One day trip to Onogame

Onogame is a huge rock made of dolerite comprised of one rock from the shoreline to its peak.

It’s 167m above sea level.

The name of “kame/game” is derived from “kami” which means God, and represent “Kamui” which is a sacred island in the Ainu language.

The stone tower of Senpo Temple is located on the top has been worshipped as a dragon god who protected safe passage of ships.

In early summer, the vast coastal grassland is covered in Tobishima Kanzo, which is Hemerocallis middendorffii var.exaltata.

The Tobishima Kanzo is a herbaceous perennial of the lily family, and only found on the coast of the Sea of Japan.

They can grow up to 1m in heright.

The flowers bloom and wilt in 1 day, but another ones bloom soon, so total flowering time is pretty long.

It’s called “Yorame/egg-laden fish ” in Sado dialect, and considered a flower that heralds the fishing season for spawning sea breams.

The local people have worked on preserving this flowers.

Onogame in June

I came here at the beginning of June, and local people said that it came into bloom in 10days.

If you come from Aikawa area, you can see a large rock even from a distance.

There are lots of steep and narrow slopes, so please drive slowly if you come here by car.

Especially, the one called “Z-slope” is very steep, so go up slowly.

The local “Kanzo Festival” is held on 2nd Sun in June, and you can see local dance and Taiko there.

When I arrived there, it’s 8A.M. and almost nobody there, and I could see a carpet of beautiful orange flowers

There was a gateway at the entrance to a Shinto shrine at the entrance of sacred rock.

The flowers are running riot, and they smelled sweet.

They turn toward the sun and get energy from it, so I felt they gave me some energy, too.

If you walk along the path, and the Sea of Japan will appear in front of your eyes.

The contrast of blue of the sea and orange of the flowers are just magnificent.

You can see these wild flowers, too.

Can you see a path all up to the peak on Onogame?

You can go up there and picturesque scenery will wait for you up there. 😉

At the end of a path around flower field, you can see flowers in the shade.

It seems that they a little taller than the one under the sun.

And they have more sweet scent and feel good here.

A little rest place around Onogame

It’s very hot from Jun to Oct in this area.

If you want to take a rest and have something to drink, you can go to “Onogame lodge”.

One day trip to Futatsugame

You can have drinks as well as some snacks and lunch there.

I got an ice cream(350yen tax included) , and had it enjoying the view of Onogame.

On your way back to Aikawa, you can see beautiful scenery, too.

Also, “Ozare Falls” on your left, and you might be able to see rainbow if you are lucky.