Shigisan, Nara

Bordering between Osaka and Nara, not normally accessible by train. Mt Shigi was not normally on tourist’s itinerary. We only found out about this place by looking for local weekend activities for kids – farm visits and fresh produce picking. After all, we were all obsessed with local produce for our past couple of days’ dinner. What surprised us was the scenic drive up the region and the surrounding areas. We ended up spending the entire day up the mountain, freedom of self-driving.

Shigisan Farm Park

The farm is a working farm. They grow vegetables, fruits and raise some farm animals like goats and chicken. The main activities for visitors are fruit picking, vegetable harvesting, as well as feeding animals, picking eggs from pens. Pretty much like farm stays. The harvesting items differ with times of the year and season. As it was the end of autumn going into winter, not a lot of fruits were available for picking and hence we get discounted entrances fees. However, do note that this park caters for the locals. English signs, brochures and maps are not available. So, the best is to ask and be surprised at how you could understand simply by gestures.

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There was a minimarket at the entrance for fresh picks. In the cool weather and windy conditions, having some hot sweet potatoes (to warm your cold fingers) seemed like the best. It was a relatively large park and you have to plan your activities. Some things we did first were feeding the goat and sheep with crackers from vending machines. We played at the naturalised playgrounds (obstacle course) well serve as warming us up in the cold breeze.

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The most time spent was picking oranges. Its paying money for 1-hour orange buffet – eat what you pick and in additions bring back a bag each (~6 oranges). The kids found joy looking for the trees that produce the sweetest oranges. We had oranges for dessert for the next few days !!

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Next were the potatoes, radish, broccoli and picking eggs. No one cares about getting the hand dirty.

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Needless to say, we had a big pot of radish and potato soup to complement our dinner.

Here’s the website link: http://www.sigisan-nodokamura.com/index.html

Daimon Dam Park

We took a short drive to the Shigisan village and chanced upon this park, which I learnt later had some historical significance for the small village up the mountain. Nice sights, including the Tokkuritsuri suspension bridge.

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Anyone fancy a bungee jump (by Kaiun Bungy)? We would just watch others take their plunge.

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All Japanese groups.

Shigisan Temple Complex

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At the end of the bungee bridge (开连桥) from the village centre, is a big temple complex of Chogosonshi-ji – The temple with a big tiger sculpture. We took our time to walk up the steps and were rewarded with beautiful landscapes along the paths and spectacular views from the top (信貴山 大本山 成福院)

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Every shrine we passed, we paused to reflect and seek blessings. There weren’t any crowds so the feeling was very serene and peaceful.

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Cleansing with spring water. There were specific procedures to follow.

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A photo heavy post. It should be, no words can better describe these. Every photo tells a story.

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We drove through another scenic sunset route back to the city. We dropped by a supermarket about bought more ingredients for another sumptuous dinner well complimented with our harvest from the farm.

gobassky