Fresh Air and Beautiful Scenery
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VOLUME 8 NO. 6 JULY 2 – JULY 8, 2021 FREE SUBMIT STORIES TO: [email protected] FACEBOOK.COM/STRIPESPACIFIC Stars and Stripes is asking readers OKUTAMA to write about their own piece of paradise. Yes, that means you! Our annual Destination Paradise Fresh air and beautiful scenery magazine highlights must-see PAGES 4-5 WUDYHOVSRWVDFURVVWKH3DFLƓFŋ and your bit of paradise could be included in our 2021-22 edition that hits the streets on 3DFLƓFEDVHVLQ6HSWHPEHU Submit your story and photos to [email protected] by July 20. We’ll make you famous! Check out our previous Destinazation Paradise mags Photo by Takahiro Takiguchi, Stripes Japanapan INSIDE INFO in STORYSTOORYY AND PHOTOSPHOTOTOSBS BYBY TAKAHIROTAKAHIRO TAKIGUCHI,TTAKAKIGUCHI, BLOSSOMS BRIGHTEN STRIPESSTRIPESJ JAPANAPAN UP RAINY SEASON PAGE 2 nly a few hours’ drive from most bases in the Kanto Plain, Sawara in Chi- ba Prefecture is an attractive town, known as “Koedo,” or little Edo, that O preserves the original townhouses and streets from the Edo period, allow- PAPAYA ing for a glimpse at the former glory of the samurai capital. PICKLES A Situated along the Tone River, Sawara accommodates various canals, ponds HEALTHY and waterways. The district is known for being a host to beautiful iris flowers, CHOICE which draw many locals to enjoy them during the rainy season in early summer. PAGE 6 SEE SAWARA ON PAGE 3 2 STRIPES JAPAN A STARS AND STRIPES COMMUNITY PUBLICATION JULY 2 − JULY 8, 2021 Max D. Lederer Jr. Publisher Lt. Col. Michael Kerschbaum Commander Brighten up Japan’s rainy season Michael Ryan Chief of Staff Chris Verigan Engagement Director with some beautiful blossoms Marie Woods Publishing and Media Design Director STORY AND PHOTOS BY Recommended hydrangea viewing sites Chris Carlson TAKAHIRO TAKIGUCHI, STRIPES JAPAN Publishing and Media Design Manager Eric Lee Hakone Tozan Railway: Kamakura Meigetuin (Hydrangea Temple) : Advertising and Circulation Manager e’ve finally reached the https://www.facebook.com/StripesPacific/ https://japan.stripes.com/travel/kamakura- posts/2296189500429019 Monte Dauphin middle of rainy season, perfect-day-trip-japan Japan Area Manager Waka “tsuyu” in Japa- Kentaro Shimura nese, where not only is it raining Production Manager a lot, but the heat and humidity Recommended iris viewing sites Rie Miyoshi Engagement Manager might also be making you sweat Suigo Sawara Ayame Park: Yokosuka Shobu-en Iris Garden: Denisse Rauda buckets. For many, this is prob- www.ryokukazouen.jp/iris/ (Japanese) Publishing and Media Design Editor https://japan.stripes.com/travel/little-edo- ably the worst of the four seasons has-old-traditional-tokyo-feel Publishing and Media Design Writers ChiHon Kim in Japan, but I like this season Shoji Kudaka because of all the beautiful flow- Takahiro Takiguchi ers that bloom during it. Layout Designers three blossoms are in full bloom Some change from Shobu-en are popu- Mamoru Inoue A walk through your neighbor- in mainland Japan, while irises pink to purple, lar iris viewing Yukiyo Oda hood or local park will give you Yuko Okazaki and shell ginger (“gettou”) are while others sites in the Kanto Kayoko Shimoda the opportunity to see the many blooming on Okinawa. In fact, from blue to Plain. Multimedia Consultants irises (“shobu”), lotus (“hasu”) flowering shell ginger heralds violet or fade We are in Max Genao Doug Johnson Jason Lee Hans Simpson and hydrangea (“ajisai”) that the rainy season on the southern in intensity the gloomy sea- Chae Pang Yi Gianni Youn only appear this time of year. Not islands; hydrangea embody the Robert Zuckerman throughout the son, yes, but it as gorgeous or famous as season on the mainland. Graphic Designers course of the doesn’t actually Kenichi Ogasawara Yosuke Tsuji the spring’s cherry Hydrangea may be the 4- to 6-week sea- rain every day. For Sales Support blossoms, these top among these rainy- son. Peak flower IRIS example, the aver- Yu mi Choe Kazumi Hasegawa modest and el- season blossoms in viewing season on aage number of rainy Hiromi Isa Ichiro Katayanagi Yoko Noro Yusuke Sato egant beauties popularity, as you Okinawa is mid-May dadays in June is only Saori Tamanaha Toshie Yoshimizu bring vivid Un Chong Yu can see and enjoy to the end of June, while it runs 12 in the Kanto Plain, according colors to the them ubiquitously from mid-June to early July on to Japan Meteorological Agency. drab overcast throughout the na- the mainland. So, let’s grab our umbrellas and weather. tion. The hydran- go out to check out these season- For feedback and inquiries, If you’re in Kanto Plain, I contact [email protected] With plen- gea’s colors can would suggest Hokone (Tozan al beauties. ty of water vary from white, Railway) and Kamakura Mei- And you know what? The rain To place an ad, call DSN 227-7370 falling amid pink, violet and blue, getsuin (Hydrangea Temple) for makes these graceful blossoms japan.stripes.com/contact the early summer HYDRANGEA anda some gradually hydrangea viewing spots, while seem all the more elegant! warmth, these shifts to different colors. Sawara Iris Park and Yokosuka [email protected] JULY 2 − JULYJUL 8, 2021 A STARS AND STRIPES COMMUNITY PUBLICATION STRIPES JAPAN 3 SAWARA: Lovely setting CONTINUEDCONCONNTINTTIININUUEUEDEED FROMFFRROMOM PAGEPAGPA E 1 For the famous blooms, visit Sawara Iris Park, where there are over 400 dif- ferent types of irises and over 1.5 mil- lion iris flowers in total between June and July. You can catch a park full of white, pink, violet and blue irises. The ponds, small rivers and bridges, along with traditional boats operated by la- dies in blue kimonos, brought a touch of nostalgia. Hop on a boat to enjoy the irises on water. The park’s souvenir shops offer iris flowers, local food and sweets, and even a sweet potato ice cream! an old samurai movie. Be sure to stroll around the center Back in its heyday, Sawara’s wa- city of Sawara after visiting the park. terway was vital for the transport of With a classic-looking soy sauce, miso and rice from wooden bridge, the old town the countryside. Some of the of Sawara is surrounded by wooden boats are still around storehouses and merchant and you will see a few of them, buildings, still standing and in except now they carry tourists remarkable condition, dating instead of food. back to the late Edo period. Vi ! During rainy season, Sawara Willow trees line the riverbank ew Video is the place to go if you want to and the streets are surrounded enjoy graceful iris and hydran- by dark-brown wooden build- gea in a traditional Japanese ings and grey-tiled roofs, making you setting. Check it out! feel like you’ve been transported into [email protected] Q SAWARA IRIS PARK LOCATION: 1837-2, Ogishima, Katori City, Chiba Pref. HOURS: Tue – Sun, Jul 3 – Aug 1 (lotus festival): 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., August 2 -: 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. ADMISSION: May-Aug, adult: 600 yen, middle and elementary schoolers: 300 yen, Sept – Nov, adult: 200 yen, middle and elementary schoolers: 100 yen , Dec- Apr, free URL: https://ayamepark.jp/?p=we-page-top-1 (Japanese) TEL: 0478-56-0411 QSAWARA TOURIST CENTER LOCATION: 74-31 Sawara I, Katori City, Chiba Pref. HOURS: Tue – Sun, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. URL: https://www.suigo-sawara.ne.jp/ (Japanese) TEL: 0478-52-6675 4 STRIPES JAPAN A STARS AND STRIPES COMMUNITY PUBLICATION JULY 2 − JULY 8, 2021 OKUTAMA A breath of fresh air STORY AND PHOTOS BY TAKAHIRO TAKIGUCHI, visit the grounds and sample some of the restaurant’s delica- surroundings. STRIPES JAPAN cies like handmade sweet-bean buns and wasabi-flavored tofu The 13-mile Okutama Shuyud nuggets while overlooking the river and bright red suspen- skyline makes for a nice, smoo apan’s tsuyu rainy season has just started and the steamy sion bridge. If you are not the designated driver, don’t forget drive and the view from the to weather will continue until late July in the Kanto and oth- to sample the brewery’s high-end sake brand “Sawanoi,” as the of the area’s mountain range er parts of Honshu. To avoid the heat and sticky weather J extremely mellow and smooth flavor pairs well with the menu. is breathtaking. We usually tou while maintaining social distancing guidelines, my wife, daugh- We enjoyed hours of hiking the beautiful nature trails along around the area in early Novembe ter and I took a refreshing escape to Okutama in western Tokyo. the river and saw some visitors enjoying fishing and rafting in to check out the gorgeous autum This mountainous region is blessed with beautiful forests, the area. colors. lakes and rivers offering a Before we left the brewery, I made sure to buy a large bottle Our regret this time was the tw nice one-day driving route OKUTAMA MACHI of delicious sake as a souvenir to take home. from most U.S. military parking lots, Tsukiyomi No. 1 a No.2, known for their splendid v bases in the Kanto Plain. Exploring a large limestone cave Anxious for cool, fresh air and of the lake and surrounding moun Our next stop in the area was a drive through a narrow, cliffy were also closed due to COVID-19 beautiful landscapes, we left our road to arrive at the Nippara Shonyudo home in Yokosuka City around 8 we couldn’t park, the drive throu limestone cave. ests of fresh green leaves were s a.m. We drove through Yoko-Yoko, This cave with an internal tempera- Yokota AB and the strong sunshine of early Tomei and Chuo Expressways, and it ture of a cool 52 degrees Fahrenheit is TOKYO were dreaming.