A Prefecture that isn't Okinawa

Yamanashi Prefecture—I can see its mountains when I look out my west-facing windows, and one of those mountains is the fabled Mount Fuji.

Mount Fuji stands alone. In the background are the Japan Alps. On the flat places between the various mountains are vineyards the equal of anything Italy, California—even NJ—have to offer. Yamanashi is prize winning wine country and is as famous for incredibly luscious peaches as it is for grapes. In early spring, the peach blossoms are so thick it looks like the land has been covered with a hot pink carpet.

The one thing Yamanashi does not have is a beach. Although Japan is an island country, and if you have all day you can drive across it from sea to shining sea, Yamanashi is landlocked. And that is the key to its place in the nation building history of Japan.

More on that later. For now, remember this name—Takeda Shingen.