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Published: January 15th 2007
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Nabananosato is a tongue twister which takes a couple of days of saying to perfect and a few more to figure out. The information available over the internet is sketchy at the best, and there are more photos than details.
It is around 25 kms from Nagoya where I stay and takes around 31 minutes by bus. There is a train route also, taking the Kintetsu line from Nagoya Station, you need to get down at Kuawana Station and take a taxi or bus from there.
But bus is the most convenient as it drops you exactly in front of the place and picks you up again from the same. The cost is 850 Yen per head and there are an average of 2 buses every hour. Since it is situated near the Nagashima Water resort and run by the same company take the bus to the resort and get down at the first stop and you are in Nabananosato.
However I need to warn that the Meitetsu bus terminal is as confusing as they come in terms of accessiblity. You need to enter it from the 2nd floor of a departmental store and the signboards lead you
up to the store and stop. Then you stand amidst rows of goods wondering whether it is all a sick joke. Then somebody points out the the way to the toilets and the small passage besides it leading to the bus terminal.
What I would like to know is whether this is normal human travelling behaviour? Do people usually shop, crap and then catch a bus?
I went on the New Years eve, and I believe there was a New Year Party at the Nagashima resort. There were plenty of young girls and boys on the bus, giggling excitedly, doing their hair, and showing pictures of pop-stars to each other on their cell-phones.
I guess a few of these stars were performing that night for the party, so the girls giggling increased as we neared the destination. Japanese pop-groups have anglicized names which give crazy meanings. There is one called Morning Musume, which should mean Morning Daughter. I still have not figured out any sense behind this name. I mean why are they daughters only in the morning?
I guess the girls are under pressure to look beautiful all the time, so there were a few
who spent the whole journey doing their face, hair, nails etc. The Boys in contrast can get just get their hair dyed orange and manage with that for couple of months without even having to comb it.
Nabanano Sato in addition to being a tongue twister is difficult to understand.
Only the Sato part of the name is written in Kanji(Chinese characters, the rest is in Japanese alphabets)and means village. I guess the full name should mean the village of flowers.
When somebody said photographs speak louder than words, he must have been thinking of Nabanano Sato. Its main attractions are flowers which look beautiful in the day and lighted up building which look beautiful in the night.Other than that there is a mobile observation tower, restaurants and nothing else.
From the photographs on the internet, one can make out a Church type buildings and a Dutch village in between flower fields. It is just that in reality, but the Village and the Chapel have been built for the sake of showing them to visitors.
Nabananosato is an artificial village(I cant find another term for a village which is built not for living but for showing
to visitors) and flower gardens, both indoor and outdoor to match the seasons. In winters only the indoor gardens have flowers blooming in regulated temperature conditions.
The flower Garden is called the Begonia Garden with rows and rows of beautiful flowers . In summers the flowers grow in the outside gardens and I would guess that is the main attraction in that season.
As night comes the artificial village is lit up in various colours to give a beautiful look. The illumination is subtle in most places, only the light tunnels have a garish look about them. Cold Winter nights don’t discourage people from coming in droves.
Since it was also a New Year’s eve the crowd must have been more than usual.
But being, Japanese people are orderly and you can roam in and out of crowded areas without feeling hassled.
I suspect it is not a great attraction for the foreign tourists as other than our group I cold see only a few Brazilians with Japanese wives, girlfriends etc roaming around the place.
There is a mobile observation platform which gives an elevated view of the area.
However it is closed between 4 and
5 PM. In my opinion illuminations don’t look too good from high up so I gave that ride a skip and concentrated on getting some good night photographs. However you need a tripod for a Night Scenery and I did not carry one, so I had to shoot most photos in the Auto Mode(I did borrow a tripod from my friend for a couple of minutes and managed a few shots)
If you like quiet and beauty, then this is the place. But if you want excitement them the Nagashima Resort would be the place especially on a New Years Eve Night.
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Shubha
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Beautifully written
Partha, you are an excellent writer.......... artistic explanation,creative writing and great observations...... Will surely keep checking back for new blogs!!