WHITE EGRETS ON LAKE BIWA

I've seen much more wildlife in Japan than I ever did in New Zealand. Probably that's because I usually traveled by car in NZ. So I saw a lot of farm animals, but rabbits and possums (both pests) were the only wild animals I saw. There are lots of interesting birds in New Zealand, but they're hard to observe from a car. Apparently we have herons and white egrets, but I never saw one.


So I was happy to find how abundant they are in Japan. You can see big water birds everywhere, probably because growing rice provides them with lots of feeding grounds. White egrets in the emerald green rice fields of summer is one of my favorite images of Japan. On my ride around Lake Biwa I saw many white egrets on the lake shore. I hope you enjoy these photos!

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NAGAHAMA JR STATION

Image by kansaikate via Flickr

I'll have to go back to Nagahama. It is much more interesting than I thought. The first time I visited there, I rode my bicycle into town late in the day along an unpleasant, busy highway, searching with increasing desperation for a 'HOTEL' sign. I never make reservations on bike trips because I never know how far I will ride. Besides, 'playing it by ear' increases my sense of adventure. I finally found a hotel but I remember the room smelled funny, and I left at 5 am the next morning, before anyone was even up and about (don't worry, I paid when I checked in!)

On my recent ride around Lake Biwa, I put my bicycle in station bicycle parking every night and traveled home on a JR train to Kyoto, returning the following morning. So this time I noticed Nagahama's JR station. It's an impressive building. Still fairly new, it was opened in October 2006. Something that is quite unusual in Japan is that the architect successfully designed the building to resemble Nagahama's Historic JR Station (pictured below.) Of special interest to me were the beautiful stained glass windows. Nagahama is famous for glassware production, so stained glass windows seem a very appropriate decoration for the station.

The style and quality of the station building caused me to revise my previous impression that Nagahama was just another dull country town, so I did a little exploring before continuing my ride South along the East side of Lake Biwa. I'll write about my findings in a future post.

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TAKING THE SCENIC ROUTE

If you travel along the Western shore of Lake Biwa by train (JR Kosei Line) you can enjoy a fine view of the lake for much of the journey, but after Makino station the train leaves the lake to pass through a series of tunnels before coming out on the Eastern side, and Biwako line which runs down the Eastern side is mostly too far inland to see the lake.

So it's only motorists and cyclists who have the opportunity to travel along the scenic road around the top of the lake, where the scenery is so beautiful I can't keep the smile off my face.

In some places the cedar-clad mountain-side sweeps right down to the lake edge, and dusty sunbeams streak down through the trunks. Elsewhere, homesteads and tourist lodges nestle into lush valleys planted with rice.

Cherry trees line the shore, and in spring heavy loads of blossom weight the branches down. Egrets and shags fish from rocks that have tumbled into the water. The road follows the curve of the bays, in and out, in and out. Two small monkeys scramble up the retaining wall at the side of the road. Small boats drift dreamily against a backdrop of blue hills. An island rises out of the lake, misty, indistinct, and mysterious. A man fishes from a small jetty in water that reflects the clouds. A mossy wall encloses a house with shining roof tiles. Hawks glide on air currents over the water.

People always say New Zealand is beautiful, and it is.... but no more so than the wild, lovely area at the top of Lake Biwa.

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A SMALL TOWN NAMED MAKINO

On the West side of Lake Biwa, right at the top of the lake, there's a small town called Makino. I've been there several times in various seasons of the year. It really is small - a JR station, a main street lined with old wooden houses, a few lodges and restaurants for visitors who probably only come in cherry blossom season, and that's about it.

But it draws me back again and again. It's the kind of place I like. Glimpses of lovely lake views between old wooden buildings. Orange persimmons against a blue sky. Daffodils by stone walls. Crumbling mud-plaster walls. Dark mysterious little stores.  The proximity of Kaizu Osaki, a stunning beauty spot in the spring.

Sometimes I meet Japanese people who tell me they have a holiday house there, which might account for the sleepy, shut-up look of the place. Perhaps a lot of the houses are empty most of the time. If I owned a house in a place like Makino I'd spend most of my time there.

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