I'm sorry I didn't write for a long time, but I was a little busy. More than that, I have been thinking about what I should write. I started writing about two or three topics like festivals or events in fall and witer, a short history of education in Japan, or some recipes of Japanese dishes. However, I'm not sure what you, the readers, are interested in and what I should write about. If you can, could you tell me what kind of information you want, or what you want to know about Japan, Nagano, or people's life?
Anyway, it's a beautiful season here in Nagano. You see golden rice fields and people harvesting. Among many kinds of crops, rice is special for us. Leaves of trees are turning red or yellow, and we love this season and like going out. Nagano Prefecture has a lot of beautiful places people want to visit on holidays. (You see traffic jams on holidays.) I feel I'm lucky to live here and enjoy beautiful sights.
You can enjoy autumn colors everywhere, but these are my special recommendations:
* Around Yatsugatake Mountains: Yachiho Nature Park, Matsubara Lake, Nobeyama, etc.
* Around Mt. Asama: Karuizawa, Shiraitonotaki Falls, Onioshidashi, Kusatsu, Takamine highlands, etc.
* Around Mt. Tateshina: Kirigamine highlands, Shirakaba highlands, Kasuga ravine, etc.
* Komoro Kaikoen Park
* Bessho area including temples and shrines (Ueda City)
These are all in the east part of Nagano Pref. I'm sorry, but I don't know much about other areas. Ask anyone near you where to go to enjoy "momiji," (red and yellow turned leaves), and they will like to tell you their favorite places.
Driving is wonderful, but walking with a map may be better, I think. Peering into gardens, talking to the people in the fields, looking up at apples on the treees, and picking up chestnuts and acorns at your feet must be fun.
Winter will come in a month, and before that, we have to prepare for the cold season. They say this is one of the coldest places in Japan, and the northern part of Naganoken has much snow. You can find interesting things here, even though the snow and cold freeze us!
