming.
A Short Walk Down a Long Path in mountain town of Yokoze
Spring has finally come to Japan after a long and cold, though for us, uneventful (Yay, No Snow!) winter. Today we went to the mountain town of Chichibu to see the Shibazakura. Some years ago the townspeople got the great idea to create a carpet of flowers, “Shibazakura” to welcome the spring and welcome visitors to their beautiful town.
This is the view from the path that takes you to the flower event. Such a breathtaking view.
On the path we found wild flowers and color of an amazing scope and variety. Yokoze is really an enjoyable place and a lot of fun for the whole family. A gentle climb eventually takes you to the shibazakura, just ahead, but until then enjoy the scenery and the vibrant life and beauty springing up all around you now that winter has faded to a memory.
This wood pile is not just an ordinary wood pile used for firewood. Rather this wood is used to grown mushrooms the old fashioned way. Japanese people in the mountains have been growing mushrooms this way for centuries. Just because it is 2015 some things do not need to change.
A little closer to the festival we find more and more color. Gardens are everywhere and this beautiful house garden lines the road to welcome travelers and help guide the way to shibazakura.
On our way home we found this beautiful lake. It is actually an ancient reservoir that has some very interesting history. History going back 1000 years and relates to an up-rising in the region, one of the only uprisings of local people against the central government of the time.
Have you tried Shika Menchi?
We just returned from this year’s shibazakura going on in Saitama prefecture in the mountain town of Chichibu. You can easily find your way by taking the Seibu Chichibu line train and get off at the Yokoze stop. Follow the big pink signs to your right as you exit the station.
It’s just a short walk through country farms and mountain homes. Its a different path than if you take the train all the way into Chichibu and go to the flower carpet festival nestled in the hills below Mt Bukol.
The last time I got to have venison I was a teenager in the Southern US. I was at a historical re-enactment event and some fellow history buffs made a big pot of venison stew. It was delicious and since then I’ve always wanted to try venison again.
As we approached the entrance to the flower carpet display we found ourselves on the pathway you see above. Just a little further up the trail and on the left we found a little wooden shack and two kind ladies preparing snacks and treats for travelers on their way to the beautiful spectacle of flowers.
Japanese call these korokke cakes “shika menchi” 鹿めんち – You can have a toasted delicious cake made with rice, mountain spices, and ground up wild deer meat.