Life In Japan: Kamikochi . . . “Japanese Alps”

上高地河童橋ライブカメラ KAMIKOCHI KAPPA-BASHI Live Cam

Never been to Japan? How do you visualize it?

I know that I used to think ‘Tokyo’.

Lots of buildings, cement, gaudy lights, flat-panel displays, high-tech dazzle.

The truth is that 70% of Japan is covered with forests.

As I describe in my book LIVE FROM JAPAN! and make vividly apparent with over 450 photos, my Japan is beautiful green fields of rice, soybeans, and many other vegetables, flowering and fruit trees, domesticated and occasional wild animals — monkeys, foxes, ferrets, raccoons, wild boar, even bears — countless varieties of birds.

But proof positive from my camping trip last week, after living here for almost 13 years, I still haven’t seen it all. Every time I venture into a new area of this relatively small country, I’m astonished by some side of Japan I couldn’t have imagined.

My wife and I just spent three days in the “Japanese Alps” — Kamikochi — a mountainous region in Nagano Prefecture. We hiked, checked out the scenery, breathed the refreshing clean mountain air, viewed the deep blue of a sky that is only rivaled by perhaps the Swiss Alps or the rich azure we experienced in Leh, Ladakh (northern India) some years back.

Words completely fail to capture the beauty of Kamikochi. So feast your eyes on some pics!

[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . https://jdrachel.com ]

Life In Japan: Kamikochi . . . “Japanese Alps” | John Rachel

Life In Japan: Kawashima Highway Oasis

There’s a whole chapter in my book, LIVE FROM JAPAN!, devoted to Japan’s highway service areas. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, these are the equivalent to what we in the U.S. call ‘rest areas’. They provide a place during a long drive on a highway to pull off the road, stop, stretch your legs, go to the restroom, and for those which have the facilities, to buy some snacks and refreshments.

While functionally they are the same, Japan takes this convenience to a whole different level. Many highway service areas here are mini-malls! I have examples in my book of some typical ones to illustrate how elaborate and well-equipped they usually are.

Having said that, this past weekend my wife and I stopped at one on our way to camping in the Japanese Alps, which was really over the top!

Of course, it had the usual amenities: a restaurant, food court, fast food and ice cream stands, a souvenir shop, vending machines, beautiful clean restrooms.

However, on the inside court it was a spectacularly different story. Inside there was a small but adequate water playground!

This was not a paid admissions theme park. It was free and provided fountains and pools for the whole family to splash around and enjoy. Since this entire summer has been a real scorcher, I can’t overstate how welcome this surprise feature was for everyone stopping by this aptly named ‘highway oasis’.

What can I say? Japan goes out of its way to make life a pleasant adventure for everyone. Too bad this highway service area is not next to my house. Or I could be splashing around in the fountains every day to keep cool!

[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . https://jdrachel.com ]

Life In Japan: Kawashima Highway Oasis | John Rachel