Roadside station in Naganuma Town!

by Kazu

Where do you think this is?
Every weekend, this roadside station is filled with people living around this area and tourists. It is near the intersection of Route 274 and 234, where many unique cafes and shops are "in".

The building of the station is well-designed and used for charitable events and art exhibitions. Local farmers sell their fresh produces and processed veggies everyday.

The souvenir shop sells various kinds of products sourced locally and from adjacent towns.
Naganuma Town has so beautiful vineyard and produces very nice wine in its area. The label on the bottles of wine shows the characters pronounced "Saikonso" and that they are produced in Maoi Winery. Maoi Winery is run by Mr.Takashi Mukai and his wife.Their web site is at
http://www2.snowman.ne.jp/~maoi-winery/index-1.htm
but to be sad, only in Japanese.

"This is the smallest winery in Japan! We produce 6,000 litter of wine every year, that is the minimum capacity to be allowed by the authority to make alcoholic drink." said Mr.Mukai. 

Mr.Mukai bought the land in Maoi hills in 1982. He was guided by his friend and fell in love with its superb scenery and mild climate so much that he decided his mild to purchase the land just after he had a look on the real estate. Longing for the life of self-sufficiency raising and eating radish, carrot, potato, beans, he named his bottle of wine 菜根荘Saikonsou (Veggies Roots Lodge).
The most popular and valued wine in his winery is "Yama Sauvignon" made from the hybrid of Cabernet Sauvignon and wild mountain grape. On top of that, "Iwamatsu" 
made from the hybrid of four kinds of wild mountain grapes, which is developed by a very famous grape researcher Mr.Seishiro Iwamatsu, has many fans waiting for annual selling albeit it is for 31,500 Japanese yen per bottle.    
  Above is the perspective of the market in the roadside station.Fresh veggies are sold at very competitive prices. 
The sunshine and clouds are so beautiful on that day over the fertile land of Maoi which means "the hill where the flowers of sweetbrier are blooming" in the language of indigenous people in Hokkaido,Ainu.

These photos were taken from the lookout on top of the station building.

So nice to live, not so far from Sapporo City and New Chitose International Airport. Raising veggies and crops, soaking in hot spring spa, standing on your own, the life after retirement will be more exciting than that before retirement. 

This is Maoi Hills where Heidi Farm and Maoi Winery are located.

The scenery from the lookout is so nice that the whole Ishikari Plain, The Sea of Japan and the power plant in Tomakomai can be seen from it. Motor para-glider can be available around this station. Would you try it?