2018/07/21-07/22 Yumi Honda + Simeng Huang + Noriko Higashi
This tour was planned to make up for last year’s U-turn over Hachijo-jima. We took a chartered bus from Tokyo to Achi Village in Nagano Prefecture, which has been selected as the village with the most beautiful starry skies in Japan. A total of 15 participants enjoyed the summer stars and sun.
Waiting to see the stars at Heaven’s Sonohara
■The Starry Sky as a Tourist Resource
Even on a bright night with strong moonlight, the number of stars was completely different from what you would see in a city 
People lying down on the mountaintop, waiting 
A guided commentary on the stars using a laser pointer 
Tsumago-juku, the 42nd post town on the Nakasendo trail. A sight unique to the mountains: a roof thatched with wood and held down with stones 
The waki-honjin’s irori-bata and high windows. The seat for the head of the household is in the foreground 
A nostalgic streetscape
This “Achi Village Starry Sky Tour” was devised as a way to attract tourists back to Hirugami Onsen—which had been popular until the time of the Aichi Expo—by using the ski resort during the summer. While reading an interesting article on the bus, we, the Lighting Detectives members, learned that the event, which was started by villagers about five years ago, has now become a year-round attraction. With that in mind, we headed from Tokyo to the western part of Nagano Prefecture.
During the day, we went rafting on the Tenryu River, enjoyed a hot spring and dinner, and after a few drinks, we set off for the main event: stargazing. The venue was the “Heaven’s Sonohara” ski slope, which is surrounded by mountains. We boarded a gondola from a station with blue lighting that gave it a space-station feel. The gondola’s lights were turned off, and we traveled 2.5 km up to the mountaintop in pitch-black forest for about 15 minutes. Since we were farther from town than we expected, the city lights gradually faded away.
When we arrived at the mountaintop, many people had already found a spot on the grass. The Lighting Detectives members also lay down on the gentle slope and got ready, waiting for the lights to go out. At 10:15 p.m., an announcement by the staff prompted everyone to close their eyes and count down together. (The floodlights were turned off.) When we opened our eyes, a sky full of tiny stars spread out before us, and gasps of awe arose from everywhere. The starlight overlapped with a sense of depth, and combined with the moonlight, the entire night sky appeared faintly bright. It was a bright moonlit night, just past the first quarter, and although there was occasional night fog, the sight of the small stars spreading overhead was mesmerizing. What seemed to be a white band of fog or thin clouds was the Milky Way. Among the many visible stars, the brightest ones belonged to famous constellations. We were also able to see the summer constellations, including Cygnus. Because the sky itself was bright, the light from the stars and moon was sufficient for walking without any inconvenience. However, the illuminance meter reading was 0.02lx, which is significantly lower than the 0.2lx of a full moon.
We were introduced to constellations like the Summer Triangle using a laser pointer. We spent a fleeting 15 minutes gazing at the starry sky while listening to music. We wanted to keep looking, but the floodlights were turned back on and the event came to a close. We descended after 11 p.m., a time which could be considered a late-night tour, yet over 1,500 people of all ages had gathered in search of the starry sky.
The Meiji Restoration was only 150 years ago, and thinking that before then, a starry sky like this would have been a normal sight even in a bustling town, I couldn’t help but feel a bit envious. While there are many nightscape spots in various locations, I believe it would be difficult to create new starry sky viewing spots. To prevent such places from disappearing, I want to be more mindful of how I use light.
■Old-World Streets and Light
The next day, we took a walk through Tsumago-juku, a post town on the Nakasendo trail. We were given a detailed tour by a humorous guide who taught us about the history of the houses and the features of the buildings. Tsumago-juku is the first district in Japan to be designated a “Preservation District for Groups of Important Traditional Buildings.” Although the houses look similar at first glance, there were many interesting details, such as differences in floor height and front gardens depending on the era they were built, and roads that were unnaturally curved to defend against enemies.
The rustic streets in the mountains suited the clear summer sky. Despite looking like a peaceful town, there were many rules and customs for the lord of the domain, which spoke to the strict class hierarchy of the time. Inside the waki-honjin (secondary lodging for a lord), which we toured, we saw firsthand the strictness of the household traditions. The seating position at the irori-bata (hearthside) was determined by the family’s hierarchy, such as parent and child, male and female, and mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
We were also very impressed by how the daylight was brought into the traditional Japanese house. From autumn to winter, the light was said to pour in like a shower from the high windows in front of the parlor, reaching the hearth only on the winter solstice. We were shown photos, and the light beams were clearly visible through the smoke from the hearth, which looked very mystical.
Finally, in Akasawa Natural Recreation Forest, we took a trolley train through a natural forest of Kiso hinoki (Japanese cypress) and enjoyed a walk through the forest with beautiful sunlight filtering through the leaves and the scent of cypress in the air.
Three years ago, we experienced the power of fire and the enthusiasm of the people at a fire festival. This time, our tour was more focused on nature and stimulated our five senses with river rafting, stargazing, a history tour, and a forest walk. We hope to be able to go on another tour with the members in search of various kinds of light. You can also see the starry sky photos on our Instagram, as they were difficult to see in the online feed. Please be sure to check them out. (Yumi Honda, Simeng Huang, Noriko Higashi)
Rafting on the Tenryu River. Although the sun was strong, the air was cool and refreshing near the water
Forest bathing in the Akasawa Recreation Forest, where you can feel the negative ions!
The Lighting Detectives members, feeling like children again
