The Forest Museum in Autumn, 2025 !

by Kazu

That was my last visit to "the Green Center" in Kitami City that would be closed because the municipality should avoid going bankrupt. Its financial situation including its debt seemed to be terrible and dangerous for the citizens. 

The Greenhouse for the plants brought from the southern regions on this globe might be closed too because of the cost to warm up the inside. The trail in the plants museum might be abolished.

Sweeping the trail and collecting the leaves at the end of every autumn must be tough and expensive for the poor municipality, unfortunately. I can not figure out the way to contribute to the municipality so far.

 

Train Trip under the Cloudy Sky !

by Kazu

It was a pity that the gray clouds covering the sky prevented the fertile ground from shining with the sunlight but I was convinced that my choice to take train to visit my hometown Kitami City was correct to avoid driving in unforeseeable snowfall in October. 

The golden yellow rice crops were not shining but it seemed that ample delicious rice would be harvested soon. Even if "Neo-nicotinoids" were used for pesticide to fend off the insects, we love the top-quality rice raised in Hokkaido.      

It was a little bit rainy and getting colder than early in that morning. We Japanese have to polish the tombstone built for our parents, grand parents and other ancestors and pray for their peace of mind around the dates of vernal and autumnal equinox day.

 

The Art of Meal Package for Train Trip !

by Kazu

A variety of meal packs may be the Japanese specialty and allure various kinds of tourists including train manias in Japan and other countries. The word of "Bento" may be getting popular in foreign countries but "Ekiben" which means the meal pack to be bought in train stations must be not so popular in foreign countries yet.    

We bought a special fresh sushi-grade seafood bento called "Ezo-Fuji" Bento and SL(Steam Locomotive) Bento on that day. Because of unforeseen snowfall in October, we chose to take train to visit my hometown Kitami in that time.

A a result, we could savor amply the special gorgeous meal packages as breakfast on the train, for me, with cold beer after routine jogging and hot shower. That was addictive, to be honest. 

 

Lunch Course in The Restaurant Jewel at the Peak of Mt. Moiwa !

by Kazu

The starter of the lunch course in the Restaurant Jewel in the Lookout building at the peak of Mt. Moiwa was pumpkin soup flavored with butter and herb produced in Hokkaido. The seasonal veggie quiche followed.  

The quiche was accompanied with the chef's signature special sauce. The chef's name is Mr. Yusuke Kagota who experienced in Tokyo and Sapporo for years. 

The main dishes were grilled Japanese fatty beef and grilled fish. Please check out the guide of the restaurant and the facilities in the building of Lookout at 

https://the-jewels.jp/

 

At The Peak of Mt. Moiwa in Autumn 2025 !

by Kazu

Above is the artistic monument set at the peak of Mt. Moiwa. Some objects were set at the lookout on the top of the building. 

Other than that, a house of Buddha's bone with oriental design  and a station of electric wave are beside the lookout building that includes a restaurant and souvenir shop. 

Because of the brown bear appearance and attack in Sapporo, the number of the trekkers around Mt. Moiwa might have been decreased. Nowadays, brown bears in Hokkaido might have learned the taste of the food for human beings given by tourists or from garbage.  

Some brown bears got into the houses and searched for food, opened the fridge and ate up the contents during the absence of the residents. The situation may be getting worse. 

Talking about such changes of the behavior shown by the wild animals, we had a fabulous course lunch in the Restaurant Jewel at the peak of the mountain.  

 

Mt. Moiwa in the fog !

by Kazu

It was a pity that the clear view from the peak of Mt. Moiwa could not be got on that day when our friend from Tokyo arrived in Sapporo. The horizon was vague and the mist colored the city with white and gray.

It was a little bit too cold to enjoy the perspectives of the city for a while. We had reserved a table for our course lunch in the restaurant of the summit building. There were not so many inbound tourists on that day.

Mt. Maruyama could be seen on the north side of Mt Moiwa. Mt. Maruyama is one of the most popular place for trekking but as so many brown bears appeared in the residential area of Sapporo City including the west district of the city, the citizens tend to avoid trekking near the mountain. 

 

Mt. Moiwa in autumn 2025 !

by Kazu

Mt. Maruyama could be seen from the cargo of the rope way to the peak of Mt. Moiwa. Nowadays, brown bears appeared in the West District of Sapporo City and even near Mt. Maruyama, so trekking around the mountain became dangerous before their hibernation.     

Many people were killed by brown bears in Hokkaido this year and even in the main island of Japan, black bears that were smaller than browns also attacked and killed some people this year. So unusual number of bear attacks occurred this year. 

I saw some fat brown bears that appeared in the residential area of Hokkaido on TV but each of them seemed fat enough to sleep in the hole in the ground during winter. It was said that Acorns were not enough in the mountains this year but why were they so fat ? The windmill built on the hillside of the mountains to generate electric power drove them crazy? The low-frequency sound wave might affect them badly?