{"id":34710,"date":"2018-03-06T08:00:20","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T23:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=34710"},"modified":"2021-04-28T00:18:54","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T15:18:54","slug":"murakami-farmer-stay-snowshoeing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/murakami-farmer-stay-snowshoeing\/","title":{"rendered":"A Winter in Takane: Farmer’s Stay and Snowshoeing"},"content":{"rendered":"
Sponsored by Murakami City<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Niigata<\/strong> is famous for its heavy snowfalls<\/strong> during the winter month. When one ventures into the mountains of Murakami<\/strong> during winter, thick snow covers the landscape. The natural scenery appears immaculate, since the never-ending snowfall<\/strong> immediately covers blemishes left by human footprints with a fresh layer of snow. The buildings of Takane Village<\/strong>, their inhabitants themselves residing beneath deep layers of snow, blend into these these beautiful winter scenes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Takane Village is about 40 minutes away from Murakami Station<\/strong> via bus. When I got off the bus, I was in a rush to zip my coat and protect myself from the abundant snowfall. Then I saw the host family<\/strong> who had come to meet me. It should be said that are not many foreigners who venture into this small village, so it wasn’t very difficult to find me.<\/p>\n I did not know it yet, but I was about to have a rewarding, authentic experience<\/strong> that would turn into one of my best memories during in Japan.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After quickly dropping my bags on the farm where I spent the night, it was time to go snowshoeing<\/strong> in the snowy Takane surroundings. Using snow tires, local cars drive in the plowed snow. But soon the road becomes a path, which is far from plowed. The car stops; it’s time to get out and put on our snowshoes.<\/p>\n I was accompanied by two people from Takane. One was a former soldier who knows the backroads of the village<\/strong> like the back of his hand, sometimes venturing out into the middle of the night amidst the snowy expanse to take pictures of the starry sky. The other, a young girl from Hokkaido, who lives in Takane and speaks English wel<\/strong>l enough to play the interpreters when foreigners come<\/strong> to visit this little village.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The snowy landscapes<\/strong> are superb and I am with my guide who leads the way and creates the path. He traces an opening in the field of virgin snow. It’s an amazing feeling to walk in these stretches of untouched snow<\/strong>, like walking on a cloud. Snowshoes go far, but you still need to be careful. The former soldier knows the terrain. He guides me over an invisible stream, completely covered by snow. We are actually walking in the middle of a rice field<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\nTakane: A Village Under the Snow<\/h2>\n
A Snowshoe Tour of Snow-Covered Rice Fields<\/h2>\n