Andy君と去年の霧ヶ峰のニッコウキスゲ Andy with the day lillies at Kirigamine last year
昨日は松本で長野県の「観光シナジー研究会」に参加してきました。行政と大学と我々民間の約４０人がお互いにどういうコラボレーションができるかと、観光客がもっと長く滞在して楽しんで頂けるかとの意見交換でした。
そこで、車山高原の方と行き会って、聞いたら、霧ヶ峰のニッコウキスゲは今、ピークだそうです。このごろは花が鹿で大分やられたけど、今年は電気の塀で防げたので高原の表面が真っ黄色になっているそうです。７月いっぱい咲く予想です。
霧ヶ峰のニッコウキスゲは見た事がまだなければ、ぜひ、お勧めです。信州の七大旬の自然だと（勝手に）思っています。
日本人は何でも「三大何とか」を付けるのは好きですよね。例えば、戸倉上山田温泉の近くの姨捨駅は「日本三大車窓」となっています。つまり、電車の窓から見る景色が綺麗だと。我々欧米人は逆に「七大」が好きかもしれません。
従って、この欧米人の「信州七大旬の自然」のリストを発表させて頂きます：
＊森「杏の里」の杏の花
＊高遠の桜
＊上高地の新緑
＊鬼無里の水芭蕉
＊辰野の蛍
＊霧ヶ峰のニッコウキスゲ
＊戸隠鏡池の紅葉
皆さんはどうですか？自分の「七大」を教えてください。
Yesterday I went to Matsumoto for a Nagano Prefecture Tourism Synergy Research Meeting. About 40 people from various government agencies, universities, and businesses gathered to discuss ways to get tourists to spend more time enjoying our prefecture.
One of the guys I met there was from Kurumayama. He said the nikko-kisuge day lillies in Kirigamine are in bloom now. Recently, deer have been eating a lot of the flowers. This year, though, thanks to lots of electric wire fencing, the hills of Kirigamine are carpeted in yellow flowers. The blooms usually continue through the end of July.
If you've never seen the nikko-kisuge of Kirigamine, I highly suggest it. Their yellow blossoms cover the highlands -- an amazing sight to see. In fact, I would say it's one of Nagano's top seasonal wonders.
People in Japan have a habit for picking the "Top Three" Whatever. For example, nearby Obasute Station is one of Japan's Top Three Best Views from the Train Window. (It's true -- I couldn't make that up if I tried.) Us Westerners, on the other hand, tend to choose the Top 7 of whatever (except for David Letterman and his Top 10 Lists). For example, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, etc.
So I hereby announce Nagano's Seven Natural Wonders (as chosen by Yours Truly):
*The Apricot Blossoms in Mori "Anzu no Sato"
*Takato's Cherry Blossoms
*Early Spring in Kamikochi
*Skunk Cabbage Flowers in Kinasa (which means "Village Without an Ogre" -- and I couldn't make that one up if I tried, either)
*Tatsuno's Fireflies
*Kirigamine's Nikko-kisuge day lillies
*Autumn Leaves at Togakushi's Kagami-Ike (Mirror Pond)
That's my list. What about yours?
霧ヶ峰・車山高原の詳しくはこちらClick here for details on Kirigamine and Kurumayama
