Shibata Town (柴田町) is located in the southern part of Miyagi Prefecture with a warm climate; Therefore, it might be the best place to go in this cold Valentine’s Day.
An abundance of beautiful natural sites surrounds Shibata Town. You can walk in year-round trails in the woodlands. You can feel the Cyclamen and Roses adding colors and scents in the winter.
Shibata town actively promotes green tourism by emphasizing the magic of flowers while making the most use of local resources.
Merely waking along the streets of Shibata Town is quite enjoyable. Despite the fact that Shibata is a very large town, it is actually very quiet in the streets.
The road of Shibata town is very wide, proving that the economy of the town is quite good.
食彩会-Valentine’s Day Bettered Served with Flowers
The Shokusaikai Flower House (食彩会) is a non-business organization where residents go and enjoy the pot culture . Local citizens love to gather at this place to make different kinds of combined pots.
For a long time, residents of Shibata Town love to plant flowers, and the town initiated its “Flower Town of Shibata” Plan years ago, to create a new landscape colored with flowers.
Although Shibata is well known for its cherry blossoms in late March and early April, there are more than 100 different kinds of flowers even in winter.
The Garden of Shokusaikai Flower House is open to public freely; the flowers are proudly displayed at all seasons. It is a beautiful sight with petty bourgeoisie taste you will not want to miss.
In autumn, the Miyagi Chrysanthemum Exhibition will be held at Funaoka Castle Park as its special fall events. Some of the flowers displayed at Funaoka Castle Park was made in the Shokusaikai Flower House.
I found a “heart” shape fruit for the Valentine’s Day.
Under the instructions of the flower sensei, I managed to make one of my own bonsai this afternoon. I am happy because I know Valentine’s Day is better served with flowers, no matter you are alone or companied by someone.
白鳥神社-A Shrine with Legendary Fairytales
Cherry blossoms are not the only things to see in Shibata Town. Indeed, Shibata is blessed with rich cultural resources, and shrine constitutes one of them.
The White Bird’s Shrine (白鳥神社) has the same name with the Shrine we mentioned in Murata Town, but this one is quite different and is also beautiful.
The white bird actually refers to “white swan”, which is regarded as pet of the Deity.
Legend says that good things will happen when white swan flies by.
People come to the shrine to make good wishes for future.
Today I am lucky enough to get into the shrine and explored the unspoiled charm that takes me to the hidden world of Ancient Japan.
The ceremony of the priest is to help people get rid of their distracting thoughts as well as eliminate their inglorious minds.
The inside of the Shrine is even more beautiful and exquisite.
The Address of the 白鳥神社 is as follows.
船岡城址公園-Best of The Best for Cheery Blossoms and The Town View
I went to the Funaoka Castle Ruins Park (船岡城址公園) this afternoon, and it was really an amazing place..
There are many carefully planted old trees inside the park. From the point view of a semi-professional photographer myself, almost every angle I look at is photogenic.
The Peace Stela shows people the mild and peaceful environment of Shibata.
The Enormous Kannon Statue is famous at the top of Funaoka Castle Ruins Park. In fact, the Kannon Statue is so huge that you can actually see it even from Ogawara Town and Murata Town in far distance. The name of the Huge Kannon in Funaoka Castle Ruins Park is called Funaoka Peace Kannon Statue (船岡平和観音像).
Besides the Enormous Kannon Statue, at the top of Funaoka Castle Ruins Park there are great places where you can enjoy the breathtaking view of the whole town and its neighboring towns. In spring, these are the best places to see more than 1000 cherry blossoms trees inside the Funaoka Castle Ruins Park as well as 1200 cherry blossom tress that bloom along the 8 Kilometers of the Shiroishi River side. The magnificent scene of more than 2000 cherry blossoms in multiple layers attracts tourist worldwide. In addition, the Slope car in the park is a must-experience for tourists, but it is not operating in winters.
The tunnel and multiple layers of tress still amazed me though, when I got up to the mountain by cars.
The Thousand Cheery Blossom Bridge is a pedestrian bridge constructed in 2015. 12m in height and 87m in length, the bridge was specially designed for tourist to walk across the Shirioishi River bank while enjoying the cherry blossoms. There is no cheery blossoms in winter, but the artistic bridge worked perfectly as the foreground of my picture of the town view.
At the sunset, I managed to take a picture of a train driving into Shibata town, I know the scene could be even better in Sakura seasons – at least, it is going to be more colorful by then.
At the other side of the mountaintop, is the Grandview of Ogawara Town as well as the Zao Mountain chain, which is especially beautiful at the sunset. Except Ogawara, the full picture of Murata Town can also be seen at the mountaintop. In my humble opinion, the top of Funaoka Castle Ruins Park is the best place for the God-angle of the three towns I mentioned above; there is no dead-zone for taking pictures at the mountaintop.
From where I see it, the snow mountains in far distance is the guardian angles for the Tohoku area. I am taking this picture with respect.
The swans are graceful when flying by the Shiroishi River. “That’s the end of my Valentine’s Day.” I said to myself quietly in my heart. The address of 船岡城址公園 is as follows.
