Nagatoro

Nagatoro

Nagatoro is in the Chichibu region in central Saitama prefecture. It's probably two or two and a half hours from central Tokyo. It's definitely out in the Japanese countryside. It's a nice area, as it's out of the Kanto valley. It's into some mountains, with the largest in the area being Mt. Hodo (about 150 metres). Through this area runs the Ara River, which has carved out a gorge though the hills. Of course, there are also plenty of temples and shrines in the area.

The Ara River features some rapids, which has made it a popular spot for canoing, rafting, and boating. Quite a few people go swimming in the calmer areas as well. Canoes are available to rent, and there are 30 minute and 1 hour boat and raft trips available as well. I'm not sure if there are longer trips or not, but there might be.

















The Ara River, and the gorge which it runs through.

















A temple in the Chichibu region.

















Same area.

















A lovely old-looking street.

















Here is Nagatoro station. It's quite the contrast to something like Shinjuku station!

















A street in Nagatoro; looking onto Mt. Hodo.

















Looking out from a local temple.

















A local temple at Nagatoro.
















Nana, who was with me, and I, opted to ride on this yakata-bune.
















It was directed by this guy in the sweet hat in the front...
















...and oared by this sturdy-looking guy in the back.
















We did get splashed a few times, but not too badly. I think this was Oyahana Bridge in the background.
















Some people were really enjoying cooling off in the water! Looks like fun!
















I took this quick picture of a cool looking house on the river bank.
















Looking down the river at some of the hills in the distance.
















Yee-Haw!
















Here's a strong looking rock, jutting out of the clear water.
















Go Nana Go!
















Here's a good of one of the Yakata-bune (pronunced, boon-eh).
















One of the walls of the gorge.
















A quaint looking street in Nagatoro.
















This is looking towards the river.
















We ate lunch at a restaurant (Nana had vegtable udon soup, while I had curry udon soup), where this bird's nest was above the door.
















After lunch, we took a cable car up Mt. Hodo. Unfortunatly, I forgot to take a picture of the cable car. It was fairly large, as it could hold around 30 people.
















This is looking into the valley from where the cable car goes to.
















At the summit of the hill are some stairs, which let to this ttori...
















...which lead to this shrine.
















While at the top, I managed to take a few photographs of the awesome scenery.
















Another view.
















Here is the main shrine at Mt. Hodo, at the base.
















This ttori looked very nice, with the gold trim.

















Here is the shine itself.