Fukui

Picnickers at Lake Kitagata

Have a lakeside picnic in the soft spring breeze!

Takako Sakamoto Apr 28, 2015 - 1 min read

<p>A bridge of hope? Pedestrians crossing the Iris Bridge in bright sunlight.</p>

<p>The Iris Bridge of Lake Kitagata. It's so named because the lake is famous for its lakeside Iris Garden which has 200,000 irises of 300 varieties.</p>

<p>Relaxing in the park surrounded with such beautiful flowers is just fantastic!</p>

<p>Great view of red Iris Bridge over a blue lake, windmills and cherry blossoms. What a refreshing sight!</p>

<p>Rental fee of Omoshiro Jitensha (fun bicycles) is 300 yen per 30 minutes. Top half of the board is written in Hiragana for children (Hiragana is the first Japanese letters that small children learn to master).</p>

<p>A father taking a nap on the lawn while his family is playing elsewhere. Good way to spend his holiday?</p>

<p>A mother and children playing with a 'fun bicycle (Omoshiro Jitensha)'</p>

<p>Yae-zakura cherry blossoms reaching for the blue sky</p>

<p>Swan-shaped boats are busy on holidays!</p>

<p>A couple crossing Iris Bridge hand in hand, how lovely!</p>

When I visited Lake Kitagata in late April, I found the spacious lakeside park so charming with beautiful cherry blossoms and green lawns. I entertained myself watching people enjoying themselves in the park. There were many children there with their parents, and they were having fun cycling on the Humming Road (a cycling course in the park) on normal bikes, or on fun bikes (Omoshiro Jitensha) in the designated space. Adults were either taking naps, taking care of their children, or romancing beside the lake. Some were in a swan-shaped boat and others were just appreciating the gorgeous view of the lake and flowers. Just watching them made my day beside this beautiful lake!

Takako Sakamoto @takako.sakamoto

I was born in and grew up in Tokushima prefecture, and have lived in many places since then: Nishinomiya, Kyoto, Nara, Mie, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Fukuoka and Fukui. I am currently living in Yokohama City. All the places I lived, all the places I visited, I have loved dearly. The histor...