Matsumoto：Oct 30, 2016 (off Tokyo)

I visited Matsumoto City during my Nakasendo walk.

The city developed with Matsumoto Castle. The castle was originally built in 1504 and its main tower called tenshukaku was built in 1597.

There are 12 castles with tenshukaku preserved centuries in Japan. Four of them are registered as national treasures. Matsumoto Castle is one of them.

The tower has six floors. I climbed up to the top floor.

There were many foreign tourists there. Staff member with ninja or samurai (Japanese soldier) consume welcomed them.

The trees had turned red and yellow.

I also walked around the city. There are streets with traditional atmosphere preserved.

Nakaendo Walk(18) Narai(34/69)-Miyanokoshi(36/69): October 28, 2016

The autumn deepens. The trees started to change the colors in Kiso areas, Nagano Prefecture. I started today's walk from Narai, the 34th shukuba station from Tokyo's Nihonbashi, or the 2^nd station of the 11 stations in Kiso.

Narai preserves traditional buildings as I wrote in my precious article posted on September 19. Today was a nice day and I could enjoy the autumn colors of the mountains around the town.

There is a mountain of Torii Pass at the south of Narai. The mountain is the watershed of two riverine systems. One is Narai River, which flows northward and merges into Chikuma River, changes its name to Shinano River and flows into the Sea of Japan. Another is Kiso River, which flows southward and goes into the Pacific Ocean.

The pass is about 1200 meters high, about 260 meters higher than Narai. The path goes through the woods. Some parts of the path were cobbled with stones.

Many battles took place in the area hundreds ago. I passed a valley named “the valley of the dead”, where about 500 soldiers of the Takade feudal lord family were killed. It was during the battle Takeda Katsuyori and Kiso Yoshimasa in 1582.

I also found a sign to call for attention for the bears here.

There is a shrine around the top of the pass. It was built to pray for Mt. Ontake.

I met many foreign tourists including British and Australians in the mountain path. They said to be enjoying the beauty of the nature.

I walked down the pass to Yabuhara, the 35^th station. It is just the center of 69 stations. I found no sign of such information. I remember that I saw many “center of Tokaido” signs in Fukuroi, the 27^th of 53 Tokaido shukuba stations.

Instead, I found a soba noodle restaurant with a English menu displayed outside of the house. They are trying to attract foreign tourists.

Yabuhara used to produce traditional wood combs. Some shops still sell them.

Yabuhara station is in Kiso Village with about 3000 people. The Village kept independence when many other towns and villages merged in the early 2000s. Today, the village identifies itself as “the village of the water source of Kiso River”

I moved about a kilometer and had met Kiso River for the first time.　Ｔｈｅ upper stream was beautiful.

Ｉ　walked along the river. The autumn color was beautiful.

A construction work was under way to prevent landslide.

There are vegetable fields developed in the narrow land between the mountains. The scene was beautiful.

I moved into Miyanokoshi, the 36^th station. It is In Kiso Town (not Kiso Village).

Miyanokoshi is famous as a place where Kiso Yoshinaka, a hero in the 12^th century, was raised. The statues of Kiso Yoshinaka and his partner Tomoe Gozen were built in the memorial place.

There is a small natural dam in Kiso River near Miyanokoshi. There is a legend related to Tomoe Gozen here. The autumn color was beautiful.

Horse jumping @ Baji Park: Oct. 16, 2016

Confusion continues over the competition sites and other facilities to be used in the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020. Whether the boat races will be held in Tokyo or Miyagi or other prefectures is not clear as of today (Oct 16, 2016).

The equestrian competitions were expected to be held in the area close to Tokyo Bay in the original plan proposed to the International Olympic Committee before 2013. However, the plan was changed as it was too optimistic (financially and from the view of the environment etc.) and a new decision was made to hold equestrian competitions in Baji Park, or Equestrian Park, in Setagaya ward, western Tokyo.

Baji Park opened in 1940. It was developed to hold the Tokyo Olympic Games planned in 1940 (it was cancelled because of World War 2). The park was used 24 years later as a site of equestrian competitions in 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.

It will host the competition in 2020 for the second time.

The jumping competitions to commemorate the 1964 Tokyo Games were held today. Top-level horses and equestrians gathered.

They jumped nearly 20 hurdles in about 80 seconds. I heard strong snorts of the horses as they ran away in front of me.

The sly was blue.

Families enjoyed a fine autumn day.

The park will be closed shortly to construct new facilities for the Olympic Games. It will be used for the games, and will reopen to the public in 2021.

Snapshots: 2016 summer in Europe

Here are snapshots taken in five European countries -- the U.K. Belgium, Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary -- in July and August in 2016. It was about a month after Brexit –- the U.K.’s decision to leave EU.


EU and UK

28 EU flags in Brussels  
  -- When will it become 27?

At a bookshop in Bloomsbury, London

  -- Disputes continue over Europe

Flags in front of Financial Times 
  -- Company flag and EU flag, no Union Jack (late July, 2016)

Border control @ St. Pancras Station, London
  -- for Eurostar trains

Terrorism, migration and national security

Guards at Brussels South Station
  -- It became the scene of everyday, everywhere

Brussels International Airport
  -- the road to departure floor

Sint-Jans-Molenbeek in Brussels
  -- Many migrants here

Budapest East station

  -- A handwritten board: “Europe, your humanity is lost”

Presidential Palace in Warsaw

  -- Flags of Poland, EU and NATO

European integration

UK café in Warsaw

  -- No borders for companies

Prices in Euro and forint in Budapest
  -- around Euro zone

ATM for Euro and zloty in Warsaw
  -- exchange commission is low

Bike sharing in Budapest
  -- rapidly spreading throughout Europe

Common value, common culture

Wenceslas Square (Václavské náměstí) in Prague
  --Prague spring, Velvet Revolution

Hungarian Parliament in Budapest  -- Hungarian Revolution of 1956 

Franz Kafka's birthplace in Prague-- Good cafe restaurant

Copernicus statue in Warsaw
  -- The Copernican theory was released in the 16th century

  

Visit also
Budapest: August 2016
Prague: August 2016
Warsaw: July-August 2016
Brussels: July 2016
London (after Brexit): July 2016

Belgium Beer Weekend @ Roppongi Hills: Sept. 24, 2016

I am familiar with Belgium as I used to live there. It is quite natural for me to enjoy “Belgium Beer Weekend” every year. I visited the event held in Roppongi Hills today.

Japan has extraordinary much rain this month in many places, including Tokyo. Today, too. It rained through the day. 

It stopped raining in the evening, and I walked out to taste Belgium beer.

The event site was crowded. Belgium musicians played the music and people enjoyed it. The scene looked like a big disco hall.

More than 100 brands of beer were served. (see the second photo from the top)

Belgium foods such as fritz (fried potato), carbonnades (Belgium style beef stew) and waffle were also served.

I joined the event several times in the past several years. They were held not only in Tokyo bat also in other cities like Yokohama and Kanazawa. 

The reports are posted at:

Belgium Beer Weekend (BBW) in Tokyo (Roppongi) in 2010

BBW in Tokyo in 2011

BBW in Yokohama in 2014

BBW in Tokyo in 2014

BBW in Kanazawa in 2016