Blog | Japanese Countryside Travel Notes

2022-09-182022-09-22

Kanto Festival (Akita Prefecture)

Akita is a rice-produching region. Kanto lanterns shining in the night sky represent a bountiful harvest of rice in coming Autumn and praying for an end of epidemics like that Gion Festival in Kyoto prays. It is interesting that many festivals both in Japan and abroad, now and in the past, are held to pray for the warding off of epidemics.

akita kanto1 ready

akita kanto8 music

akita kanto4

akita kanto3 pose

akita kanto2

The kanto hand over the pillars to the next person while adding a piece of pillars, showing an exquisitely balanced pose each time. The completed kanto reaches 12 meters high and weighs 50 kilograms, and the pillars are largely bent. “The boughs that bear most hang lowest.” This really embodies the proverb.

akita kanto7 a child who take out something decoration when the pose is decided

If you want to see Kanto at night, you should reserve a seat in the front row of the median on the main street. It is so powerful that the lanterns collapsing in front of you.

Discover a genius boy mixed with adults! As soon as he strikes an exquisitely balanced pose, he pulls out various projectiles such as fans from his chest and enjoys everyone around him.

During the daytime, the festival holds competition to compete in techniques to support the Kanto in various positions(one hand, forehead, sholder, waist !). Even at night, you should look down, not up.

akita competition2 judge

akita competition9 next players waiting

akita competition3 penalty if the foot is out of circle

akita competition4 experts only move their heels

akita competition6

akita competition7 change position each 30sec

akita competition5

akita competition10

akita competition8 change music also each 30sec

akita competition11 curve max

akita competition12 at least break

Let me briefly explain the rules. use only one hand. Do not go beyond the 6m diameter circle. Change technique according to the signal (every 30 seconds). If playing an instrument, change the tune. In my opinion, good athletes keep their balance by slightly shifting their heels. If you can’t afford to stay overnight in Akita, I recommend you watching the daytime competition.

akita competition1 lotus flower — Lotus flower (Junsai is one of familly) around Akita Castle

Detour

Make sure you have something to eat in advance for a long enjoying. There is a market near the station where you can eat rock oysters from the Oga Peninsula. You can also choose Akita’s famous sake from the list pasted on all over the wall. The fact that “junsai” can be eaten with sake is proof that the water is delicious. “Inaniwa udon” (Japanese noodles), which is eaten in the middle of summer, cools down to the core and releases the summer heat.

akita market3

akita market1 rock oyster

akita market2 rock oyster

akita stall1 sakes offered here

akita stall2 sake

akita stall3 sake

akita stall4 menu1

akita stall5 menu2

akita stall7 menu4 seri salade

akita stall6 menu3 junsai

akita stall8 menu5 beef tendon soup

akita competition13 nudle cold to the core

2022-09-082022-09-08

Hachinohe-Sansha Festival (Aomori Prefecture)

Stages with dolls in gorgeous costumes protrude in all directions(10m height, 8m width) from the decorated floats, and ancient stories unfold on it. A long time ago, inspired by the movie “Truck Guy”, trucks decorated with lights transported supplies throughout Japan late at night.　 It seems to have originated in Hachinohe. If you are fun to watch NHK new year’s eve red-and-white singing contest program, the mechanism could remind you of the famous singer, Sachiko Kobayashi. Anyway, you are overwhelmed by its gorgeousness.

hacchi parade1 treasure boat

hacchi parade2 carp on the waterfall

hacchi parade6 1

hacchi parade4

hacchi parade3 Yang Guifei (the Best)

hacchi parade6 2

hacchi parade6 3

hacchi parade6 dojouji

hacchi parade8

hacchi parade7

hacchi parade11 demon extermination

hacchi parade9

hacchi parade10

hacchi parade12

hacchi parade13

hacchi parade14 Taro Urashima and princess

hacchi parade15 1

hacchi parade15 umihiko and yamahiko

hacchi parade16 happy new year

Packed decration float during the day on the road

I passed by the folded float during the day, and was impressed by how compact it was folded.

hacchi preparade2

hacchi preparade3

hacchi preparade4

hacchi preparade5

Cavalry battle similar to polo in Chojasan-Shinra-Shrine

Yabusame can be seen anywhere in Japan, but cavalry battles can only be seen here. A horse divided into red and white throws its own ball into the goal while disturbing the opponent’s ball insertion.　It’s hard to reach the goal even if there are no obstacles.　Prizes are given to the winners by the descendants of the Nanbu clan lords.

hacchi cavalry1

hacchi cavalry2 concentrate his own color ball

hacchi cavalry3 goal

hacchi cavalry4

hacchi cavalry5

hacchi cavalry6

hacchi cavalry8

hacchi cavalry9

hacchi cavalry10

hacchi cavalry11

hacchi cavalry12

hacchi cavalry13

hacchi cavalry14 prize

hacchi cavalry15 tired~ — hacchi cavalry15 tired…..tired…..tired…..

The Best Detour

The northern Tohoku region was a large living area during the Jomon period (the era when people changed from hunting to sedentary life). Gassho, meaning to join hands, clay figurine was excavated in Hachinohe. This is the only clay figurine with the spiritual meaning of gassho.

hacchi clay figurine2 national tresure

hacchi clay figurine3 national teue mark

hacchi clay figurine1

Goats are cleaners around the museum

Dinner of mackerel dishes and market for breakfast

hacchi mackerel dishes1

hacchi mackerel dishes2

hacchi mackerel dishes3

hacchi mackerel dishes4

hacchi hauchi

hacchi stall

hacchi market1 sun rise

hacchi market2 st.Mutsuminato

hacchi market3 300yen breakfast

hacchi market4

hacchi market5 lunch box on express

2022-09-062022-09-06

Chagu-ChaguｰUmakko (Iwate Prefecture)

It takes place on 2nd Saturday of June. Iwate, especially the north of it, named ‘Nambu’ has been a horse production ares. A pair of sculpture in front of shrines as a guardian ae sometimes changed from dogs normally to horces. Humen and horses live together under the same roof in the countryside. Humen pray their health and safe and the road of pray had became the parade from countryside(Takizawa village) to Morioka city of more than 100 horses dressing up which are nurtured with care in each house.

*)It takes almost half day on foot(14km) when you follow the parade, so it is a good idea to stay ahead of the curve using trains(st.Aoyama,etc). The parade takes breaks on the way several times and then nursing baby horses get milk from their mothers.

At last, poud parade groups marches through Morioka city and Sansa Dancing welcomes them early in advance the festival season without controling their impulse.

2022-04-042022-04-04

Visiting One Symbolic Cherry Blossom Tree in each village

Local people have grown up one symbolic cherry tree in each village, especially along with the central corridor of Fukushima prefecture. That tree is exactly the support of the heart and guardian deity of the region. And it is usual that these cherry trees have a parent-child-grandcild relationshiping each other. When season in full bloom comes, local people in the village make hospitality with local ingredients under the tree to enjoy in Spring with each other.

Dumplings rather than Flowers in Nakajima

1)Cherry tree in Nakajima has a Jizo sculpture where people pray fo long life of their children. You can see the mountains with snow on the top over the cherry blossom tree.

Cherry Tree in Nakajima

Frog Egg in Paddy Field

2)Weeping cherry tree in the old batllefield has clear pink of cherry blossoms over yellow carpet of rape flowers.

Weeping Cherry Tree on the old Battlefield

3)Waterfall cherry tree in Miharu, at which you have to have a look once before you die, is a huge creature with guardian deity inside.

Waterfall Cherry in Miharu1

Waterfall Cherry in Miharu2

Waterfall Cherry in Miharu4

The tree “2” is a daughter and the tree “1” is a grandchild of the tree “3” ! Local people are also connected through the tree generation.

Snow Mountain over Cherry Blossom Heaven1 — Go back to Itinerary

2022-04-032022-04-04

Cherry Blossom Heaven all over the mountains

It’s just Eden or Heaven fulfilled by cherry blssoms and other spring flowers. This park is named by Hanamiyama Park, meaning the mountain park where people have a look at flowers reading it like a Japanese letter. But to be surprised, these mountains are private garden farms and opened to the public with friendly heart.

All of the mountains are fulfilled by cherry and other blossoms and you can find all kinds of colors in Spring.

Stop by shops with natural foods and prodcts and amuse yourself. Big bottle of Hyakkamitsu, named from 100 sorts of flowers’ honey, which is collected by Japanese small bees, has been offering pure, natural sweat taste more than 3years in my kitchen.

Snow Mountain over Cherry Blossom Heaven2

Gallery (click photos)

Weeping Cherry Tree

Cherry Blossom Heaven1

Cherry Blossom Heaven2

Cherry Blossom Heaven4

Walking Road3

Walking Road4

Walking Road5

Walking Road6

Mt.Fuji in Fukushima

2021-11-032022-01-03

Nametsu Waterfall like a water slider, stopping by fresh soba festival

Nametsu Otaki Waterfall is a two-tiered waterfall that covers a wide river width (30m), but the remarkable feature is the smooth surface of tuff under the waterfall. So I intuitively thought it would be interesting if this was a water slider. Another idea is to pour somen (noodle) from the top of waterfall and scoop it up at the bottom of waterfall. It would be a fun for cool noodle !
Shichikashuku town wouldn’t adopt these ideas……..

shichigasyuku road soba festival — shichikashuku road soba festival

There are a lot of soba restaurants along Shichikashuku Highroad connected to Takahata town, Yamagata where Takahata winery is located. In this season we can eat fresh buckwheat noodles by grinding freshly picked soba with a stone mill. Especially you can try some remarkable restaurants at the same time at cheap price during soba festival.

2021-11-022021-10-30

Historical Warehouses in Murata Town

Once upon a time, safflower was a big trade product for lipsticks and dyes. Yamagata was famous as a production center, and the decoration of the cap of the Hanagasa Ondo (dance) is safflower. However, the southern part of Miyagi Prefecture was also a safflower production area, and Murata Town became a trading center. Then the merchant who made the fortune set up the warehouse. Historical warehouses remain miraculously because the main railway and road has passed another route.

One of these warehouses is now my favorite sake brewery. It was a pity that the day I visited to buy something it was close.

Detour (Togatta Hot Spring overlooking Mt.Zao)

There are many really good hot springs around Mt.Zao, Togatta, Aone, Gaga, etc. You can feel free to use the public bath to ease the fatigue of your trip.

2021-10-312021-10-31

Yokokawa Valley with calm and peaceful Chourou Lake was a true discovery !

Ordinary people will go to Miyagi Zao Fox Village near here, but countryside lovers can’t pass Yokokawa Valley and Chourou Lake which are located on the foot of Mt.Zao.

The name of Zao comes from the fact that Zao Gongen, mountain religion, was separated from the Kinpusenji Temple in Yoshino, Nara, where cherry blossoms bloom all over the mountain. Before then, a part of the predecessor of this Zao name was called Mt. Fubousan, now which can be seen well from Yokokawa Valley and Chourou Lake. It is a mountain that has appeared in Japanese classics, and it means a mountain that you never forget in literary.

The idyllic view of Chourou Lake and the view of Mt. Fubousan from the longest suspension bridge in Tohoku will be a memory you will never forget.

Gallery (click photos)

yokokawa valley suspension bridge

yokokawa valley and mt.fubou

yokokawa valley damm lake

chourou lake2

yokokawa valley jizo

chourou lake3

2021-10-302021-10-29

Take a walk from the top to the bottom of Akiu Otaki Big Waterfall

As you enter the temple next to the Botanical Garden, you will find a place overlooking the famous Akiu Otaki Big Waterfall. Before that, there is something to write down. There is a store selling various herbs at the entrance. Among them was a tree of eye drops found in the real botanical picture book in the garden. ‘Tree of eye drops’ is just the name of tree. When the bark of the tree was boiled, it turned into a pink liquid, and drinking it helped with eye fatigue. I felt a bit bitter but healthy.

A trail extends to the bottom of the waterfall. The bottom of the waterfall was wider than I expected. I’ve come a long time ago, but at that time I had a narrower memory, but has it collapsed?
As the waterfall runs down east, if you try to take a picture, it will be backlight or strong shade unless it is early in the morning.

2021-10-262021-10-26

Akiu Botanical Garden only where delicate waterfalls can be seen

Although it is close to the border of Yamagata prefecture, I arrived in about 30 minutes from Sendai city due to the development of transportation.

The botanical gardens have wonderful flowers, fresh greenery and autumn leaves in each season(closed in winter), but in

addition there are two wonderful waterfalls that cannot be seen unless you enter here. A typical tourist will return home after seeing Akiu Otaki Big fall near here, but let’s step on the fallen leaves and find your wonderful autumn here.