The Rafu Shimpo - L.A. Japanese Daily News

Fall into some Color
Saturday, Aug. 26, 2006

As one local tour company prepares for its Fall Colors tours in Japan, recollections from two veterans of the trip help paint the vivid pictures.

Foliage photos courtesy of IACE Travel A train ride through the fall color of Central Japan is a highlight of the Backroads of Japan tour.	Again this fall, IACE Travel in Gardena is leading tours through some of the most scenic fall foliage Japan has to offer. Last year, Rafu Shimpo staff writer Audrey Shiomi was on the company's "Backroads of Japan" tour-a weeklong excursion to the Hokuriku area in the central region of Japan's mainland-as was Mari Kawamura, who went along as an IACE assistant. On this trip, visitors can get a spectacular view of koyou, the seasonal changing of the autumn leaves. Both Kawamura and Shiomi have shared their experiences for readers who may be considering autumn travel to Japan. This year, IACE has three tours planned: the Tohoku Nature and Autumn Scenery tour, Oct. 15-25; Backroads of Japan, Oct. 24-Nov. 2; and the Kyushu Circle Autumn Tour, Oct. 30-Nov. 10. For Kawamura, the tour proved to be a pleasant and educational experience that taught her many things she didn't know about her homeland. Her thoughts are below: I like to travel around. I fly an average of 10 times for pleasure. I try to fly to Japan every other year or so, but I realized that I never "travel" to Japan. I normally only visit my family and relatives. I have to so buy many gifts for friends back in the U.S. that I hardly to remember to take some time and tour around my home country. Because of that, I decide to make last year's trip to Japan a true vacation. I wanted to see places where I can enjoy beautiful autumn scenery and hot springs. I am always interested in traveling to places where natural wonders are the focus of the journey. I don't like to cook, but I love to eat. Because food is such a passion of mine, I find great difficulty in choosing whenever I visit a restaurant. Why not trying everything? The same holds true for traveling for me. Why not go to any place I haven't been before? I got my packed suitcase and prepared to fly to central Japan. Waiting at the airport during layovers is normally very boring, but not this time. It may sound a little strange, but there was a public bath at the new Nagoya International Airport. I could see takeoffs and landings while I was taking a bath, not to mention how wonderful it was to relax after such a long flight. Afterward, I cruised around the airport terminal and I found the "Iron Chef's" French restaurant. My first day on the trip had a perfectly tasty end. There are 13 world heritage sites in Japan, perhaps my very favorite being Shirakawago Village. The farmhouse there is very old and unique. But it is the view from the hillside that is priceless. After sunset, I could smell food and saw lights coming from shoji window. I often think I may move to Florida or Hawaii after I retire, but I guess I may have to change my plan. On this trip, I wanted to see trees turn red and yellow but I didn't want to walk long trails. What was best way to see the foliage for someone like me? I got train tickets at Unazuki Onsen for the ride to Kurobe Canyon. The view from window is gorgeous!
AUDREY SHIOMI/Rafu Shimpo Passengers take in a panoramic view of Kurobe Gorge, located deep within the Japan Alps, during last year's "Backroads of Japan" tour with IACE Travel.

AUDREY SHIOMI/Rafu Shimpo The Zuiryuji temple in Takaoka is one of Japan's National Treasures.

For a taste of local food, I headed to Kanazawa to visit a morning market.I got three huge crabs, countless sweet shrimp, three abalones, and five scallops for only 5,000 yen, a real bargain if you've every bought seafood in a supermarket in Japan. I ended up sending them to my relatives, and I ate sushi with sweet shrimp miso soup.

I find that there are still so many things that I've never experienced in Japan and a trip like this helps me open mind to something new, even though it's so close to home. It's a great way to lift the stress of my daily life as well.

For Shiomi, the tour last fall turned out to be one of her most memorable assignment since she joined the Rafu staff:

Up until I was 17, I had never set foot in Japan's rural regions, otherwise known as inaka, but I had a hunch I'd grow insanely bored if I ever did. Years later, this matured traveler has learned to embrace all that nature has to offer: crisp, clean air, a lush green landscape and free-flowing water you'd otherwise pay for by the bottle.

The trip-free from cell phones and Internet-was a welcomed change of pace from the usual chaos of metropolitan living.

Mino is best known for their udatsu-highly decorative roof ornaments. It's a telling sign of a household's prosperity. "Udatsu ga agaranai" is a typical Japanese saying that literally means you're a nobody if you can't build a lavish rooftop over your head. Needless to say, most homes here can afford an udatsu or two.

Over 20 mountain peaks fan out across the basin of the Kurobe River, and as the train took us on an hour-long ride deep within Kurobe Gorge, one of the travelers was certain she spotted a wild animal lurking in the dense shrubs. The previous day's overcast skies cleared up just in time and we instantly started taking panoramic snapshots of the autumn foliage.

In Takaoka City, in the heart of Toyama Prefecture, we checked out an outdoor statue of the Great Buddha and strolled around an older part of the city where women over age 90 seem to make up the bulk of the population.

Just before sunset, the group paid a visit to Zuiryuji Temple, a designated National Treasure of Japan. One of the senior monks guided us through the 400-year-old establishment, explaining the daily rigors of monkhood.

The following day, our driver took us on a scenic tour down the west coast of the Noto peninsula, where we got a view of pine trees curiously jutting out of rocky seaside cliffs. We headed into the Nagisa driveway, where vehicles are allowed onto the sandy beach to cruise along the shore. It's something I've always dreamed of doing back in California.

I soon realized that Kanazawa isn't quite the metropolis I thought it was. There's a Starbucks at nearly every corner-a true sign of modernity-but it's less cosmopolitan than it is a quiet, cultural haven.

I jumped onto the loop bus-Kanazawa's one-way circuit around local tourist sites-and head to Kenrokuen, a beautiful 25-acre landscape garden located next to Kanazawa Castle. It's ranked among the top three in Japan-Korakuen in Okayama and Kairakuen in Mito being the other two.

My trip into the backroads of Japan was a detox from all the ill-effects of modern living. I think about that week and how good it was to breath in fresh air, to eat healthy Japanese meals, and most of all, to fix my nearsighted eyes on something other than a lifeless computer screen.

For more information on IACE Travel's tours this fall, contact their Asia Division in Gardena. Call (310) 323-1113 or visit www.iace-asia.com.

More Feature Stories...