The 2022 winter event at Moominvalley Park (in Metsa, Hanno, Saitama Prefecture) is called Moomin Valley Night Walk, “Illu-mori-no-oto” . The ‘illu’ is short for illumination, ‘mori’ means forest and ‘oto’ means sound. The ‘no’ marks possession, so in English it might be translated as the ‘sound of the illuminatedRead More →
Sai no Mori Iruma Park is a park that is always buzzing – in both senses of the word. For one, you have the constant hum of aircraft, a sound I personally love. Moreover, anytime I have ever visited it, no matter what time of year, the park is alwaysRead More →
Moominvalley Park Harvest 2021 in the Moomin theme park at Metsa, Hanno, Saitama. This year it is called “Very Berry Harvest”. The featured image above is from the official Moomin Japan website. Update November 2021: due to its popularity, the Harvest “Balloon Sky” event has been extended until November 28th.Read More →
Koma Jinja aka Koma Shrine, Hidaka, Saitama Prefecture Many years ago my husband and I visited a shrine on the way home from Chichibu. I didn’t think too much of it to be honest. The thatched roof former residence – a nationally designated Important Cultural property – out the backRead More →
Along the scenic route 299 from Hidaka to Yokoze (Chichibu), there is a very picturesque temple – Chonenji – that scintillates in June with stunning hydrangea. I had this one saved on my Google Maps with a note “hydrangea”. However, I have absolutely no recollection of making that note orRead More →
Kinchakuda in spring: cherry blossoms, rapeseed (canola flowers) and purple flowers. In 2023 the spring festival is making a comeback! Kinchakuda needs little introduction. If you don’t know it by name, you’ll know it as the most famous place for red spider lilies in Japan. However, what you might notRead More →
Moomin Day fireworks and celebrations in 2022. In 2019, Metsa Village had a popular fireworks called Forest and Lake and Fireworks. It may have become an annual event had it not been for the pandemic. They did actually have a variation of the event in 2020, but they had toRead More →
Metsä Village – Metsa Village opened in Hanno City in Saitama Prefecture on November 9th 2018. Metsa Village is the free part of the larger “Metsa”, a Finnish leisure park around Miyazawa lake. The charged area is a Moomin theme park Moominvalley Park. The resort encompasses relaxation, activities, shopping andRead More →
Nolla Naguri is the latest Scandinavian themed leisure area to open in Hanno City in Saitama Prefecture. Hot on the heels of Metsa and Moominvalley park, Nolla Naguri is making full use of the Nordic vibes of the Naguri area of Hanno to promote yet another “Scandinavian living” type resortRead More →
Oh! (Fermentation, Health, Food Magic!!) is the name of the latest 10,000 m² food theme park coming to Hanno City in Saitama Prefecture. Originally supposed to open this spring, the date was pushed back to summer initially. It was further pushed back on account of the Coronavirus. In addition, onRead More →