From Nagashima Spa Land, a flower park called NABANA NO SATO can be visited – bus ride only takes 15 minutes. But more than the flowers, the main reason why I wanted to visit this place was to see the winter illumination in the evening. Just looking at the pictures online, I was already fascinated with the thousands of lights of varying colors.
NOVEMBER 26, 2018
After a short walk in the first garden area, I saw the ticket booth then bought an entrance ticket (¥2,100), which included a 1000-yen coupon that I can use in the park’s shops. There was still a bit of sunlight when I entered so the autumn colors of the trees were still visible.
I was not sure if there was any order on how to explore the place but I saw this sign going to the Corridor of Light, which is a 200-meter long pathway surrounded by flower petal-shaped light bulbs. When you search for winter illumination in Nabana no Sato, most of the images that you will see show this pathway.
It was a few minutes before 5PM and apparently, the Corridor of Light would be open by 5PM. There were a lot of locals already waiting outside and one of the staff was entertaining them – games, hosting, etc. A minute before 5PM, he told us to participate in the countdown and rehearsed counting from 10 to 0 (in Japanese). When the staff allowed the people to enter, there was clapping and sounds of awe all around.
Even I was amazed with the amount of lights and the beautiful pathway it created. I could not help but ask for a picture here even if there was a big crowd everywhere.
Upon exiting the Corridor of Light and following the locals, there was a lights show with Mount Fuji as the main highlight. I am not sure what the story was about but it showed changing seasons and changing landscapes. This lasted for a few minutes and while I was not able to sit down, it was a sight worth the ngawit.
The next attraction I visited was the Lavender Road, which is similar to the Corridor of Light – pathway was a bit shorter and it was surrounded by leaf-shaped light bulbs instead. The colors of the light bulbs changed every few seconds.
I was back to the large garden area with pond, but this time, it showed The Great River of Light. It is said that the long lines of lights over the pond resemble shooting stars.
A little bit of walking again and I found myself in this place with trees reflected on the pond’s surface. The pond was so still that it gave a mirror-like effect.
Ironically, even if it was a flower park, I didn’t get to see much flowers because: 1) it was already in the evening and; 2) I was so focused on looking at the illuminated lights.
My last stop was the Sea of Light Clouds, which was the only place where I noticed a lot of flowers. It must be a popular place among couples because I saw a lot of them taking pictures under the arches.
After going around, I went back to bus stop outside Nabana no Sato. Going back to Nagoya was easy because the bus stopping there took me directly to Kintetsu-Nagoya. From Nagoya Station, I went to SEKAI NO YAMACHAN (SAKAE). Quick funny story: I only found out that there was a branch a few hundred meters near our hotel while walking back after this dinner. LOL.
Back to the food – the place is well-known for serving tebasaki (deep-fried chicken wings), one of Nagoya’s famous dishes. Ordered a plate of this and karaage with tartar sauce. No visit to an izakaya will be complete without me ordering Chu-hi. I was surprised though that their Chu-hi was at 9% so my allergy attacked later on.
Karaage tasted good but damn, the tebasaki took the crown for this dinner. It was peppery, salty, and highly addictive. It was no wonder why other tables had a lot of chicken bones already in their bucket. Ordered another plate because it was just that good!
This was the best way to end my last night in Japan before going back home to PH. Cannot wait to eat tebasaki again since I read that Sekai no Yamachan has branches in other Japan regions. 😊
Anne Goes to Places 