Oshino village, Yamanashi

In this episode of "journeys in japan", our reporter, Adeyto, visits Oshino Village in Yamanashi Prefecture, in the northern foothills of Mt. Fuji., Japan's highest mountain. Her guide is the well-known actor Hatsunori Hasegawa. He lives in Tokyo but he loves the natural environment around Oshino Village so much that he built a villa there seven years ago. He shows Adeyto some of the beautiful spots in the area, and introduces her to the local people. The region around Oshino Village is famous for its high quality spring water. Hasegawa takes Adeyto to a beautiful spring where water from Mt. Fuji bubbles up. They also visit a local couple who have a natural spring on their property and use the water every day. They also meet some amateur photographers whose hobby is taking photos of Mt. Fuji. They have many anecdotes to share about their efforts to capture the best shots of the mountain. On the second day of their trip, they are shown some special decorations for two annual events. To mark the traditional Girls' Day festival, families put up displays of beautiful dolls, while banners with impressive decorations are put up for the Boys' Day. Next, Hasegawa takes Adeyto to meet a local musician. Tatsuro Omata is often called "the musician of the woods" because he transforms bamboo, branches and even nuts into musical instruments. It's amazing to hear the simple, beautiful sounds that he can produce with his homemade instruments. Like many other welcoming people who live in Oshino Village, Omata is happy to live in this wonderful natural environment at the foot of Mt. Fuji.