桧枝岐で釣り、蕎麦、温泉を楽しむ Enjoyed flyfising and Soba and hot spring.

Twitterでもお届けしましたが、２４日に桧枝岐に遊びに行って来ました。

朝７時の気温１９℃。水が冷たいくらい、と思っていましたが昼には２９℃まで気温も上昇。

とは言え、その頃宇都宮は３６℃だったそうで、プチ避暑気分で楽しんで来ました。

I went to a Hinoemata village in Fukushima prefecture (North of Tochigi pref.) for fishing and enjoy hot spring and delicious Soba last Saturday.

飽きない程度にきれいな岩魚も釣れました。

木漏れ日の中、風が心地良いです。

午前中思い切り釣りをして、ランチは桧枝岐の裁ちそばをいただきました。

We ate soba in this shop.

This is also a inn for a hiker and mountain climbing visitor and of course for skier in winter season.

裁ちそばにはっとう２枚付きセット　１，１５０円也

Japanese Soba noodle and Hatto (Upper right).
It made from buckwheat flour．
Hatto is taste like sweet rice cake.

Oさんは家族でキャンプでした。

（幸せ貯金は大切ですね）

温泉はアルザ尾瀬の里へ。入浴料金が通常850円のところ500円に割引中です。

ゆっくりつかって、休憩所で昼寝してとてもリフレッシュ出来ました。

Hinoemata　Village

Gion Matsuri (Gion Festival) in Mashiko.

Mashiko Gion Matsuri festival is performed as a festival to Yasaka-jinja Shrine every year for three days of 25th from July 23.

Have you ever heard the Gion festival?

If you say Yes. It is the most faimous Gion festival that takes place annually in Kyoto.

But Mashiko Gion festival is famous as a one of strange festival in Kanto region.

Five districts in the town block perform this festival by turns every year.

They hold a ceremony changing the turn of the festival.

The ceremony called OMIKI CHYODAI SHIKI.

They must drink up a large quantity of liquor at the time.

The quantity 3jyo6gou5shaku (6.5 liter). It means 365 days for one year.

I recommend that you'll check the strange ceremony with your eyes.

Mashiko Gion Festival

Japanese Sake is made from rice.

Tonoike brewery cultivate the rice of raw materials for brewing Japanese Sake.

It is important work introducing Japanese traditional culture into the future.

A lot of people participate in rice-transplanting in spring.

The rice was a good harvest from rice planting five months later.

This rice is exclusive rice to make Japanese Sake.

It's called Gohaku-mangoku.

Harvest of the rice is performed on the autumn day when it was fine well.

It is also Thanksgiving Day to God who brought a good harvest.

Of course we perform the gain by machine by the present age, but the crop work is performed with all hands

 in the same way as time of the rice-transplanting.

After a crop, we enjoy BBQ together.

The folk song celebrating gain is shown.

Splendid Japanese Sake is made from rice that a lot of people brought up.

Tonoike brewery in Mashiko.

Tonoike brewery is makes famous Japanese Sake called SANRAN.

The entrance of the brewery.

You can observe it in a brewery and of course you can taste with liquor in there.

Big black tank (upper right) and Sake barrel (KOMOKABURI in japanese)

About 72 liters liquor is in one sake barrel.

In 1937 Itsugoro Tonoike started a brewery in Mashiko.
This photograph is just that time.

And it is now.

The current president Shigeki Tonoike is the third from the front row right.

You can purchase the liquor of many kinds in their shop.

Sake made from rice polished to 50% or lower is called daiginjō-shu.

Shochu

Liqueur

About Mashiko Town

First of all I explain about Mashiko Town.

Tochigi prefecture is located about 100km North of Tokyo.

Tochigi prefecture has a many tourist resources that is historic and
 cultural attractions,beautiful nature and many hot springs.

And there is only 1hour from Tokyo.

Mashiko Town is located in South East area of Tochigi prefecture.

Masiko is known from it's pottery called Mashiko-yaki.

Kilin called NOBORI-GAMA

Big pottery festival is held twice a year.

Tourists enjoy not only pottery but also nature, foods, life style in Mashiko.


You can choose among three routes if you want to go to Mashiko.
1.

Using Tohoku-Shinkanasen Train from Tokyo to Utsunomiya.

Whether you step on the local bus route for Mashiko or can use the rent-a-car.

It takes about 40 minutes from Utsunomiya.

2.

If you want to take a steam locomotive I recommend that you get off at Oyama-Station.

Moka-Railroad is operating steam locomotive between Moka-Station and Motegi-Station.

3.

If you like driving a car.

You can select Tohoku-Express way or Joban-Express way when you goes to Mashiko.

Tonoike brewery in Mashiko

Have you drunk Japanese Sake?

And Do you know how to make a Japanese Sake?

I visited Tonoike brewery in Mashiko town last Saturday.

It is one of famous Japanese Sake brewery in Tochigi prefecture.

The liquor which they make inherits Japanese tradition and culture.

I learned from President Tonoike about the story of the sake brewing

and traditional culture of Mashiko.

I introduce you how to make Sake and traditional culture of Mashiko

by the article from the next time.

Long time no see.

My friend O sent me my photos.

That is a photos when we went to Flyfishing a couple of weeks ago.

Of course it's me to appear in the photo.

I took my friends photo 〔Ｈｅｒｅ〕

The Doll's Festival

March 3rd is celebrated as the Girl's Day.

It's called Hina-matsuri(The doll's festival).

I took these dolls here.

Mt. NASU

Mt. NASU

Strawberry farm

Tochigi has Japan's most volume of production of the strawberry.

I visited the big strawberry farmhouse.

Their sales amount seems to be 120 million yen.　

These are strawberry cultivation plastic greenhouses.
He is an owner.
He produces strawberries in 49 cultivation houses similar to this.

The name of the strawberry is Tochi-Otome.

It is very large and very sweet.

The length is about 80m.