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.

(Left) Professional athlete: Mr. Junya Sano (former All Japan Road Race Champion), (Right) Team representative and manager: Mr. Yasuhiro Nito

I heard that there is a place in Harunocho, Tenryu Ward, Hamamatsu City that is called “Tenryu’s Karuizawa.” Once a month, you can enjoy freshly baked pizza made in a wood-fired oven. The name of the shop is Harubaru.

Hamamatsu is an area with a large number of dog lovers, with the number of registered dogs per 1,000 households being 157.6 per 1,000 households (157.6), ranking first in Japan (*). *Refer to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s “Examples of Hygiene Reports”

“THE SCENE hamanako”, a luxury dog ​​hotel by the lake, has newly opened in Hamamatsu, where dog lovers gather.

This is the perfect spot for people who want to create special memories with their dogs.

This time, I would like to introduce “THE SCENE hamanako”, a new attraction of Lake Hamana.

There are three main attractive points about “THE SCENE hamanako.”

①Location with a panoramic view of Lake Hamana

②Luxury guest rooms where even large dogs can relax

③ Facilities and services that you can enjoy with your dog

I would like to introduce ① to ③ along with photos of people who actually stayed there.

Are you familiar with the term “trail running”?

Trail running is a type of middle-distance running that involves running in mountains and fields other than on paved roads. In Japan, many people are probably familiar with the names “cross country” and “mountain racing.” Unlike mountain biking and other competitions that use vehicles, trail running has the unique appeal of running through nature on your own. Because you run off-road with ups and downs, you can feel more connected to nature and enjoy the changes in the surrounding scenery than you would with regular running. At a time when various leisure activities are being forced to struggle to prevent infection due to the effects of the new coronavirus, trail running is attracting attention as a way to avoid crowds and have fun.

After doing some research, I learned that Hamamatsu’s running club “Smiley Angel”* has been promoting trail running in Hamamatsu in recent years. Although I had no experience with trail running, I decided to attend a Smiley Angel practice session to experience the new charm of the Hamamatsu/Lake Hamana area.

*A citizen running club operated by Kyorindo Pharmacy Co., Ltd., headquartered in Hamamatsu, since 2012.

Blood thinning, fatigue recovery, constipation relief, and anti-aging. All of these are health words that you may be interested in.

There’s something about this health word that really hits home. Onions are a classic vegetable that everyone knows. You can boil it, stir-fry it, or have it in Japanese, Western, or Chinese style! It is a versatile ingredient.

I think many people are aware of the high nutritional value of onions, which have been featured frequently on health programs in recent years, but did you know that onions are sensitive to heat and water? It is said that eating raw is the best way to absorb nutrients more effectively. However, regular onions have a uniquely strong spiciness and are difficult to eat raw.

Therefore, I would like to recommend pure white onions from Shinohara, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu City, which are less spicy. They are the earliest onions in Japan to be shipped early in the new year, and are delicious and can be eaten raw.

Harvested white onions from Shinohara with pure white skin.

Speaking of onions that can be eaten raw, “new onions” are in season from spring to early summer (March to May). Shinohara-grown white onions are faster than that. It will be available from January, right after the New Year. The Shinohara district is located in the south of Hamamatsu City, close to the sea. The region has been a thriving producer of onions since the Meiji era, with a warm climate suitable for growing onions, sandy soil with good drainage, and a high groundwater level.

However, rather than the typical brown onions with dry skins, the onions produced here are harvested with green leaves and are shipped immediately. It is shipped under names such as “salad onion,” “white onion,” and “white onion.”

I went on a touring tour using YSP Hamamatsu’s rental bike in the summer and it was so much fun and unforgettable that I thought I’d go touring somewhere nearby again! That’s what we talked about.

I decided to go on a touring trip with a theme, so I decided to go on a motorcycle trip with the title “Touring around the dragons of Lake Okuhamana.” I would like to introduce that situation.

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.

Hamamatsu Craft Beer Festival is held every year at Solamo where you can enjoy unique craft beers from all over the country. This year (2020), in consideration of safety and security, the event at Solamo has been canceled and will be held online. Over the past few years, craft beer has become a common sight on the menu at restaurants, and it seems that there are many fans across the country. Many of you may be wondering how you can enjoy this year’s online event. I would like to introduce how to enjoy Hamamatsu Craft Beer Festival ONLINE 2020, which will be held this weekend. (This event has already ended)

The mornings and evenings are getting much cooler. It’s still hot during the day, but I think there are more and more people who want to go out but are worried about where they’re going and how they’re going to spend their time there.

This time, I would like to introduce a special plan that will make you feel like you are at a resort while eating fresh and delicious seafood caught at Lake Hamana in an environment that avoids crowds.

“What kind of fishing is ‘Ebisuki fishing’?”

Although I was born and raised in Iwata City, I was embarrassed to say that I had never heard of this traditional fishing method of Lake Hamana until now.

*Mr. Kuroda goes fishing

“Ebisuki fishing is a type of takiya fishing, and is a traditional fishing method that has been practiced at Lake Hamana for a long time.”

The person who taught me this was Mr. Takehiro Kuroda, a young man who fishes for shrimp as the captain of the fishing boat Kyokuryomaru. In recent years, the number of fishermen at Lake Hamana has been decreasing year by year, partly due to poor clam catches. Mr. Kuroda established the “Lake Hamana Next Generation Association,” which is made up of young fishermen, and is carrying out various innovative activities to break through this current situation.

Ebisuki fishing takes place at night. This is the period from high tide to low tide when the water of Lake Hamana flows forcefully towards the Enshu Sea. This is a traditional local fishing method that involves anchoring a boat to a pier on Benten Island and using a net to scoop up sea creatures that flow out with the ebb tide. As the name “ebisuki fishing” suggests, the fish that can be caught include wild prawns that grow large in Lake Okuhamana, as well as rare Japanese crabs, blue crabs, sole sole, octopus, and sea bass.

What was originally a specialized fishing activity for fishermen is now being promoted as tourist content that can be experienced by the general public. It can be said to be one of the most important tourist attractions for this area, as it can be enjoyed not only by curious children but also by adults.

*Last year’s ebisuki fishing

However, this traditional ebisuki fishing industry is currently in an unprecedented predicament. In addition to the decrease in the number of local fishermen mentioned earlier, due to the impact of the new coronavirus that is raging in various places, ebisuki fishing, which is an outdoor activity, is also being operated with tourists for sightseeing on board. It has been decided to cancel this year.

Needless to say, this decision dealt a huge blow to ebisuki fishermen. Mr. Kuroda is one of them. This decision comes at a time when we had been purchasing a new boat that can accommodate a larger number of people, so that even more people, including the Hamana Lake Next Generation Association, can enjoy ebisuki fishing. Far from increasing the number of tourists, the survival of the ebisuki fishing industry itself is in jeopardy.

However, even in this situation, Mr. Kuroda continues to look forward. “What can we do now?” We are confronting head-on this problem, which is difficult to find an answer to, not only in the fishing industry but in all industries.

The first thing we focused on was PR activities using SNS. On the website, you can learn about the history of ebisuki fishing and even complete the reservation process. On YouTube, he provides tips on how to handle and cook the fish he catches. And on Instagram, they are even more innovative.

It is an “auction” on Instagram Live that uses the live function of Instagram, which is gaining attention again amid the nationwide trend of staying at home. It is called “Gyogyo market”.

An “auction” is a type of auction that you often see at markets. Generally, traders bid each other out by offering a price in order to purchase what was caught that day. What Mr. Kuroda has set up is a system that allows the general public to experience this auction.

This year too, the delicious treasure grown in the forest, “Kicoro forest scented tea,” will be coming to town.

It is Kuromoji tea from Tenryu Forest, which was created with the idea of ​​being an “entrance to get people interested in the forest,” and is harvested only once a year in early spring.

I first encountered this tea four years ago. At a cafe in Tenryu Ward, a friend recommended it to me and said, “This Kuromoji tea is delicious. It’s made from wood.” When I asked her, “What is a tree? You mean the leaves on that tree?”, she answered that they were not actually leaves. When we think of tea, we think of green tea or herbal tea, which is made from soft materials such as leaves and flower petals. So when I was told that it was made from wood, I couldn’t imagine it.

What arrived on the table was a gentle pink tea with a very nice aroma that overturned the image of “wood”.

You may not be familiar with the “Kuromoji” tree, but you might know it as a sweet toothpick used to cut up Japanese sweets and bring them to your mouth.

Nowadays, many of them are made of plastic or other wood, but they were originally made from the Kuromoji tree, which has a pleasant aroma and antibacterial properties. It is well known that when Sen no Rikyu, a famous tea master, made tea for Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he offered them a freshly shaved fragrant toothpick from a branch of the Kuromoji tree in his garden. The scent of Kuromoji may have soothed the spirits of war-torn military commanders.

Japanese sweets and Kuromoji cutting sweets

Kuromoji is said to be an aromatic native to Japan, and its refreshing yet sweet scent is said to have antiviral and relaxing effects. It is said that it is also included in Chanel No. 5, and it is a tree that is like the savior of today’s times.

Kuromoji has been drunk for treatment and health since ancient times. A herbal medicine called Usho is made from the leaves and branches, and it is also brewed and drunk as a health tea. So, what is the difference between Tenryu no Mori’s Kuromoji tea and the health teas that have been drunk up until now?

The person who makes Tenryu Forest’s Kuromoji tea is Mr. Takeshi Maeda, who works as a “visible woodcutter” to connect the mountains and the city. Even though I don’t like the outdoors or the rain, I was selfish because I wanted to see the black moji tree. Then, on a rainy day at the start of the rainy season, Mr. Maeda showed me around Kikoro Forest in Tenryu.