Opening soon!

Construction of the Shibukawa-Nishi Bypass of the Joshin Expressway is underway just to the west of my house.
The Joshin Expressway is a high-standard road spanning approximately 83 km, connecting the Kan-Etsu Expressway's Shibukawa-Ikaho Interchange in Shibukawa City, Gunma Prefecture, to the Joshin-Etsu Expressway on the Nagano Prefecture side.

The area around my house is nearly complete.
By the way, I took this photo from the newly developed frontage road, but it looks just as good as the main road. Looking at it this way, it appears to be at the same height, but in reality, it runs about 50 meters below the frontage road.

I took this on New Year's Day, and the mountain visible in the distance in front is Mount Komochi.
On the left side of the mountain's base, there is also the Gunma Astronomical Observatory.
The high-standard road winds along the base of this mountain and continues to the left.

This frontage road has quite a few ups and downs, but as expected, there was little traffic on New Year's Day, and I only occasionally met people like me out for a walk. It is very quiet and provides just the right amount of exercise, making it perfect for walking.

This is a place on this high-standard road that I really like.
What do I like about it? I just can't get enough of this curved look!
And the feeling of looking down from above is also irresistible.

Nearby is the Shibukawa Hachimangu Shrine.
It has a long history, said to have been founded in the Kamakura period.
The main hall in the back is designated as a Prefectural Important Cultural Property.

At this time (7:30 AM), as you can see, there were few people, but when I drove by around noon, there was a line of people extending about 10 meters outside the shrine building.
The early bird catches the worm!

There was a woman praying intently in front of it.
I also offered my prayers with two bows, two claps, and one bow, asking for another good year.
I finished my prayer.