Colored leaves :)

What a beautiful season!!

I took my parents to Hikimi gorge in Shimane prefecture yesterday.
It takes about two hours from Hiroshima city to get there by car.

It was great weather!! No cloud, no wind, just warm sunshine pours in my face!



We dropped at a big ginkgo tree place in Tsutsuga town in Hiroshima.
Girth of the tree trunk is 8.5m, 48m high and it is 1100 years old tree!!


I am impressed the atmosphere of the tree.
It has been here for years and years...


I was trying to take a picture of the whole tree but I couldn't.
Because it is too high and wide.








Then we drove to Hikimi gorge to see colored mountains.

Actually the color was almost brown...

It was a bit late to visit there but we took a spa and got a creamy skin by the benefits of a hot spring bath ;)

There is a nice walking course so I am sure that I will go there in the summer for a ramble through the woods.

Saijo, sake town

One of the sake breweries in Saijo Town

There is a small town called Saijo in Hiroshima Prefecture. It is about 30 minutes by JR train.

This small town is one of the most famous places for sake making.

There are more that 10 Sake breweries and each breweries make full-flavoured unique sake.

The other day I went to “Saijo Sake Festival” with some of J-Hoppers Hostel and Hana Hostel staff.

You can enjoy standing tasting in every corner of the town

The breweries open temporary outdoor restaurants or standing bars.

We can taste a variety of sake at low prices (sometimes free !).

They also serve their local special pot dish (Bishu Nabe).

In the mail park, if you can enjoy all-sake-you-can-drink with 1500 yen ticket. You can drink not only Saijo local sakes, but also every kind of good sakes from all over Japan.

The Sake Festival is in early October every year. However, you could enjoy Saijo any time. Some sakagura (breweries) have free tasting service and if you like one, you can buy the bottles at a cheap price (without through wholesalers).

Saijo Sake is one of the best places for sake making in Japan