My husband and I read a Yomiuri Shimbun's article dated May 20, that said the Lupinas were in full bloom in Mikazuki Town, Hyogo Prefecture. We were attracted by the picture on the newspaper. Plus, it said that they didn't charge any entrance fee for visitors. It seemed enjoyable to go on a 90-minute drive to the flower field in the countryside, so we visited it today.
On our way, we found "a big crescent" formed by shrubs.
The Japanese word "Mikazuki" means "crescent," it looked like a welcoming sign,
"Welcome to Mikazuki town."
We arrived at a restaurant which was located in front of the Lupinas flower field. We parked our car in their parking lot and went to have lunch first.
"Ajiwai-noSato Mikazuki" Restaurant
Before visiting, we expected that restaurants in the countryside aren't frequented by customers. Surprisingly, in this one, 80% of the seats were filled with customers when we arrived there. As we observed, we noticed that most of them were tourists like us.
We ordered two sets of Ajiwai lunch.
It cost 875 yen a set.
It looked like they used their locally grown vegetables, and cooked the dishes by themselves.
I don't think they use any frozon product, or instant ones either.
The price seemed to be reasonable, and we were fully satisfied with the homemade dishes.
On our way out, we saw a swallow's nest perched on one of the support beams of the building.
Unfortunately, we couldn't take a picture of the bird.
The board says "a flower field in West Harima area.
Lupinas flowers will be seen in the middle of May, and
"soba-noodle" flowers, will be seen from late Sept. to early Nov. "
Lupinas or Lupine flowers
The yellow Lupines look like corn on a cob.
Around 12,000 Lupinas were planted in approx. 38 acres of land.
I liked the wine red color best.
The three generations of big-bellied racoons.
The grandpa with his camera.
The big-bellied father and his son, the Racoon dogs, were
standing in front of the soba noodle restaurant to welcome guests.
The PET bottle windmills were exhibited in the sidewalk.
They still haven't put away the decorations of carps shown for May 5's Children's Day.
But it looked nice with puppets made by the supporters of the restaurant.
* * * * * * * * * *
After leaving Mikazuki town, we headed to Hirafuku Town,
which is famous for the looks of traditional houses on the streets.
The map on the streets will be helpful with your walking plan.
We found a huge lantern at the center of the town.
It was too sunny to walk for sightseeing, so I went to the riverside.
I felt comfortable breeze there.
If my husband didn't want to leave early, I wanted to stay another 30 minutes or so.
Kawarahiwa or "Oriental Greenfinch"
Tobi or "Black Kite"
If I had prepared bags of onsen sets (towels and clothes), we would have visited the hotspring in Sayo today. Maybe we will go to the onsen when we visit Sayo next time.
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