The second island of the lake is Okino Shhiraishi
It consists of one big rock and three small rocks. The water depth around the area is about 80 meters, and the height of the big rock is about 20 meters (ground), so the total length of the big rock is estimated to be about 100 meters.
There is an island where people live in a lake, which is rare in the world. It is an offshore island in Lake Biwa in Omihachiman City, Shiga Prefecture. There is an elementary school in Okishima where more than 300 people still live, and many cats live there. It is also called cat island.
Due to the coronavirus, there are few indoor events. At times like this, it’s best to go outside and breathe natural air. Japan is an island, so you can go out to the sea right away, but you can also choose lake. This lake is the largest in Japan and looks like an ocean at first glance.
There are 4 islands on the lake and one of them is inhabited. I will introduce them in the next posts.
Economic activity is stagnating around the world because of the coronavirus. That’s why there are fewer cars in Japan and the air is cleaner. This is yesterday’s sunset near Tokyo. I want to experience the beauty of nature at this time.
Located at an altitude of 2,450 m, it is the center of the Alpine Route in Japan and a base for sightseeing. In front of you, you can see the famous Tsurugidake and Tateyama, as well as the majestic mountains of more than 3,000 meters high. You can see “Mikurigaike” which is the deepest alpine lake in Japan Alps, and “Jigokudani” where you can see volcanic activity firsthand. You can feel the wonders of nature with great force. You can visit here from April.
In December 1993, Himeji Castle became Japan’s first World Heritage site along with Horyuji Temple in Nara. Himeji-jo Castle is affectionately known as “Shirasagi Castle” for its elegant appearance like a white heron spreading its wings. It features a vividly white castle wall with white plaster all over the walls, a 5-story, 7-story large keep, and a tower-style small keep connected by watari-yagura turret. The main keep of Himeji-jo Castle that we are looking at was built in Keicho 14 (1609). Even after more than 400 years, it still retains its beautiful form.
Kamikochi is a scenic spot upstream of the Azusa-gawa River in the southern Hida Mountains of western Nagano Prefecture. It is a part of Chubu Mountain National Park and designated as a national cultural property (Special Places of Scenic Beauty and Special Natural Monuments). Height above sea level: approximately 1,500 m. The average temperature in January is -7.7 ° C, and the minimum temperature is below -30 ° C, and it is very cold, and even the maximum temperature during the day can be below -20 ° C. On the other hand, the average temperature in August was 19.7 ° C, which was only 22 ° C during the day, and it was quite cool in summer.
Sakamoto, which prospered as a temple town of Hieizan Enryakuji, has about 50 Satobo. The satobo was given to an old priest who had completed ascetic training on the mountain, and all of the satobo have beautiful gardens with designs such as natural stones and borrowed landscapes, and beautiful colors such as azaleas, autumn leaves, and moss.
The area was designated as an important traditional building preservation district in 1997.
Sakamoto is also home to a group of stonemasons called the Anaoshu (Ushuu), who built the castle’s stone walls, and the Satobo stone walls are solid (Kengo) made of skillfully piled natural stones, creating a tranquil atmosphere in harmony with the white walls.
In northern part of Japan, still cherry blossoms are far away and there is still much snow left as well.
Approximately 500 metasequoias have been planted along Shiga prefectural road Koaraji Makino Sawa Line over a total length of 2.4 km, creating a scenic approach to the Makino Plateau, in harmony with the distant mountains of the Nosaka Mountains.
The trees were first planted by the Makino-cho Fruit Tree Producing Association as part of the “Makino Do-no-Sato” project in 1981, and have since been cherished and nurtured by members of the association and other local people. Metasequoia is a deciduous tree of the genus Metasequoia of the family Taxodiaceae, native to China, and its Japanese name is Akebonosugi. It is named Meta (deformed) Sequoia because it resembles Sequoia, which is said to have a maximum tree height of 115 m.
It attracts visitors in each of the four seasons with the buds and fresh greenery in spring, the deep greenery in summer, the colored leaves in autumn, and the naked trees and snowflakes in winter. In 1994, the magazine was selected by The Yomiuri Shimbun as one of its “100 Views of New Japanese Street Trees” and has since attracted public attention.
Time goes by in this pandemic world, too. Cherry blossoms are now in full bloom in Kyoto. At night, the cherry blossoms along the Takase River that flows through the town are very beautiful.