Carp Kites in Gunma

Gunma prefecture,which takes in some of the most beautiful parts of the Japanese Alps, is a 4 hour drive from Tokyo.


Forested  mountains abound along with crystal clear rivers and ancient villages.

The village of Kanna was preparing for the Boys Day kite festival when we were there.

The poster below shows a former B grade celebrity who will MC. When I showed this poster to Japanese friends the reaction was " God,  is she still alive?" and such like. Judging by the hair the photo was taken in the 80s.

Cruelty aside though, the carp kite festival they have is a fantastic event hundreds of kites are strung on cables across the thundering, clear river. It's a wonderful sight.

Heading North

We travelled to the Northern tip of the main Island in early spring weather which mixed cherry blossoms and snow.

The North, like the island of Hokaido, was settled rather late in the piece and as a result has fewer older buildings and houses. Also it remains very wild and beautiful in places.

The winters are very severe with meters and meters of snow falling and freezing winds.

What is very old though are the Jomon sites in Aomori prefecture. This was the civilisation that thrived in Japan from about 14,000 BC to 500 BC.







At the site in Aomori they have rebuilt some structures over the original sites and there is truly marvellous museum housing hundreds of pieces of pottery and thousands of arrowheads and tools. It is a very well laid out and complete museum, sometimes museums can be a little haphazard in Japan.

Another fantastic thing up North is a style of music called Jongarajamisen. This is a super fast and energetic form of Shamisen music, quite unlike anything else in Japan.

It sounds a bit like Jazz and Bluegrass music. We went to a great little bar where upstairs is a Shamisen school and downstairs is a bar/restaurant where the best students perform. They were truly astonishing young virtuosos.

Interestingly they ususally play with their eyes closed. Tradiotonally the players were blind and being a musician was one of the few ways they could make a living.

Below is a video I will try and upload. Can't promise it will work on your browser though.

One of the wildest and most beauriful places was Lake Towada. We saw one other car in two hours of driving around the lake.