Best Shots Summary of Tanagura Town [18 Photos]

As I am thinking too much about the issues of photography and local revitalization, I have been unable to write down any one article for a while. This is why I decided to summarize the best shots of Tanagura Town, to change my mind.

It has been a year and a bit since I started to visit Tanagura Town. It amounts to once in two months. Some of the photos must be new to you because I found the interesting but not-on-my-blog-yet photos. Please enjoy.

Landscapes of Tanagura Town in March

Akadate Park should be nominated as one of the famous spots of Tanagura Town, where you can enjoy the view of the whole figure of the town with seasonal flowers and blossoms. I found the red Ume trees and the white Ume trees blooming in the snow.

This is the paddy fields in March. They are not yet ready for planting. The mountains at the back still have some white snows there, which must be a preparation for the coming spring. This is what I call a rural town.

Landscapes of Tanagura Town in April

This is the most famous Sakura tree of Tanagura Town, the Weeping Sakura tree of Hanazono. The godliness by the morning mist captures the heart of some photographers. This tree is popular among  people who loves to take Sakura trees with trains. By the way, I got the second prize of landscape part at the Tanagura Tourism Photo Contest.

This is the Site of Tanagura Castle, the symbol of Tanagura Town. This is a relaxation spot for Tanagura residents. You can enjoy Sakura blossoms, tender green, Azalea, Hydrangea, autumn colors and so on.

Landscapes of Tanagura Town in May

Here's the next entry from Akadate Park. We can enjoy Azalea here in May. Indeed, the blossom of Tanagura Town is not Sakura but Azalea. Alazea blossoms add vivid red colors to Tanagura Town. As we can grasp the whole figure of Tanagura Town with seasonal flowers and blossoms from Akadate Park, I guess we can also challenge similar views with other flowers and blossoms than Azalea.

Here, in the Site of Tanagura Castle, we can see as nice Azalea blossoms as the ones in Akadate Park. As I was used to small Azalea in urban areas, I was overwhelmed by too big Azalea trees there. They bloom in white, magenta, pink, purple, crimson and so on.

Moss phlox bloom in this season, and this garden is simply great. (This is not a public garden but one part of a private garden, though.) The Moss phlox in the slope told me that natural landscape becomes more beautiful when human beings take care of it.

Landscapes of Tanagura Town in June

This is Yashirogawa District of Tanagura Town, where they grow the most delicious rice in Tanagura Town. The contrast between the clear blue sky and the sea of healthy paddy fields does enjoy our eyes. This landscape let me say "This is why Yashiro Rice (branded rice of Yashirogawa District) is delicious!". By the way, I won the special award from Tohaku Daily News.

This photo is from Yamamoto Fudouson Temple located in the west part of Tanagura Town. The river is surrounded by the refreshing green space, and is so transparent that the fish there looked like floating above the water. The contrast between the green and the red bridge was giving an interesting impression in Tanagura Town which was dominated mostly by green colors.

This is the photo of Fujitaya Honten Sake Brewery, the last sake brewery of Tanagura Town. As I heard that this brewery was going to close soon, I had got a change to take photos inside. Tanagura Town lost its own sake forever. Was there any way to avoid this??

Landscapes of Tanagura Town in July

Tanagura Town has some rivers and moats, but few ponds or lakes. This is why Pond Oshimizu is a quite rare place in this town. It has wooden benches and shades, and is a good place to flee from summer's hot temperature. I hear that this pond appears in Tanagura's classical stories. I would like to visit here again when a lot of autumn leaves fill the town.

The green color of the paddy fields of Yashirogawa District in July is not that different from that in June, which showed me the clear blue sky. But the footpath between the paddy fields was filled with white clovers and they were making this rural landscape in harmony with the blue mountains in the distance.

They are the dolls of Tanachan, the official character of the town. They are displayed in front of the entrance of Iwaki-Tanakura Station. How pretty they are! By the way, they are not on sale, haha.

Landscapes of Tanagura Town in August

Fukuoka District is popular for these terraced paddy fields, which are quite rare in Tanagura Town. About to welcome the beginning of autumn, the rice here has already grown heavily and densely to arrange the beauty of nature.

I visited Yamamoto Fudouson Temple in green in August. The photo makes me imagine the atmosphere where transparent water and rolling stones make some sounds.

Landscapes of Tanagura Town in October

It's now autumn! The ears of rice are all in gold color! Everybody must hold their camera when blue sky and white clouds float widely on these paddy fields. If you wonder when to visit Tanagura Town, I definitely recommend you to visit it in autumn! I really would like to visit Tanagura Town in autumn!

The milky way appeared on the transparent night like this. The wide open paddy fields of Yashirogawa District was good to enjoy the overwhelming starscape. I am tempted to go out to the fields on sunny days at night.

Landscapes of Tanagura Town in November

The Site of Tanagura Castle is famous for autumn colors. When I happened to go out there in the morning, I found that the red Japanese maple tree right next to the moat was filled with the mixture of pale-white sunlight and mist. Indeed, mist and sea of clouds appear often in Tanagura Town, located in the center of basin. I was so blessed to see such a godly landscape as this in the town.

Autumn colors of Yamamoto Fudouson Temple is one of the must-see spots here as well as the Site of Tanagura Castle. The inside is full of red Japanese maple leaves, and you can enjoy them with the atmosphere of the temple.

... It turned out that I visited Tanagura Town on March, April, May, June, July, August, October and November. And not on January, February, September and December. Particularly in winter, I would really like to visit it on snowy days.

Plus, I would also like to challenge Sakura blossoms in April, Hydrangea in June, autumn colors in November because I'm confident that I can take more beautiful photos than before.

My last words are as below. "I hope that any of you've got some interest in Tanagura Town.

July 23, 2016 Takumi Nasuno