Spring in Tsukuba

 From Li Kun.

This is my third spring in Japan, but I had never truly appreciated the springtime in Tsukuba. So this year, I decided to explore it.

農林さくら通り

By chance, I found a road lined with cherry blossoms on the map. There were quite a lot of people out enjoying the flowers, but I was lucky enough to be driving sports car of my friend — the atmosphere was absolutely perfect!

福岡堰さくら公園

Fukuokazeki Sakura Park

Kato recommended this park to me. Apparently, it's pretty popular around here.

This time, my friend brought a drone, and I got to try it out too — it was amazing! Walking along the cherry blossom road and viewing the blossoms from above felt completely different, each offering its own unique charm.

東蕗田天満社

Higashifukida Tenman Shrine

I stumbled upon this shrine by chance. When I showed it to my Japanese lab mates, it seemed like they hadn't heard of it either — probably because it's quite off the beaten path. But when I got there, I realized the nighttime cherry blossoms had attracted a crowd of photographers. Unfortunately, my camera and photography skills weren’t good enough to really capture the beauty.

A huge thanks to my friend, whose sports car and drone provided me with such a unique and exciting experience!

Snow videos

From Li Kun 

Sharing some video highlights from our road trip to Aomori, Hirosaki, and Yamagata!

The weather wasn't great during this trip, so I didn't prepare our route.
But if you're curious about any of the places featured in the videos, feel free to ask me anytime!

I'm not sure why, but the videos and photos I uploaded couldn't be viewed.
After trying to upload them several times without success, I eventually gave up.

Climbing a snow-covered mountain — by far the most thrilling and dangerous experience I've ever had!

 From Li Kun

Hiking and mountain climbing are my two favorite ways to travel!

Of course, I'm just an amateur with no professional training, so I had never even considered climbing a snow-covered mountain in winter.

But when my friend suggested we try it just for fun, I was immediately intrigued.、

We carefully planned our climb of Mt. Tanigawa and made sure to purchase the necessary gear in advance.
Looking back, I feel that the most essential equipment was the crampons and trekking poles.

One important note: the trekking poles used in snowy conditions are slightly different from the regular ones used for normal hiking.

In the end, my two friends and I successfully conquered the snow-covered mountain!
However, it's important to keep in mind: even with good equipment, choosing a clear and stable weather day is absolutely crucial, especially for first-time snow climbers.

If you also love traveling — not just hiking and mountain climbing — feel free to reach out to me!

By the way, I'm writing this blog to practice my English as well.
At first, my friend Wey pointed out that a lot of my writing sounded like "Chinglish," and suggested I try using AI.
So, for these two blog posts, I actually wrote them with the help of ChatGPT (lol).

A week’s trip at New Year

 From Li Kun.

Recently, I prepared my slides for the Spring Meeting and summarized my New Year holiday trip.

It was truly a breathtaking snowy landscape!

The route of my trip was as follows:

                  

I drove my car equipped with snow tires throughout the entire trip.
During the New Year holiday, there’s no need to worry about road conditions as long as your car is fitted with snow tires. 

We were very lucky — although it rained during parts of our trip, the weather always cleared up when we arrived at each destination.
We also didn’t encounter any heavy snowstorms.
Among all the places I visited that week, my favorite was Shin-Hotaka.
Taking the ropeway up the mountain, we were able to admire the breathtaking sight of snow-covered cedar trees.

I also loved Shirakawa-go and Togakushi Shrine!
Each place has its own unique charm, making it hard to rank them.
In Shirakawa-go, I truly felt as if I had traveled back in time to ancient Japan.
At Togakushi Shrine, the towering ancient trees left me in awe, allowing me to experience the overwhelming power of nature firsthand.

Hiking in the snow (new and fun experience 20241208)

 From Li Kun

Last weekend, my friends and I came to Oku-Nikko. Luckily, it snowed, so I had a surprising experience to hike in the snow!

京都-Kyoto (a charming city at Autumn)

 Form Kun Li.

The last time when I came to Kyoto was in March 2023. But I did not find any features of Kyoto, just a big city. Recently, I traveled to Kyoto again at the end of November due to a conference. And luckily, the best time to view the autumn leaves in Kyoto is at the end of November this year. For this time, I realized how charming Kyoto is and why Kyoto is so popular in Autumn.

嵐山 祐斎亭 (Arashiyama Yusai-Tei Gallery)

I booked a ticket of Arashiyama Yusai-Tei Gallery a month in advance. To be honest, I wanted to visit Rurikō-in (瑠璃光院), But there was no any available tickets. In that case, Arashiyama Yusai-Tei Gallery was a candidate of Rurikō-in. the ticket fee of Arashiyama Yusai-Tei Gallery is very high in Autumn, 3000yen/ a person. Although views in Arashiyama Yusai-Tei Gallery is beautiful, I still think the fee is too high.

大河内山荘庭園

This is really nice courtyard. the fee is 1000yen/person. I think this is a very worthwhile courtyard to visit, the scenery is really beautiful in autumn.

丹波篠山 - 洞光寺 

（とうこうじ）

京都南丹龍穩寺

These two temples have the most beautiful red leaves I have ever seen.

Because Kyoto in autumn is so beautiful, each temple I visited has its own characteristics. The video below is my short summary. There are also temples I visited that are not mentioned in the video, such as 

圓光寺｜Zuiganzan Enkouji Temple

.

In any case, Kyoto in autumn is worth a visit. If you have time, don't miss Kyoto in autumn.

Autumn scenery——尾瀬国立公園

 From Li Kun.

October is the autumn season. As I know, Oze National Park (尾瀬国立公園) is a great place to hike.

 The hiking route we chosen is from Oshimizu (大清水) to Hatomachi （鳩待峠). It takes about nine hours. Of cause, we slept in hut at Oze. 

If you want to go home on the same day, you can choose Hatomachi as starting and come back from Ozegahara (尾瀬ヶ原, the most beautiful view at Oze). In that case, you do not need to sleep in hut at Oze. But at the same time, you will also lose the fun of hiking.