Travel Notes (Elements that make up a travel itinerary)

amber in kuji 90m years old
Kuji Amber Museum with jewels lighter, warmer and more expensive than expected!    jejeje!
Other amber mining sites are the Baltic coast and the Dominican Republic, but only 90 million years ago is Kuji.  Read more
amachan headmark
Amachan(woman shell diver) World!  jejeje!  in Kosode Coast (Kuji City)
'Amachan' is a TV drama that lasted for half a year in 2013 after the earthquake, and if you don't Read more
harbor
Super huge market appears on the quay from too early morning(before dawn)
On Sundays, Japan's largest morning market appears on a wide quay, like runways, where I really went except Sunday but Read more
ashige right
walk on Tanesashi Coast with abundant landscape changes for 4 hours
Tanesashi Coast is not monotonous. There are reefs, sandy beaches, and green pine forests.  And finally there is the natural Read more
deer and human dance
Parade composed by various folk entertainment at Tono Festival
Each community in Tono city showcases traditional performing arts, for example, Kagura dance, Deer dance, Tiger dance, Sansa dance, etc. Read more
horseback archery1
horseback archery followed by certification horse riding (here is characteristic!) in Tono-go Hachimangu shrine at Tono Festival
The origin of Tono horseback archery (Yabusame in Japanese) is in Kamakura (Tsuruoka Hachimangu shrine).  It was brought to Tono Read more

Kuji Amber Museum with jewels lighter, warmer and more expensive than expected!    jejeje!

amber art in russia
amber art in russia

Other amber mining sites are the Baltic coast and the Dominican Republic, but only 90 million years ago is Kuji.  At that time, it was just the age of dinosaurs, and the sap became fossils over a long period of time.  Furthermore, it is an event before the Japanese archipelago was torn from Eurasia and evidence that Kuji was part of Eurasia.

 

 

 

amber jewel gemstone
amber jewel gemstone

Amber was discovered as a jewelry in the remains of 20,000 years ago, and is still an attractive gemstone.  Compared to mineral gemstones, they are much lighter and warmer than I expected due to their resin origin.
Amber with insects is even more expensive.  The fiction setting of the movie “Jurassic Park” is to extract dinosaur blood and DNA from mosquitoes in amber and restore real dinosaurs.   Maybe you could get a ticket to travel to the dinosaur era !    jejeje!

Samurai-Hama (Giant granite coast and pool in the drama)

samurai stone
samurai hama
samurai hama pool

sun rise at noda
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Amachan(woman shell diver) World!  jejeje!  in Kosode Coast (Kuji City)

billboard on kuji department store
billboard on kuji department store

‘Amachan’ is a TV drama that lasted for half a year in 2013 after the earthquake, and if you don’t know this story, you cannot enjoy Kuji City and Sanriku Railway enough.

 

real amachan
real amachan

‘Ama’ is a diver who takes shells and sea urchins in summer without using equipment.
The story is a village revitalization by a local idol(this is an ama !) in the countryside . On the other hand, a Tokyo entertainment agency to which an idol group like AKB48

amachan house
amachan house

belongs secretly attempts to find idols in the countryside, which reminds us of searching for amber gemstone, which is a special product of Kuji.  Due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, Kuji’s gemstones will return to their hometown and help to revive the village as an idol and ‘ama’.   Sanriku Railway carries longing for the city and frustration, the warmth of hometown.
‘Jejeje ! ‘ is a buzzword when surprised in this drama and spread all over Japan .

sea urchin lunch
sea urchin lunch

Many fans still visit the facilities that appear in the story near Kuji Station. I am one of them.  The sea urchin bento(lunch) at Kuji Station is a popular product and will soon be sold out. After all, the cooking method is steaming here as well as Hachinohe.

 

sold out sea urchin lunch
sold out sea urchin lunch

The scenic Kosode Coast is also a base for ‘ama’ activities, and good quality and cheap kelp is recommended.  There is a lighthouse where ‘Amachan’ jumped into the sea in the drama, but don’t try to imitate it.

Kosode Coast (click photos)

kosode coast 1
kosode coast 2
kosode coast 3 couple rock
jejeje monument
sakana kun on shikishi
lighthouse in kosode coast

sun rise at noda
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Super huge market appears on the quay from too early morning(before dawn)

morning market
morning market

On Sundays, Japan’s largest morning market appears on a wide quay, like runways, where I really went except Sunday but no one was there.

TEBASAKI sold out
TEBASAKI sold out

 

 

Most of the things sold at the morning market are local seafood, vegetables, and prepared foods, but here you can find toys, DIY, sewing corners, fishing gear and much more.

handicraft
handicraft

I wonder why they handle such things, but in short, it makes sense to think of it as a festival venue in the countryside.  Anyway, it is in a chaotic state.   Feel this energy !

 

beef skewers in market
beef skewers in market

 

Furthermore, since the morning market is held before dawn, everyone procures breakfast here.  It is also pure to close one after another after eight o’clock.

 

market in front of station
market in front of station

 

Even if you miss the morning market(Tatehana-Ganpeki) on Sunday, you can enjoy it here because another morning market is held every day in front of the station. There is a table where you can gather your own food for 100 yen and eat breakfast.

 

Hachinohe Line

When you get on the Hachinohe Line, you can feel the endless beach and the blue forest (that is, the origin of Aomori).

hachinohe line
hachinohe line
sun rise at noda
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enburi at brewery (1)
Go back to itinerary(Hachinohe where you can enjoy the four seasons)

walk on Tanesashi Coast with abundant landscape changes for 4 hours

Tanesashi Coast is not monotonous. There are reefs, sandy beaches, and green pine forests.  And finally there is the natural turf, which is mistaken for a completely artificial golf course.  Alpine plants grow along the coast because of the easterly wind blowing over the cold current from the north.

Panorama view from Ashigezaki (click photos)

ashige left
ashige middle not found hokkaido
ashige right

Root for 4 hours*

*)Community bus is available here and there on the root.

  1. start from ‘Same’ station. Not the ‘same’ but shark in the meaning.  Take a photo with the shark monument in front of the station. (walk next 15min)
  2. Kabu island is occupied by a lot of black-tailed gulls and the sacred shrine on the top of the island was turned white due to their activity !  (45min)
  3. Ashigezaki viewpoint is surrounded by reefs. It seems that Hokkaido can be seen if the weather is nice.  (10min)
  4. Nakasuka coast where It is unusual for various alpine plants to bloom (20min)
  5. Osuka coast is like a tropical country with too long sandy beaches. (90min)
  6. Yodo-no-Matsubara is green pine forest rising from the coastline.  On the way huge remarkable round ‘white rock’ comes into view.  ‘White’ came from activity of sea cormorants. (30min)
  7. The natural turf suddenly spreads in front of you. I wonder why such a large lawn was created. (Goal !)

I stopped by Tanesashi Coast Information center near the turf to get certification for walking 10km on Tanesashi Coast and a pin badge.
Before going back to Hachinohe from Tanesasi Coast station, I charged energy with sea urchin bowl.  Sea urchin is a food unique to this season and seems to be steamed rather than raw in this region.
How about taking public bath after walking exhausted.  There are a lot of bathes opening in the morning around Hachinohe harbor, so the sailors can always take a bath after coming back on a long trip.

Root Gallery (click photos)

shark station
kabu island
black tailed gulls aligned
ashigezaki viewpoint
ashige left
ashige middle not found hokkaido
ashige right
nakasuka coast 1
nakasuka coast 2
nakasuka coast 3
osuka coast 1
osuka coast 2
osuka coast 3
tanesashi coast 2nd floor rock
tanesashi coast 2
tanesashi coast 3
tanesashi coast 4 white rock
tanesashi coast 5
tanesashi coast 6
tanesashi coast 7
tanesashi coast 8
tanesashi coast nature turf
sea urchin bowl
public bath in the morning

sun rise at noda
Go back to itinerary(Sanriku-Coast in Summer)
enburi at brewery (1)
Go back to itinerary(Hachinohe where you can enjoy the four seasons)

Parade composed by various folk entertainment at Tono Festival

Each community in Tono city showcases traditional performing arts, for example, Kagura dance, Deer dance, Tiger dance, Sansa dance, etc.
We pay homage to the fact that many communities are maintained and traditional arts are inherited in Tono City, which has a population of only 30,000.

Let’s get mochi (rice ball) thrown from the mikoshi and deer hair after the deer dance for your good luck.  Never overdo it.

Gallery (click photos)

tono festival dance
tono festibal deer dance
at the end of deer dance
tono festival dance
tono festival dram
tono festival dance
tono festival mikoshi
tono festival dance

Parade Video

tono-go hachimanngu shrine
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morioka6
Go back to itinerary(Coloful and spiritual Festival in each region)

horseback archery followed by certification horse riding (here is characteristic!) in Tono-go Hachimangu shrine at Tono Festival

horseback archery back
horseback archery back

The origin of Tono horseback archery (Yabusame in Japanese) is in Kamakura (Tsuruoka Hachimangu shrine).  It was brought to Tono (Tono Hachimangu shrine) via Hachinohe (Kushibiki Hachimangu) in Aomori prefecture as well as ‘Kappa’ story.   But the distinguishing feature in Tono’s is that the another warrior runs to see if the previous warrior hits the target successfully or not.  If the arrow hits the target, he will yell out “Yo itariya (Good shooting) ! “, but it sounds like “Yo Italiano ! “.

Each warrior runs 3 times on the track and he shoots a bow three times on each run.

tono-go hachimanngu shrine
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