20th March 2012
Google search the keyword 'Daikanbo' will show many beautiful lush green images of field and mountain. So imagine my surprise when I reached Daikanbo on a still chilly day in March 2012, what I saw was nothing but patches of black burned ground. It was so different from what I have imagined. At first, I thought a big wild wire had burnt out the whole area, then thanks to the information board, I learnt that the area was burnt on purpose to avoid reforestation to maintain the grass field. Well, at least I never suffered from any hazy conditions for my one year stay in Kumamoto City. So, no complaint here.
In Aso, there is even a Fire Festival 火祭り every year where two big huge "火" characters were arranged in two peaks and burnt at night. It's something tourists can go to. However, in the Aso tourist website, it mentioned that although the Fire Festival is open for tourist, the open burning is not and they hoped that non related persons will not go and disrupt the operation.
Well, I certainly missed the Fire Festival because it was held on early of March, the only thing left was the charred ground. Anyway, since it took around two hours drive from Kumamoto City to reach here, I still walked around and tried to appreciate the uniqueness of it.
Well, I certainly missed the Fire Festival because it was held on early of March, the only thing left was the charred ground. Anyway, since it took around two hours drive from Kumamoto City to reach here, I still walked around and tried to appreciate the uniqueness of it.
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| Area around Daikanbo after the open burning |
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| snap a photo as a proof I reached Daikanbo |
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| a triangulation point in Daikanbo peak |
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| from the peak of Daikanbo, a vast agricultural fields could be seen |
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| explanation board in Daikanbo |
After one round, I did what a normal tourist would do, I went to the souvenir shop and bought two Aso specialities. I bought a bottle of yoghurt drink and one cheese cake, both local produce. The cheese cake was nice, though not as good as the one I found in Hokkaido. Then, bye bye Daikanbo.
Again, tourist spots that are scenery based depend much on the weather and date. Should check the calendar properly before decide where and when to go. Although this Daikanbo trip was not as beautiful as expected, it's eye opener for me, so I still considered this a good trip.
Again, tourist spots that are scenery based depend much on the weather and date. Should check the calendar properly before decide where and when to go. Although this Daikanbo trip was not as beautiful as expected, it's eye opener for me, so I still considered this a good trip.
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| yoghurt drink produced in Aso |
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