Hi
My name is Yoshi.
Heatwave Havoc: Surviving Japan’s Scorching Temperatures
Today is Sunday, August 4, 2024. Japan has been experiencing very hot days every day. Most days, the daytime high temperatures exceed 35°C. While you are waiting for a train on the station platform, it feels like your body might melt away before the next train arrives. Do you get an idea of just how hot it is?
Keeping Cool: Managing Summer Heat in Our Camper Van
I travel all over Japan with my wife and two Maltese dogs in our camper van on weekends and during holidays. The second camper van we upgraded to last November is equipped with three lead-acid batteries (122 watts) for the auxiliary power, and it has 480 watts of solar panels on the roof. It also has a driving charge function, so in addition to the solar panel charging, the auxiliary batteries are also charged while driving. However, running the home-use air conditioner in the rear cabin for several days in weather over 35°C, like today, is quite challenging, so we also carry a portable battery from EcoFlow. When my wife and I dine out at restaurants, we leave the dogs in the car. We monitor them via a surveillance camera through our smartphone, but we still worry about them. During the hot summer, it seems better to head to cooler places with higher elevations, like Nagano Prefecture.
Lake Hamanako Highlights: History, Hot Springs, and Eel Delicacies
Sorry for the long preamble, but today we visited Lake Hamanako in Shizuoka Prefecture. Lake Hamanako is a brackish lake (not a freshwater lake) in the western part of Shizuoka Prefecture, where seawater from the Pacific Ocean flows in. The area around Lake Hamanako offers various attractions, including historic sites such as Hamamatsu Castle, associated with Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the family temple of the Ii clan. There are also relaxing lakeside hot springs and numerous restaurants famous for their eel dishes. It’s relatively close to Nagoya, about an hour and a half by car via the Tomei Expressway. Perhaps because it’s a bit far from the Kanto and Kansai regions, it’s not as crowded, which is a nice aspect.
On Benten Island in Lake Hamanako, there is a large red torii gate, 18 meters high, floating on the lake’s surface. By the way, a torii is a structure that marks the boundary between sacred and secular realms at Shinto shrines and other sacred places. It indicates the entrance to a sacred area and functions as a type of “gate.” This torii gate in Lake Hamanako originates from Benten Shrine and is said to bring blessings for fertility and matchmaking, according to its legend. The reason the torii gate is placed on the water’s surface is that it marks a boundary on the sea or lake.
You can reach “Ikari-se,” where the red torii gate is located, by taking a ferry from Benten Island Seaside Park. Around the winter solstice (approximately December 22 each year), you can witness the sunset sinking through the torii gate during a one-month period. Many people visit Benten Island to capture this moment with their cameras.
To the best of my knowledge, there are at least two other torii gates floating in the sea in Japan. One is the famous torii gate at Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima Prefecture, and the other is at Shirahige Shrine in Shiga Prefecture. I have visited both before, and they were wonderful places.
I will continue to share information about tourist spots in Japan, so please stay tuned.