Introduction
Not many foreigners who have learned a little bit of Japanese can read the kanji for this place name as ”Hachi-nohe” from the beginning. If you translate this kanji directly into English, it’s “eight-homes,” so especially a Japanese real estate agent reads it as ”Hachi-ko,” but because it’s written in the alphabet, foreigners can read it exactly as “Hachi(8)-nohe.” “Nohe” is an old name for a unit of horse production area, and there are still other names such as Ni(2)-nohe, San(3)-nohe, and Go(5)-nohe. Cold winds blow from east-north direction even in summer in this area, making it unsuitable for cultivation. The Aizu clan, which lost in the Boshin War at the end of the Edo period, was moved further north to this area and renamed the Tonami clan. Therefore, there are many people in Hachinohe who are connected to Aizu.
Many places in this area have numbers in their names; for example, three eight castle Park written in kanji letter in the center of Hachinohe is read as Mi-ya-gi Park. In Nagasaki, there is a Go-san-yaki(five three baked, in kanji letter) castella, but it’s not a numbers game, but a good castella cake gets its name from the ratio of egg yolks to egg whites, 5:3.
Back to the main topic, Hachinohe has a long history, and while festivals in Tohoku are concentrated in the summer when the season is good, there are also festivals in the winter that you shouldn’t miss. Although it is not a festival, the morning market that fills the huge quay and is held every Sunday from spring to autumn is a world of chaos, like a festival plaza. The Tanesashi Coast, which follows the Sanriku Coast, has a wide variety of trekking courses. The seafood unloaded at the fishing port and the sushi made from it are extremely delicious. The public bath is open from early morning, as fishermen take a bath after returning from fishing in the morning. No matter what season you visit, you’ll have fun.
Detail
Winter season
“Enburi” is HIPHOP, a festival that has been going on for over 800 years to awaken spring.
It is a dance to pray for a good harvest by plowing the fields in the face of harsh nature, and the name “Enburi” comes from the agricultural tools used to plow the fields. The way they wear eboshi (eboshi hats) and violently shake their heads as they dance in a grand manner is reminiscent of HIPHOP dance.
Teams are formed in each region and the tunes and movements are passed down. Groups invited from the shopping district perform dances throughout the city, and the tourism association also holds events. We also visited two major sake breweries during the peak of sake brewing.
Spring season
Walk on Tanesashi Coast with abundant landscape changes for 4 hours
The Tanesashi Coast is not only constantly changing, but also has a unique coastline. There are trails along the coastline, and if you’re a little confident in your stamina, you can easily trek for 4 hours. This season is the best time to visit, as 30,000 black-tailed gulls, designated a natural monument, gather at Kabushima island (the starting point of trekking) in early spring, lay eggs, raise young, leave the nest, and leave in August. You should see Kabushima Shrine being taken over by black-tailed gulls.
Additionally, there is a loop bus that runs between Same (Jaws in English) Station and Taneshima Kaigan Station, so it is convenient to use this if you are feeling tired. The number of JR trains is limited, so you may not be able to return to Hachinohe if you don’t check timetable in advance.
Summer season
Hachinohe-Sansha Festival (Aomori Prefecture)
Many floats, which look like large stage equipment mounted on trucks, are pulled and people compete to see how flashy they are. All kinds of dolls and artifacts rise up to the top on the stage, unfold in a big way, and smoke is emitted from a smoke machine, which is mind-boggling. Those who used to watch the NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Song Battle) at the end of the year will remember Singer Sachiko Kobayashi’s stage costume (or rather, the costume was assimilated into the stage setting). Perhaps Sachiko Kobayashi saw this festival previously and came up with the song battle stage costumes.
The floats are so large that there is no point in allocating space for them along the street. In addition to the gorgeous floats, there will also be a soccer game (similar to polo) held on horseback at the shrine at the same time, so be sure not to miss it.
Autumn season
Super huge market appears on the quay from too early morning(before dawn)
The market is spread out all over the huge quay. In any case, I was surprised by the scale of the store and the opening hours, which starts before dawn and close around 8 o’clock. You won’t be able to see all the markets unless you stay in Hachinohe and rush by taxi while the sky is dark. The event is held on Sunday mornings from spring to autumn.
No one knows that Hachinohe alone has three national treasures.
The Jomon cultural area is located in an unexpected place. The Jomon ruins in Hokkaido and North-Tohoku, which have been registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are the best example of this. They lived for more than 10,000 years across the strait, creating the same cultural area. Here is a clay figurine with palms together in the shape of sitting with legs bent. This is one of Japan’s five national treasures displayed at the Korekawa Jomon Museum (Chino also has two of the five national treasure clay figurines, “Pregnant Jomon Venus” and “Masked goddess.”)
In addition, the armor and helmets from the Kamakura period and the Nanbokucho period that are owned by Kushibiki Hachimangu Shrine are more like gorgeous works of art than they are used for real fighting. We learn about the feelings of risking one’s life in a battle in a time when death was next to one.
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