Hamamatsu is the place where Tokugawa Ieyasu, the main character of the 2023 historical drama “What to Do with Ieyasu” (NHK), spent 17 years of his youth. Therefore, the area around Hamamatsu Castle is dotted with places related to Lord Ieyasu.

The “Ieyasu Promenade” is a place where you can walk and visit places related to this. There are two walking routes: the “Battle Route” and the “Castle Inner/Castle Route.”

This time, we will take you around half of the “Castle Inner/Castle Route”, which is the east side of Hamamatsu Castle. Let’s set out with the leaflet in hand!

Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of the Three Great Heroes, spent 17 of his 75 years in the prime of his youth in Hamamatsu. As a result, there are still places around Hamamatsu Castle that are connected to Lord Ieyasu.

The “Castle Inner/Castle Route” of “Ieyasu’s Promenade” is a route that connects 12 of them so that you can visit them with a single stroke. This time we will be showing you the south side of this route from Hamamatsu Castle. Don’t forget to take the leaflet before leaving!

Have you ever wanted to know how to make Hamamatsu’s famous confectionery, “Eel Pie”? At the “Eel Pie Factory” located on the outskirts of Hamamatsu City, you can tour the factory for free.

After the factory tour, you can try original sweets made with eel pie at the attached cafe or mobile cafe. Adults and children alike can enjoy free admission.

This time, I went to Tatsuyamacho, Tenryu Ward, Hamamatsu City to see the autumn leaves.

Neither Jenne nor the staff knew much about Tatsuyama Town, so we asked Mr. Haseyama, who is in charge of the Hamamatsuyama Village Ikiiki Support Team Tatsuyama, to show us around.

Mr. Daiki Haseyama, in charge of Hamamatsu Yamasato Lively Support Team Tatsuyama

The photo was taken in mid-November, when the trees were starting to change color, so I went to Shirakura Gorge because I wanted to take beautiful photos, including the autumn leaves.

As Christmas approaches, the Hamamatsu Flower Park is illuminated with a warm glow, as if to alleviate the winter cold.

The park will be lit up from 5pm, when it is normally closed. We spoke to Mr. Yamashita, the team leader who has been in charge of plant management and decoration at Hamamatsu Flower Park for over 10 years, about “Flower Illumination,” where you can enjoy strolling through the park decked out in a million illuminations under the night sky. I did.

Lake Hamana may have a strong image of marine leisure, but not many people know that it is actually a place where you can enjoy hiking and trail running. To the west are the Kosai Mountain Range, and to the north are the mountains Jogamine and Tommakuyama, where hiking trails are available. It is also popular as a low-altitude hike that can be easily done on holidays.

This time, I used the Tenryu Hamanako Railway to walk the course from Hamanako Sakume Station to the summit of Jogamine and descend to Kiga Station, and I would like to share with you how it went.

I decided to walk down Honsaka-dori (commonly known as Hime-kaido), which has been a side street of the Tokaido since ancient times and has been visited by many travelers.

Last time, I walked from the Amma starting point in Chuo Ward, Hamamatsu City to Kiga-shuku in Hamana Ward.

This time, I would like to continue walking from Kiga-juku to Mikkabi-juku.

The atmosphere is different from the section I walked last time, with cobblestone streets and historic sites scattered throughout.

This is a journey where you can feel the vestiges of the past, when many travelers came and went.

I walked around feeling like a person from the past, so I’ll tell you what it was like.

The rainy season is over and summer is in full swing. Supermarkets are busy selling “Doyo no Ushi” eel. For a long time, people believed that people should eat eel to get plenty of nutrients during the summer when people tend to get sick, and there are poems about eel in the Manyoshu.

We spoke to Mr. Masaaki Yamashita of Tenpo Co., Ltd. second generation Ikeban Co., Ltd., who runs an eel farm in Hamamatsu City, about eel, which Japanese people have a connection with and love.

Left/Mr. Shota Yamashita, 3rd generation pond keeper, Right/Mr. Masaaki Yamashita, 2nd generation pond keeper

If you live in Hamamatsu, Iwata, or Kosai, you’ve probably heard of “Himekaido.”

It is a side road of the Tokaido that runs from Mitsuke-juku in Iwata City to Goyu-juku in Aichi Prefecture, north of Lake Hamana, and has been heavily traveled since ancient times.

At some point, the road that was once called Honzaka-Michi came to be called “Hime-kaido.”

I know about it and have driven past it, but I don’t think many people have ever walked there.

It might not be a bad idea to walk around your hometown and feel like a traveler from the Edo or Meiji eras.

For that reason, I decided to walk along Hime Kaido.

Since it would be impossible to walk all the way in one day, I decided to walk from Anma, which is the starting point for the Tokaido road, to Kiga, where I live.

Hamamatsu, where the highest temperature in Japan this summer was recorded at 41.1 degrees Celsius, is finally starting to feel the autumn breeze. “Autumn Festa 2020″ has begun at Hamanako Garden Park. This year’s period is approximately one month from September 26th (Saturday) to November 3rd (Tuesday/holiday). Along with 400,000 cosmos trees, there will be events that people of all ages can enjoy, such as nature yoga on the lawn, children’s sketching classes, and ground golf, so you can enjoy “autumn of art” and “autumn of sports” all at once. can.

Hamanako Garden Park hosted the Hamanako Flower Expo in 2004, and more than 5 million people visited in six months. Admission is free and parking is available, and it is a popular spot decorated with colorful flowers and trees each season. Although the park is crowded with people, the grounds are large so you can enjoy a walk without worrying about crowds.

During Golden Week, I received an envelope from a friend that smelled like jasmine.

When I opened it, I found an envelope full of small white flowers, along with a letter that began, “The mandarin oranges have begun to bloom in Mikkabi.” Maybe the scent that I thought was jasmine was actually Mikkabi mandarin orange flowers? I got excited all at once. Of course, I also know about Mikkabi Mikan, a brand that everyone who lives in Hamamatsu knows. It’s my favorite. However, I lived my life without knowing that tangerine flowers were so beautiful and had such a bright fragrance.

The letter continues, “The herb name for mandarin orange flowers is neroli. Neroli is…” I don’t know about tangerine flowers, but I do know about the aromatic neroli.

Aroma has recently become popular not only among women but also among men as a means of recovering from fatigue and maintaining the mind and body. There are many people who use aromatherapy to relax and refresh themselves. Among them, “Neroli” is popular as a natural tranquilizer and the strongest recovery aroma. To be more precise, neroli is extracted from the flowers of the bitter orange (Japanese name: orange), which is one of the many citrus fruits, and because it takes time to cultivate, it is considered one of the rare essential oils and is quite expensive. Neroli, which is said to be a natural tranquilizer, has the effect of balancing excitement and sedation, lifting depressed moods and making you positive, while also calming excitement. Now in May, the same citrus tree, the Mikkabi mandarin orange, is in full bloom in white at Lake Okuhamana, giving off a rare fragrance.

The other day, after the self-restraint period ended, I asked a friend who had sent me a letter to take me to a farm.

On this day, Jenne came to the Nihashi Dye Factory in Tokiwa-cho, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu City. I came here to experience the traditional technique of Hamamatsu chusensome. Have you ever heard of “chusensome”? For those who grew up in Hamamatsu, I want them to imagine the tenugui of the Hamamatsu Festival held every year during Golden Week. Tenugui with kite stamps from each town are dyed using a technique called chusensome.

The characteristic of this chusensome is that it has good breathability. Hamamatsu is a major producer of yukata, accounting for about half of the domestic market. If you have ever worn a Hamamatsu chusensome yukata, you will know that it is very comfortable to wear. It is also hand-washable and can be worn multiple times in one season. Another major feature of the production process is that multiple pieces can be dyed using a single pattern.

It is said that Hamamatsu’s chusensome began in the Taisho era. Hamamatsu, with its strong winds, was probably suitable for producing yukata. After the war, the textile industry flourished, and for a time it became known as the “Itohen Town,” but it declined over time. However, we are conducting this experience with the hope that young people will also learn about this traditional technique that has been passed down to this day.