Friday, 29 Mar 2024

EXPLORE FUSHIMI’S SAKE DISTRICT WITH ROGAINING GAME

EXPLORE FUSHIMI’S SAKE DISTRICT WITH ROGAINING GAME

 

By Dewi Dimyati

 

Explore the sake district and samurai place while you collect points in checkpoints hunt with your group mates, it sounds interesting game to play with your friends or family. Forget the gym on the weekend or boring tour when you visit Fushimi since there is Fushimi Rogaining on March 11.

What is Rogaining?

Many of you might not familiar with rogaining. Rogaining is a cross-country navigation sport to visit the checkpoints as much as we can within a set time limit. Rogaining originally from Australia, 30 years ago a group of friends Rod, Gail, and Neil Phillips created hiking competition with checkpoints and time set a limit for all participants. These days, rogaining has international competition and plays in more than 20 countries including Japan. This sports game consists of 2 to 4 members and each team get a map with the checkpoints. Rogaining can be held in the country side, mountainous area, city environment or island. For the international event, the duration of rogaining can be up to 6 hours until a couple of days. However, in Fushimi regaining, we only play for 2 hours from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Let the game begin!

At the beginning of the game, all participants gather in the meeting point to hear the instruction and get the guidebook.  The guidebook consists of a map and the checkpoint pictures. The checkpoints categorized into four groups colors. Each color has different point such as orange for 60 points, blue for 30 points, pink for 20 points and green for 10 points. Every team group must take pictures of all the checkpoints they visit. At the end of the game, all pictures of the checkpoints will count and the winner determines by the highest score. The strategies to win this game are collecting the highest point of the checkpoints and choose the shortest distance. Rogaining is long distance sports game, all team members must prepare their own meal or drink and wear comfortable shoes or clothes during the game.

 

 Explore Fushimi’s Sake District

When participants start the game, they will receive the guidebook with map start from Chusojima area. Most of the people know Chusojima is a transit place from Kyoto to Osaka. However, not all of us know that Chusojima has many interesting sites to visit. Rogaining game allows participants explore the new place for them and learn the local culture on the checkpoints.

1.The Teradaya Inn

The meeting point of Fushimi Rodaging was in front of the Teradaya inn. In the 19th century, water transportation commonly used to connect Kyoto and Osaka. Many people stay overnight in Fushimi during their journey. Today, the Teradaya inn converts to be a museum to dedicate their famous guests, Sakamoto Ryoma. Sakamoto Ryoma is a legendary samurai in the Bakumatsu Period in the 1860s that played a great role in the restoration of Japan. Sakamoto had already survived from an assassination attempt at the Teradaya Inn with a help from his future wife Narasaki Ryo.

2.The Gekkeikan Okura Kinenkan

Visiting Fushimi’s sake district never been complete without coming to the Gekkeikan Okura Kinenkan. This famous sake brewery built in 1909 as a leading sake brewer of the oldest family-owned company in Japan. The museum sake of the Gekkeikan Okura started openly in 1982 to display each stage of the process on making sake, tools and the artifacts of sake making, the variant of sake products, traditional sake brewery and the history of the sake company. At the end of visiting the museum, the visitors can taste the sake in the lobby of the museum. The admission fee for the museum is 300 yen and open every day except in Obon and New Year.

3. Kizakura Kappa Country

Another large sake brewery worth visit in Fushimi area is Kizakura Kappa Country. This sake brewery includes museum, souvenir shop, restaurant, bar, an art gallery about the kappa. Kappa is a mystical creature with mix humanoid turtle shape. The museum of kizakura kappa is free admission fee and open every day except in New Year. Beside sake, kizakura kappa also produces craft beers and cosmetics.

4.Gokonomiya Shrine

Gokonomiya shrine is famous for its spring water and prayer for safe childbirth. Due to its fresh sweet smell of spring water in this shrine, the emperor Seiwa changed the shrine name from   Mimuro to Gokonomiya with meaning the aromatic water. The local people believe the water can cure the disease and protective qualities. Fushimi area is famous for its pure spring water, therefore many sake breweries built nearby the shrine due to the good quality spring water. Inside the shrine, you may see the gokonomiya white horse, woodcarvings in the gate transferred from Fushimi castle, sake vessels, Kobori Enshū Rock Garden behind the shrine office. The admission to this shrine is free and open whole year.

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