The Autumn Leaves in Kakkonda Valley have Just Begun 10.11, 2023

I had heard that the autumn leaves would be late this year due to the long lingering summer heat, but according to the autumn leaves information, Kakkonda Valley is now in its best season.

"It is a must go!'' Sachiki-san and I visited to Takinoue Onsen hot spring by the Kakkonda River.

Takinoue Onsen is located about 40 km from Morioka city, and although it is not far from the city, it is a place where you can enjoy the atmosphere of a secret hot spring.

There is a facility where you can take a day trip bath, but since I was with Sachiki-san, I did not take a bath this time.

As the name Takinoue Onsen suggests, the hot spring is located upstream of Torigoe Falls.

To see the waterfall, go to Takinoue Onsen, park at the Takinoue Park parking lot, and walk back to Takimidai viewing platform.

The sound of fumarole reaches the parking lot.

It takes about 5 minutes to walk to Takimidai viewing platform.

The waterfall is said to have a height of 30m, but it was hidden behind the trees and I couldn't see the whole thing. The road runs right next to the waterfall, so you can hear the sound of the waterfall while walking.

This is an erosion control dam on the way to Takinoue Onsen. The road is a little wider in this area, so you can park your car and enjoy the scenery.

Cosmos Flowers were in Full Bloom at Machiba Area Park in Goshoko Regional Park 10.1, 2023

Sachiki-san, a Samoyed dog who is sensitive to high temperature, used to stay in an air-conditioned room in the daytime during summer without going out. Now the weather has gotten cooler, he is able to go out in the daytime.

I heard that cosmos flowers were in full bloom on the shores of Lake Gosho, so Sachiki-san and I went to see them.

Lake Gosho is a lake created by Gosho Dam, located about 15 km west of the center of Morioka City. It is known for Iwate Morioka Tsunagi Hot Spring located by the lake, but in addition of the hot spring, the surrounding area is also a regional park that exceeds the municipal area and has various facilities.

The place to see cosmos now is one of these facilities, the Machiba area park. It is a park with a panoramic view of Mt. Iwate, which includes a center house with a rest room and a study room, a picnic area where you can enjoy a barbecue, playground equipment, and a flower garden. The park is closed from December to March.

Cosmos flowers are blooming on the other side of the center house.

Sachiki-san seems to prefer sniffing the ground to admiring flowers.

A picnic area and a kitchen building. You can put up a tent in the picnic area, and you can drive your car to the back of the kitchen building when loading and unloading.

Next to the picnic area, there are play equipment and a hill from which you can view the park.

Wild flowers are planted around the hill, which were the subjects of a paintings by Fukazawa Koko, a painter from Morioka.

Kearashi-steam fog Rising at Takamatsunoike Pond 9.25, 2023

This morning Sachiki-san and I went to Takamatsunoike Pond for a walk.

6 a.m., the temperature was about 11℃. It was cold this morning too.

Kearashi rising from the surface of the water illuminated by the morning sun.

In meteorological terms, this is called "steam fog."

In just a month, the swans will be arriving.

Takamatsu Park
https://www.city.morioka.iwate.jp/kurashi/midori/koen/1010492.html

To Avoid the Heat, Went to the Dog park in Morioka Central Park Early in the Morning 8.11, 2023

The days the maximum temperature close to 35 degrees Celsius are continuing.

It's hot from the morning, let alone during the day, so Sachik-san and I went to the dog park in Morioka Central Park very early in the morning.

This dog park is open from sunrise to sunset. At this time of year, it is open from around 4.40 am.

Dog owners think the same way.

There were already people using it at 5 am.

The Shiba Inu dog wanted to play with Sachiki-san, but Sachiki-san was playing at his own pace.

Visited to Kuzakai Highland to Escape the Summer Heat 7.23, 2023

The rainy season ended on July 22, six days earlier than normal. As soon as the rainy season ended, the weather forecast says that the hot summer days will continue. Although it is rare for Morioka to have a tropical night, a night when the temperature does not fall below 25 degrees Celsius outdoors, recently the temperature does not drop much even late at night, so days that it is difficult for Samoyeds to go out for a walk will continue.

Today Sachiki-san and I visited a high-altitude place in looking for coolness for a walk.

There are several high-altitude places around Morioka, the closest one to my house is Kuzakai highland, which is about 700 meters above sea level. It can be reached in less than 30 minutes by car. The altitude difference between the city and Kuzakai highland is about 600m, and the temperature is about 4 degrees Celsius lower than the city.

We arrived at 11:30 a.m.

The weather was slightly cloudy. The temperature was 23 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, Sachiki-san looked he did not get so hot.

Recently, bears have been appearing one after another in Iwate Prefecture.
If we meet a bear, I wonder if Sachiki-san will bark and drive the bear away.

There is a roadside station Michino-eki Kuzakai Kogen in the Kuzakai highland.

Original soft serve ice cream and ramen are popular.

Debuted at a dog park in Morioka Central Park 6.11,2023

Sachiki-san and I go for a walk almost every day to Morioka Central Park, which is about a 15-minute drive from my home. However, the dog park in the park shall be used from sunrise to sunset, so we, often go at night, have registered for use, but we have not used it yet.

We visited Morioka Central Park on Sunday afternoon June 11th to see an event taking place in the park. When we passed by the dog park, no one is in the area where large dogs can be used. For us, have never used a dog park, it is a perfect opportunity to try.

Sachiki-san and I usually run side by side with the leash attached even when we run during a walk, but today we took off the leash and chased after each other.

He still doesn't obey the "come" command but was able to follow me.

The dog park has an area of about 1,400 square meters that can be used regardless of the size of the dog, and an area of about 600 square meters exclusively for small dogs. Each of which has benches with a roof.

To use the dog park, you need to register as a user or register as a visitor. "Morioka Dog-Run Supporters", which had been in charge of registration and reception until now, ended the management consignment contract from Morioka City last year. Therefore, for the time being, inquiries regarding dog park should be directed to Morioka City Hall Koen-Midori ka (Parks and Greens Section).

Spacious Lawn in VIEW GARDEN Made My Feeling Wider 5.27, 2023

VIEW GARDEN is located in Shiwa, about 30 minutes by car from my home in Morioka. According to the website of the gardening company that runs it, it is a space that shapes the company's concept. There is a well-maintained large lawn, a dog park, garden trees and flower shops, a terrace and a cafe. The garden was closed for the winter and opened in April this year.

Admission is free, but there is a charge for the dog park.

I got excited about the stylish entrance.

The dog park has shade of trees. Not just here, Sachiki-san has never been to a dog park yet.

The slope with spacious Lawn offers great views. Because it is located on the slope of the mountain, you can see the scenery spreading below well. Just being in the middle of the lawn makes my feeling wider.

You might feel that you want your dog to be free on the spacious lawn, but a leash is a must.

A robot looked like a robot vacuum cleaner was moving around on the lawn.

Sachiki-san barked at the robot as if it were a "suspicious object", but when the robot approached, he got frightened and run away.

I don't have a robot vacuum cleaner at home, but I wonder Sachiki-san should react like this, if I had one.

Tulips were in Full Bloom at Yukiyagawa Dam Forest Park Karumai 4. 27, 2023

Sachiki-san and I went to Karumai town with a friend, which borders Aomori Prefecture, about 100km north of our home. After driving for 2 hours, it is finally a town on the prefectural border. Ichinoseki-shi, which borders Miyagi Prefecture, is also 100km south, by the way. I realized the size of Iwate Prefecture once again.
The destination is Yukiyagawa Forest Park Karumai. Tulips are in full bloom now.

Yukiyagawa Forest Park Karumai is a facility with a windmill observatory, a campsite, tennis courts, a restaurant, an outdoor stage, etc. around the Yukiyagawa Dam Lake. 150,000 tulips blossom under the windmill observatory in spring is famous and I've wanted to go see it.

You can bring your dog into the tulip garden, but large dogs may not be allowed to enter it depending on how crowded it is. Since it was a weekday and it was not crowded, I was able to enter the garden with Sachiki-san.Even if you can't enter the garden, you can still enjoy the tulips from the outside of the garden.

We crossed the Memorial Bridge, a suspension bridge with impressive red color over the dam lake. There is a katakuri(dogtooth violet) native habitats ahead, and it beautiful flowers are blooming at this time. Unfortunately, I heard about it after returning from the bridge, so I gave up on seeing it this time, and would like to come see it sometime next year.

Admission to Yukiyagawa Forest Park Karumai is free, but some facilities as Tulip Garden etc. are charged.

A Warbler was Beatifully Singing at Morioka Hachimangu Shrine 4.15, 2023

This morning Sachiki-san and I walked at Morioka Hachimangu Shrine. Sometimes we take a walk around Hachimangu Shrine, but usually we just pass by there and walk further. This morning, there were few people walking at the shrine before 6 o'clock, so we entered the precincts. We had never entered the precincts since the New Year's visit. Three other dogs were walking in the precincts.

When Sachiki-san was sitting in front of the main shrine, a song of a Japanese bush warbler was coming.

Some bush warblers are not good at singing, but this morning's warble was singing beautifully.

Visited Morioka Sakura-matsuri Venues before a Flurry of Cherry Blossoms Dances in the Wind 4.11, 2023

The cherry blossoms in Morioka bloomed on April 3rd, 15 days earlier than average, and reached full bloom on April 6th, 18 days earlier than average. The period from flowering to full bloom is 6 days in an average year, but this year it was only 3 days to full bloom. At this rate, it's going to turn into a flurry of cherry blossoms soon.

The Morioka Sakura-matsuri (Cherry Blossoms Festival), which is held in conjunction with the blooming of cherry blossoms, will be held earlier than usual this year, from April 7th (Friday) to May 7th (Friday). The venues are Morioka Castle Site and Takamatsunoike Pond. Both are places where Sachiki-san and I sometimes go out for a walk.

On this day when Sachiki-san was off from the dog school, Sachiki-san and I visited two venues of the festival. 

First, we visited Morioka Castle Site.

Sachiki-san seemed to be more attracted by the petals that have fallen to the ground than the flowers blooming on the branches. And tries to chase them whenever the wind blows them. I'm glad we were able to come before a flurry oof cherry blossom dances in the wind.

At Morioka Castle Site, I was asked, "Did you come to Kakunodate yesterday?" It seemed that she had seen Sachiki-san in Kakunodate and remembered him.

Next, we moved to Takamatsunoike Pond. It is about 15 minutes by car from Morioka Castle Site. Although it is not clearly visible in the photo, Mt. Iwate looked beautiful.

At night, we visited the Morioka Castle Site again and enjoyed the cherry blossoms lit up at night.

We sometimes visit the Morioka Castle Site for a walk, but since I moved to Morioka in the spring of 2020 when the new coronavirus infection began to spread, I have never seen so many people.

Morioka Sakura-matsuri (Cherry Blossoms Festival)
https://www.city.morioka.iwate.jp/kankou/kankou/1037103/1037212/sakura/1007958.html