Sengan-en, a Nationally Designated Place of Scenic Beauty
Sengan-en is a Japanese garden built in 1658 by Shimadzu Mitsuhisa as a villa for the Shimadzu family. It covers 50,000 square meters. This borrowed-scenery garden incorporates Kagoshima’s magnificent landscape, with Sakurajima as its artificial hill and Kinko Bay as its pond.
This is the southernmost part of Kyushu, and you can see Sakurajima volcano from here.
Lake Biwa
Lake Biwa, which belongs to the first-grade Yodo River system and is located in the center of Shiga Prefecture, occupies an area of about 670 k㎡, or about one-sixth of the prefecture's land area, and is the largest lake in Japan in terms of both area and water storage capacity, with 27.5 billion tons of water pouring in through rivers from the surrounding mountains of Ibuki, Suzuka, and Hira, all of which are over 1,000 meters high.
The lake is really huge! There's a dedicated cycling path around it, so you can bike all the way around.
Wine Bar Hachijuro PARCO_ya Ueno
Wine Bar Hachijuro offers a carefully selected range of more than 60 wines imported directly from countries around the world, with a focus on Spain. The selection includes rare wines not generally available on the market. The restaurant is equally particular about its food, taking the time to marinate ingredients in wine overnight or simmer them with vegetables for several hours.
The lunch steak set is reasonably priced, and the wine by the glass is a great deal.
Oshino Hakkai – The 8 Springs of Oshino
Oshino Hakkai is the collective name for Mt. Fuji’s 8 natural ponds, Deguchi-ike, Okama-ike, Sokonashi-ike, Choshi-ike, Waku-ike, Nigori-ike, Kagami-ike and Shobu-ike. Once a former lake, the area has dried up and formed the 8 spring-sourced ponds that remain today.
The peaceful countryside vibe and the locals' simplicity really stand out. The pickled veggies are delicious, and the tofu made with pure, clean water is a must-try. Plus, the view of Mt. Fuji in the distance makes this place fantastic.
Mother Farm
Spanning about 618 acres, Mother Farm welcomes visitors with sheep, alpacas, capybaras, ostriches, and many other animals.
It was my first time seeing a sheepdog herding sheep—so much fun! The whole flock was rounded up into the pen in no time.