Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Virtual Paintout in Japan

Joshin-etsu Expressway
Watercolour and crayon
©2011 Charlene Brown

When I first read that the Virtual Paintout is in Japan this month, I pinpointed Mt. Fuji and found a nearby lake with a blue road (indicating it had been ‘streetviewed’ by the Google cameras) along the shore, with an apparently unobstructed view of Mt Fuji. Sure enough, I found that you can drive for miles along the north shore of Lake Yamanaka with a perfect view of Mt. Fuji, sometimes with a perfect reflection as well, and almost painted this view.  But then, thinking that a lot of other people would be painting somewhere along this road (there were already two when I checked this morning) I set off north of Mt Fuji, until I found this spectacular bridge on the Joshin-etsu Expressway. This toll-road goes through some very rugged terrain including some long tunnels and this stretch is one of the few places where you get a great view in all directions.  Here’s a link to it.