Hello, I am Tomoya Watanabe （the University of Tsukuba/ College of international studies）.
This time, we will introduce the beautiful scenery along the Kokaigawa. You can enjoy Tsukuba that is a bit different from the research city.
The Kokaigawa is a long river of about 110 km that flows through the Kanto Plain, flowing on the west side of the city of Yoshinuma. It seems that rice cultivation has been flourishing along this river for a long time, and the rice here is used in the representative sake of Yoshinuma "Kiri Tsukuba". Also, fireflies of Japanese summer traditions inhabit this area, so you may be able to see if you are lucky in summer.
On the other hand, the Kokaigawa is usually a calm and beautiful river, but it is known as a "rough river" that causes floods during heavy rains. Certainly, when I visited, the river was very heavy, the flow was fast, and the stream was cloudy brown because of heavy rain the day before. And, to be a little out of the question, rivers in Japan are shorter and thinner than rivers in the world, and the flow is steep. Japan has few long and wide rivers like the Danube and Nile.
The scenery along this Kokai River is very beautiful. In particular, Mt. Tsukuba seen from here is very beautiful. Mount Tsukuba has a great feature in its shape, and its shape changes depending on the viewing angle. Why don't you look at the unusual Mt. Tsukuba? It can be seen very beautifully without obstruction.
Also, if you look in another direction, you can see the beautiful Nikko Mountains. Nikko Mountain Range is a mountain of volcanoes connected to Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture. The highest peak is Shirane Mountain. Especially at this time, the snow is covered and the air is clear, so you can see a very beautiful scenery.
Finally, it is said that the city and residents clean up the river every year in the Kokaigawa. Certainly, when I went, there was almost no garbage. I felt once again that the beautiful scenery was due to the efforts of the local residents who lived there. The signboard in the photo analyzes the garbage situation in detail.
As mentioned above, Yoshinuma has a wide range of original Japanese landscapes where you can relax. Please come and enjoy.