Yamba Dam

A part of the joy of traveling is meeting new things, which you did not expect. I met a beautiful landscape while I was driving on my way to Hakuba, Nagano for the J2 league paragliding competition.

It was a day before the competition was held. I had a photoshoot with a new client at Takasaki, Gunma. It was around 12 o’clock when I finished shooting. My car navigator says it takes around 3 hours to get to Hakuba. At first, I thought I can make a practice flight if I get a hurry, so I kinda rushed to drive to Hakuba. I was diving fast, but not too fast, I mean I was driving safely fast. Thinking that I should take a short stop at a convenience store to buy some onigiri and green tea and eat it while driving to save time.

However, all of my plans changed right after I got out of a long tunnel. A huge, beautiful bridge showed up and the view from the bridge was really beautiful. The nice blue color of the sky and river, unique terrain, some leaves are turned autumn color and even a waterfall!! My mind was driving to take those photos. I wavered between paragliding practice and taking photos. I could not make the decision for a while. Yes, It always happens. Great weather for taking photos is also a great day to fly.

The decision was made in an unexpected but simple way. At the end of the bridge, I found a ”Michi no Eki”, the roadside station. Perfect spot to park my car. So I parked the car and went out with my camera.
Here are some photos.

After the shooting, I went to the roadside station, to take a break.  At the station, I asked the staff about the history of this place.

It is called "Yamba Dam". Its history is very unique. This Dam is completed 2 years ago, but the plan was held 68 years ago. The biggest reason for the long-term plan was the opposition movement. The dam plan includes about 340 households that will be submergence and forced to move. It is easy to imagine that this kind of problem needs a long time to solve. Fortunately, looks like the opposition movement revises the course of the plan, trying to save tourism resources as much as possible, and give preferential treatment to people who were forced to move their house. Also building new facilities like roadside station. Ironic thing is that those movements featured in TV shows helped to make this place famous. Also, Yamba dam is surrounded by very famous tourist areas like Karuizawa, Kusatsu, and Mt.Haruna.

At the roadside station, there were a lot of people stopped by despite a weekday. I think those factors made Yamba dam famous. The roadside station staff told me that most of the people who live here are happy with the result, which is great.

I wished I could have lunch at the station, but it was crowded. So I bought corn-taste ice cream as a break snack insted and left the place.

For me, it was an unforeseen event to be at Yamba Dam, but that is how the journey works and the fun part of it.
Can’t wait for the next journey.