Iwate prefecture | Japanese Countryside Travel Notes

2020-07-10

Kita-Yamazaki cliff viewpoint where eastern wind blows over the cold current from the north

The sea near Iwate Prefecture is a good fishing ground where cold and warm currents intersect. In addition, the ‘rias’ coast has deep natural coves created by the sinking of mountains, making it a natural good port, and the fishing industry has developed in combination with good fishing grounds.
I learned the above when I was in elementary　school, but I came here to learn that the northern half is actually a raised coast. The coast of Kita-Sanriku has a series of cliffs, and there is no very good natural port. It means that there are many things you can not understand unless you come.

The Nedari-hama promenade is a short, but refreshing, private beach-like shore and is a part of Michinoku Coastal Trail

Anmo-ura cliff and waterfall that directly falls into the sea (photo below)

Kita-Yamazaki cliff viewpoint, where eastern wind blows over the cold current from the north, becomes thick fog and you can’t see anything easily, but if you don’t give up, you can open your view as you descend to the observatory below the cliff. However, going uphill is tight.

Fudai Sluice: The scars of the Great East Japan Earthquake

The Fudai sluice on the way to Kita-Yamazaki was built from the lessons learned by the victims of the two tsunamis. Convincing the opposition, a 15.5-meter-hight lock was built at 300 meters from the river mouth over a 12-year period. The tsunami exceeded this during the Great East Japan Earthquake, but the town of Fudai located upstream of the floodgate escaped.

2020-07-09

Don’t miss the coastal scenery. Sanriku Railway does not run along the sea than expected.

National railways have been privatized and local lines have been abolished. With the advent of the society of motorization, the abolition of local lines continues. But wonder why, the train running in the countryside even on a single-car train gives us courage. That is Sanriku Railway, we call ‘Santetsu’ with friendliness. It run on the remaining section five days after the Great East Japan Earthquake, also overcoming the damage caused by the typhoon in 2019 and impressing us.

It was originally built to deliver goods in the event of a disaster, so there are few sections where you can see the sea from the train window. What’s more, unfortunately, the section where the sea can be seen is valuable because of the construction of a seawall to prevent a tsunami after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Rikuchu-noda station to Horinai station is a valuable section, so take a look at the sea. Note that the station name is also included in the drama settings. It’s complicated……

Salt, scallops and kelp are recommended in this region.

2020-07-09

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. 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 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

2020-07-08

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 know this story, you cannot enjoy Kuji City and Sanriku Railway enough.

‘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

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 .

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.

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

2020-07-052020-07-05

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

2020-07-052020-07-05

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 (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.

2020-07-042020-07-24

Visit stages of Tono Story before/after festival

Preliminary preparation is essential to enjoy Tono truly. Tono Story is compiled by Kunio Yanagita for more than 100 stories told by mouth, but they are all unsatisfactory because of lack of succession. Am I the only one who feels like the story is cut off? Even so, when I came to this land, it was strangely convinced that such a strange thing happened.

<example1> God hides the child
At twilight, the girl disappeared suddenly, and thirty years later, when her relatives were gathering at her house, she suddenly reappeared, but she soon left somewhere……. So what happened then? I do not understand the continuation of the story.

<example2> Kappa
While washing the horses in the river, a kappa came out and tried to pull the horse into the abyss. Kappa, who was caught by a villager and said to kill him, apologized mysteriously saying “I’ll never be bad again”, so the villager felt sorry for him and let the kappa go off. Then Kappa stopped playing mischief……… So what happened then? I do not understand the continuation of the story.

Kappa is said to be apparition (ghost), abandoned baby, etc. Historically, there is a theory that the Lord moved from Hachinohe with Kappa living at Kushibiki Hachimangu Shrine in Hachinohe. At the entrance to the shrine, a dog is usually a guardian, but in Tono this is the kappa. The Tono Kappa likes cucumbers, and the Tono city issues a capture permission (This is true!).

<example3> an old man
In order to secure food for the family, an old man, over 60 years old, was moved to a land called Denderano. He not only waited for his death, but also went down to the village during the daytime to engage in farm work and live……. It’s a thought-provoking story.

Please find your mysterious story and favorite landscape in Tono countryside !

Gallery (click photos)

tono countryside

tono guardian kappa

tono Kappa abyss

tono hop

tono grapes

tono arakamisama in aozasa

tono denderano

tono konseisama

tono unstable stone

Roadside Rest Area ‘Wind Hill'(Welcome Festival event)

Here you can buy lunch boxes made by locals. Good assortment !

2020-07-032020-07-03

Geto Hot Spring is even unexplored area even in the countryside

If you compare the ranking of hot springs to sumo wrestling, this is said to be Yokozuna (Grand Champion) in the east. There are many original hot springs along the blue-white river, and fresh hot springs spring from the bottom of the wild bathtub. The hot springs are said to deteriorate from the moment they come into contact with the air, so it’s ideal because they come directly to the bathtub without touching the air. On the other hand, however, some hot springs are ridiculously hot, so be careful not to burn yourself. Another point to note is that you have to go down to the riverbed every time you want to enter any hot spring, so you will be exhausted to enter the hot spring. It may be because this is Yokozuna !

Hot spring cabin is dismantled before every winter so as not to be crushed by deep snow. Thank you for their hard work and enjoy the hot springs.

2020-07-022020-09-05

Motsuji-Temple, World Heritage, and Yoshitsune self-harm land overlooking the Kitakami River where basho wrote famous haiku

‘The Summer grasses / Of brave soldier’s dreams / The aftermath’

by Basho

Basho traveled to Tohoku district during the Edo period and left many famous haiku poems. One of them is the battlefield of the distant past. The view of the flowing Kitakami River where Basho wrote this haiku was impressed and too sad because this was just the place where Yoshitsune harmed himself being surrounded by his brother’s army and where the glory of Hiraizumi began to collapse. Almost the same fate as the one of Emishi was repeated.

Stories of Aterui and Yoshitsune in another post >read more

Motsuji Temple, World Heritage

It was said that Hiraizumi had the same scale and brilliance as the capital of Kyoto during its Golden Age. Being far from the political center brought peace and prosperity to Hiraizumi. The garden in Motsuji Temple has been restored and remind us of Uji-Byodoin Temple in Kyoto.

Gallery (click photos)

motsuji temple hagi

motsuji temple pond

motsuji temple garden

motsuji temple dragonfly

2020-06-302020-09-05

Chusonji Temple, World Heritage, where the highlights are connected by a too long slope, and finally arrive at the Golden Hall after getting tired

‘Eary summer rains / Fall not here / Temple of light’

by Basho

cyusonji temple basho — chusonji temple basho

Basho traveled to Tohoku district during the Edo period and left many famous haiku poems. One of them is the Chusonji Temple, especially the golden hall. The hall was shining with a dazzling light, which seemed to have prevented the rain. It may have something to do with the discovery in Tohoku as a result of exploring the whole country because a large amount of gold was needed to manufacture the Great Buddha of Todaiji Temple in the Nara era.

You can’t reach the golden hall unless you climb a fairly long slope. There are many highlights, so let’s save your physical strength. One of highlights I thought was the backpack ‘oi’ Benkei used when he came back to Hiraizumi to accompany his master Yoshitsune and escaped from the army of Yoshitsune’s brother Minamoto no Yoritomo. I was surprised that there was something like this. It was made of wood with ‘Kamakura’ carving. How ironic it is that the name of carving method came from the capital name where Yoritomo put the political center.

Here around Chusonji Temple is strategic region that have been important since ancient times. It was the forefront base when the Yamato Imperial Court was trying to expand its power to the north in Heian period, and it was also the forefront of Emishi defense. The captured leader of Emishi, Aterui, was killed in Kyoto, almost the same as the fate of Yoshitsune. You can look down on Japan’s oldest ancient battlefield from the place you climbed up, but the only trace is the lush river. Against this background, another Basho haiku has been created.

Fudai Sluice: The scars of the Great East Japan Earthquake

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

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Kosode Coast (click photos)

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Gallery (click photos)

Parade Video

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Gallery (click photos)

Roadside Rest Area ‘Wind Hill'(Welcome Festival event)

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Motsuji Temple, World Heritage

Gallery (click photos)

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