Akita prefecture | 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

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akita kanto3 pose

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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

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akita competition7 change position each 30sec

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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.

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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

2021-02-052021-02-05

Craft Balloon Festival

During craft balloon festival people return from urban to reunite with family. Their wishes drawn on the balloons by themselves will come true with craft balloon lift-up. People including tourists participated releasing balloons. It was a fantastic moment !

Many balloons stay in the night sky and eventually disappear into the mountains.
What will happen to the balloon blown away at last ? “Maybe falling in the deep mountains”, local people said.
*) Caution
It was too cold not to stay venue long time.

2021-02-032021-02-03

Construction of snow house

‘Snow house’ named as ‘KAMAKURA’ in Japanese is a famous play spot among children. They enjoy eating something and playing games in the house. The water God is enshrined inside for wishing coming Spring to bring a lot of water to fields.
Even if not during festival period, we enjoyed a permanent ‘snow house’ in a huge refrigerator. Children inside surround fireplace and look warm, but never warm rather cold !

Just then, people were constructing snow houses here and there in YOKOTE city. First making a snow circle mountain by hand, next making a side hole.

2021-01-302021-01-30

Tug of War

To tell the truth, we could not participate in the tug of war because of Craft Balloon festival held on the same night, so enjoyed tranquility in advance of fight in front of ropes enshrined in the center of town.

KARIWANO is a small town. The residence are divided into 2 groups at this event and fight. Tourist participant is free but no guarantee of accident.

At the next time challenging the exciting match, I would like to make a question, “How do you ensure equality on volume of participants between 2 groups?”

Japanese style hotel 'shouho-en' — Japanese style hotel ‘shouho-en’ near Kariwano

2021-01-282021-01-28

Amekko Market

‘Amekko’, meaning candy in local pronunciation language, helps us healthy to protect catching a cold especially in winter season because licking candy makes your throat moist.
Furthermore in this market, all elements of products and culture in OHDATE city are found.

Akita dog(inu) is a friend of hunting and famous for ’Faithful dog HACHIKO’ statue on Sibuya scramble crossing waiting several years for his owner return. OHDATE is focusing on breeding Akita dogs. This was the first time to look at such a lot of Akita dogs on the parade in the festival !

craft work 'Magari-Wappa' — craft work ‘Magari-Wappa’

Long winter season made people trapped in deep snow produces ‘craft work using Akita beautiful cedar’ , the effect of which is bactericidal and moisture proof for food.

The best detour

Huge dram, the radius of which is about 2 meter, could call thunder to make it rain wishing for a good harvest. That’s why a dram became huge. You can enjoy the demonstration and self-playing all season except for summer festival.

2021-01-192021-01-28

NAMAHAGE Festival

NAMAHAGE Festival held during 3 days is composed of Shintoism, ‘Drama where NAMAHAGEs visit your home’, ’’Ancient dram music’ and NAMAHAGE parade. A lot of kinds of NAMAHAGE are found and they were told to come here from north foreign countries.
Coordination in advance of early check-in and early dinner in your hotel and transportation to reach the venue are strongly recommended for the best place to enjoy NAMAHAGE Festival.

’Drama where NAMAHAGE visiting your home’

This video is one scene of NAMAHAGE festival. NAMAHAGE could visit your home to scold lazy children in winter season because they stay away from the fireplace. After scolding, Japanese SAKE is served as a sigh of gratitude.

’Ancient dram music performed by NAMAHAGEs’

Ancient dram music was played and performed in the heavy snow ! Except for in the winter season, you could enjoy these performance in the theater near hot-spring town. Take care of your place or positioning if you would like to record real performance in the festival.

2021-01-152021-01-28

Cape Shiosezaki at OGA Peninsula

You can find Godzilla natural sculpture. and his tail, etc. at Geosite of Cape Shiosezaki. Wind was very very strong !
Stopping by at this cape could be a good approach to OGA Peninsula and ‘NAMAHAGE’ Festival !

2021-01-142021-01-20

Sacred fountain origin of fresh water

You can reach sacred site through 15min. walk from the entrance of public water plant. Fresh water is mild, soft and warm in winter, maybe surely cold in summer.
It’s amazing that drinking water is supplied to all residence in Oga city from this spring in the manner of spirit of equality through circle distributer.

2020-08-07

Hugging Gorge that means you cannot pass without really hugging people you pass by, true or not ?

I tried translating the name of this gorge into English without permission, so it became like this title. So, please do not search seriously with this name. Anyway in the old days, you couldn’t pass each other without hugging each other.
River Tamagawa flowing through this gorge is cobalt blue. It flows from Tamagawa Hot Spring* around Mt.Hachimantai, but since the strongly acidic water contains aluminum as a basic ion, the light with a short wavelength is scattered by its particles and the surface of water appears blue. For the same reason, the water in Lake Tazawa looks blue due to injection of water of River Tamagawa long ago.
If you go sightseeing near here, you will definitely go to the famous Kakunodate with old samurai residence, but as a countryside lover, you should definitely visit the gorge that makes you feel the traces of a volcano.

*)A hot spring that warms your body with geothermal heat while wearing clothes in a sulfur-rich crater is worth a try. Simply lay a straw rug on the ground and lie on your back. You can also enjoy a bathing style where you just put your head out of a box filled with steam.

Gallery (click photos)

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Hugging valley1

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Hugging valley6 waterfall

Hugging valley7 waterfall

2020-08-062020-09-21

Lake Tazawa which looks like a tropical beach is mysterious

It is uncertain that Lake Tazawa is the site of a caldera volcano. However, the lake is surrounded by outer ring mountains at the same altitude, but the bottom of the lake is lower than the sea level. It means that the bottom of the lake is the same or more deep from the surface of the lake to the height of outer ring mountains. It is a mystery where the volcanic product of such a volume were accumulated, so it has not ever been confirmed that Lake Tazawa came from caldera volcano or not.

The lake is so acidic that few fish live in it by drawing in the strong acidic hot spring water artificially. The moment the young girl realized her beauty, she realized that she would grow older. The water of the fountain that she drank according to a message from God to keep her good looks turned her into a dragon, from which the name of Lake Tazawa came. I was convinced by this legend when I looked at the lake that showed the mysterious blue gradation.