* You Can't Fly with Only One Wing
Transportation/Geography/Sightseeing/Museums/ Products/ Traditional recipe
North Otari/ Center Otari/ South Otari Spas Skigrounds Other Outdoor Activities Acknowlegement
Dear Friends,
Welcome to Otari! We have prepared this web
site to give you a better understanding of
the sights, sounds and people of our village
Otari. We sincerely hope that this information
will make your stay more meaningful and enjoyable.
Thank you for visiting and I hope you will
enjoy your stay with us.
English conversation group Wing
*
You Can't Fly with Only One Wing
Transportation/Geography/Sightseeing/Museums/ Products/ Traditional recipe
North Otari/ Center Otari/ South Otari Spas Skigrounds Other Outdoor Activities Acknowlegement
TRANSPORTATION
By express to Otari
Tokyo----Nagano-( bus )-Otari 3 hours
Tokyo -------Minami Otari. 4 hours.
Nagoya----------------Minami Otari 4 hours.
Osaka.-----------------Minami Otari 5 hours
Matsumoto-------------Minami Otari 1+1/2
hours
By air to Matsumoto
Osaka---------------Matsumoto 1 hour
By car or bus
Tokyo------------Otari. 4 hours
Nagoya-----------Otari. 4 hours
Osaka------------Otari. 6 hours
Matsumoto--------Otari 1+1/2 hours
Nagano-----------Otari 1+1/4 hours
Otari is located in the northwestern part
of Nagano Prefecture.To the north is Itoigawa
city, to the east is Myoukoukogen town; both
in Niigata prefecture.Hakuba village is directly
south of Otari. To the west is Toyama prefecture.
Otari has been developing as a full season
resort area,88% of which is covered with
green forest.The Hime river makes up the
lowest point of Otari. Hime means "princes".
Although against the name, it is very violence
when a heavy rain.
The river originates in Hakuba and flows
through Otari to the Japan Sea. Both sides
of the river there are a lot of mountains
those heights are 1600`2800 meters above
sea level. The beautiful river valley is
narrow and steep, and it flows very fast.
The Hime river flows along an Earthquake
Fault line( Fossa Magna )-It parts the structure
of geological features in East and West.
Due to this Fault line, the character of
the landscape is very different an opposite
sides of the river.
East of the river, the soil is very rich
but the terrain is very steep which causes
occasional landslides. West of the river,
the soil is made up of volcanic sand, and
not so rich.This area is not so steep but
is very beautiful.
The western slopes of the North Alps range
as a designated as a quasi- national park,
providing natural beauty all the year round.
Visitors will be surprised by the panorama
of the mountains of Ushiro Tateyama, some
as high as 3000 meters.
Mt. Hakuba is famous for the Daisekkei Glacier(
Grand Snowy Gorge) and its alpine flowers.
In this village there are two national parks.
So,to speak here is a treasure house of beautiful
scenery and wild plants
In winter we have a heavy snowfall.
There are three big ski grounds and many
hot springs. .Tourism is the important industry
of Otari. Many tourists visit Otari year
round to enjoy skiing, mountain climbing,
hiking, sight seeing and nature. Otari is
an active, outdoors-oriented community. Please
preserve the environment by keeping it clean
and undisturbed.
Location: East longtitude 13754'40'' North
latitude 3646'38''
Altitude: 526 M ( 1725 ft.) above sea level
Area: 267.91 km²( 104.5 sq.miles)
Circumference: 79.4 km ( 127 miles)
Population: ( as of September1 st ,2000)
4035
Number of Families : 1435
Rest, relax and experience the natural setting
of Otari. Enjoy some time away from city
anxiety and noise. Take the time to renew
your relationship with nature. " Holiday
in Otari" are something to be looked
forward to. Explore the hiking trails, take
a bath in the natural hot springs or just relax in one of the resorts. It
will not be hard to choose one of the many
activities to match your desire of the moment.
It is a quiet and attractive hot spring resort
located deep in the mountains, surrounded
by the beauty of unexplored nature.
There are also traces of history remaining
in the village. Bathe in the hot springs,
refreshing yourself while enjoying the atmosphere
of Otari to your heart's content.
In olden times, salt was a very valuable resource and it was carried from the Japan Sea to Matsumoto along the historic Chikuni Kaido. Here and there along this road are stone Buddhas that represent traditional Japanese religious beliefs. Development in recent years has tended to erase many vestiges of former times, but Otari Village is working to restore and preserve its remaining treasures.
The steep mountains to the west of Otari are said to be the Switzerland of Japan and Mt.Amakazari ( North east of Otari ) is popular as one of the 100 famous mountains of Japan. They are beautiful in all season.
In the vicinity of the village there are
a number of hiking trails, among them Tsugaike
Nature Park is famous for the skunk cabbage
and other marshland plants. There are also
fields of dog tooth violets and other rare
and beautiful plants and animals. Each year
between July and October many mountaineers
hike Mt. Hakuba, Mt.Amakazari and so on.
If you would like to climb Mt. Hakuba, you
can get the starting point by bus and a 20
minutes hike brings you to Daisekkei Glacier
where are permanent snow field is to be seen.
There is a hut system close to the summit
of each mountain to accommodate climbers
. Rare , precious highland plants and animals
are found in the region, which is now called
Chubu National Park.
Otari Village Museum of History" Kyodokan"
If you want to experience themanners, customs
and history of Otari, we suggest you to go
to Kyodokan where collects folklore materials.
This concise and insightful museum will help
you get a glimpse of the joy and sadness
of daily life as well as of indigenous culture
of Otari people.
It stands along the route 148 and about five
minutes walk from Minami Otari station.
It was built under " Irimoya style" with thatched roof. At first
it was a private house in the early years
of the Meiji era ( 1868-1912), after that
it was used as a public office for long years,
and now it was repaired to be a museum.
The highlight of the display is a footprint
fossil of Dinosaur.
It was found in 1994 by Koji Hatakeyama-a
geologist of Nagano city museum-at the well-known
Kuruma Stratum.
A geologist says the footprints left about
a hundred and ninety million years ago. He
also connects this Dinosaur would be a small
sized carnivorous of three meters long.
Another exhibitions are Jomon wares ( Straw rope pattern pottery ) , Stone
implements, Farming tools ( agricultural
instruments), Sericulture tools, Brewing
tools and so on.
You can imagine( catch a glimpse of ) old
day's life from a Fire place" Irori ", Living necessities and Clothes.
There are nine corners for display .
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