Honestly I never thought I would love Karuizawa in Autumn. It's never been on my list of places to go to during this lovable season but when I landed in this place, it changed my mind.
I got notified that it's been a year since I went to Karuizawa with friends, to enjoy Autumn and to shop til we drop at the outlet mall nearby. We started our second and final day at Karuizawa in Kumoba Pond. I've never been to Karuizawa before so I didn't know what to expect in this pond. In my mind, I would like to skip it because it's just a pond. When we arrived, I was glad we went.
We arrived at almost 10 AM and there were many people already. Were we late? I think we arrived early but looking at the crowd felt like we were late to the party.
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I almost got disappointed when I saw how little the pond was near the entrance. It didn't stink but I thought it was dirty. Turns out that wasn't the pond. It's a mini pond, full of autumn leaves.
A few steps near the dirty, mini pond was the view of the actual pond. And oh boy, I uttered my words of astonishment out loud. Hopefully only my friends heard and understood it. I kept saying wow just because it would really leave you in awe.
Looking at this view, I could only think of peace. Luckily there was a bench made of wood in this area, so I was sitting silently, taking in all this view, while my friends were busy taking photos and some even did some bathroom breaks. Good for me because I could sit in the bench in peace, not until a few more tourists came and blocked my view. π
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According to the tourism website of Karuizawa, Kumoba Pond (ι²ε ΄ζ± ) is also referred to as the Swan Lake of Karuizawa, probably because of the swans you can see in the lake but we never saw swans when we were there. Were they too shy? π
When we're complete again, we tried to traverse the pond. It seemed like many people go to the left so that's our direction. We were then surprised we got into a somewhat forest-like path, which I enjoyed so much because I like this kind of vibe.
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The path was so narrow and there were many instances that I got interrupted taking photos, so I gave up and we moved on. We're left behind by my other friends already.
We reached the other side of the pond. It's not as beautiful as it was in the entrance. Here, it was more pond-like because of these pond weeds. I don't know actually what to call them, let's just say they're pond weeds. If you know, please tell me in the comments.
There's more greens in here than from where we came. I even saw the water gushing out. The other side of Kumoba Pond seemed like it's residential already because we saw some houses or maybe it's just a station for resting.
We decided to go back after a round of circling on the other side. We called the other side the other side divided a small wooden bridge. But before we went back, we noticed the path leading back seemed a great place to take photos so we took turns on our solo photos.
Actually at this point, I was already so tired because my boots was acting up. It was hard to walk and what we've been doing since we arrived in Karuizawa was to walk. But since it's photo session, I tried my best to feel and look okay. My grim face wasn't appropriate in a great place like this. Besides, my friends were so fun to be with, I mean almost everyone were taking photos of me and coaching on the background. LOL
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Going back, we enjoyed one more viewing of the pond, this time on the left side where we came from. It's also very beautiful here.
We were staying in a tree, and felt like we were having some kind of picnic, except we didn't.
They said Kumoba Pond can be enjoyed all year long. The mood of this place changes depending on the season. I wish to go on winter, just to see how it is. Will it get snowy and gloomy? Or in spring, will I be walking under cherry blossoms? It's something to look forward to.
I realized we spent more an hour or so, just walking around the pond. Was it that big? Well, it was but unless you go around it, you wouldn't know.
The ground here wasn't so covered in leaves but we didn't want to go home without doing this kind of shot.
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I would want to visit Karuizawa again, and go to Kumoba Pond to enjoy Autumn. But maybe the next time, I won't be wearing the same boots - just comfortable walking shoes. I wish though there was a coffee shop nearby so we could enjoy a good cup of coffee while admiring the view.
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Thanks for reading!
See you around! γγγγγΎγγοΌ
If you're interested to read my Karuizawa series, here's the list.
| Title & Link | Remarks |
|---|---|
| Shop Til My Wallet Can't Handle It In Karuizawa's Outlet Mall | Shopping |
| The Old Karuizawa Ginza Street - Not So Old Shopping District | Shopping district |
With love,
Some of my self photos are taken using my friend Ryan's phone. All other photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.