Kurumayama Heights

Our breakfast at the Ryokan

We had a big breakfast (Oh, I love Japanese breakfast!!), and checked out of the inn. The first item on our itinerary for the day was a boat ride on Lake Suwa. My son found these touristy boats on the lake yesterday and insisted that he wouldn’t go home without riding it. This boat, in a shape of a giant swan with a bow tie around its neck, was ancient-looking. And the scary part is that it looked exactly the same when I had a ride when I was in fourth grade a couple of decades ago, It must be the same boat. The ride was about 30 minutes long, and the boat circled around the lake. There were not many passengers except a few old couples. The ride was nothing special; nevertheless, my son was happy, and that’s all that counts.

Near the lake, there was a public hot spring where you can soak your feet.

Very seasoned-looking "Swan Boat(Hakucho Maru)" on Lake Suwa.

After lunch, we went for a drive to Kurumayama Heights, about a half hour drive from Suwa. There is a very scenic road called "Venus Line", and as the elevation goes up, we started to see yellow flowers on the meadow. These flowers are called "Nikko Kisuge (Hemerocallis)", and they completely fill the area during the month of July. Even though it was middle of the week, the place was packed with hikers and photographers, and finding a parking spot was something else. There were many trails throughout the area, and we took a short stroll and admired the wild flowers. It was a beautiful place, but it could've been nicer if it was less crowded...