Exploring Iwate

This week in Exploring Japan, we look at Iwate Prefecture, one of the prefectures severely damaged by the 2011 tsunami.

Iwate is in the Tohoku region on the eastern side, facing the Pacific Ocean.  It’s one of the nearest prefectures to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake.  The population is 1,330,530.  Morioka is the capital city.  The 5 largest cities are:

1. Morioka (300,740)
2. Ichinoseki (128,571)
3. Oshu (127,804)
4. Hanamaki (102,455)
5. Kitakami (93,142)

Iwate’s population has been dropping for many years, as people move away to the big cities. Many of the coastal cities and towns have been severely damaged or destroyed due to the tsunami. It’s safe to visit those areas now, but the cleanup and rebuilding continue. If you do visit the coastal regions, be sure to spend some money to help the local economy.

Castles

Morioka Castle in Morioka was one of those castles built without a main tower.  Instead, a turret was built.  However, all buildings were demolished during the Meiji Restoration, and nothing has been rebuilt.  However, the stone walls made of white granite remain and Iwate Park occupies the castle grounds.

Things to see and do

I never really knew much about Iwate, other than the fact that Morioka is the sister city of Victoria, BC, where I went to university.  But I understand that there’s some amazing skiing in Iwate.

Morioka has a great view of Mt. Iwate.  But what is there to do?  You could visit Morioka Zoo.  There are a couple of festivals that seem quite interesting.  The big one is Sansa Odori, which is the taiko drum festival in summer, and supposedly has 100,000 participants.  Chagu Chagu Umakko is a parade with around 100 horses that are decorated.  Iwate Museum of Art has some local art. Hoonji looks to be an interesting Zen Temple.

Hachimantai is a small city that is known for just one thing, All Season Resort APPI.

Hanamaki has some hot springs, and also the Kenji Miyazawa Museum.  There are some festivals, such as Hanamaki Matsuri, which has many synchronized dances, including the dance of the deer (Shishi Odori).

Hiraizumi is probably the biggest attraction in Iwate.  Several sites in this town became a World Heritage Site in 2011.  It rivaled Kyoto in size at one time.  Chusonji temple is famous for its Golden Hall.  Motsuji temple is known for its Pure Land Garden. Kanjizaio-in Ato was a garden, but is now more of a park.  Muryoko-in Ato used to be a temple, but only the pond remains. Yanaginogosho Iseki is the site of the former palace, though only the foundation and pond remain. The final World Heritage Site is Mt. Kinkeisan, where Buddhist sutras were once buried.  There are other attractions, as well.  Takkoku no Iwaya Bishamon-do is a cave temple that looks very interesting.

Ichinoseki has some interesting sights.  There are a couple of gorges that look worth seeing, including Genbikei and Geibikei.  Tsuriyama is a hill that is supposed to be beautiful when cherry trees are blooming.  Haishiwa Shrine is at the top of a hill with huge trees and very long staircase.  The Yuugendou caves also look quite interesting.

Iwaizumi, a small town, is famous for its caves.  Ryusendo is one of the largest limestone caves in Japan.  There’s also the Sugawatari Tankendo Cave and the Kumanohana Observatory.

Tono is a small city that’s famous for its folktales.  The Folk Villages are traditionally built and have artisans making traditional crafts. The largest is Tono Furusato Village.  There are a couple of museums, the Tono Municipal Museum and the Tono Castle Town Materials Museum.  Fukusenji temple has a five storey pagoda that’s apparently quite beautiful. Jokenji temple has Kappabuchi, a pond that is said to be the home of kappa, which are mythical water creatures.

I would list some other cities or towns, but those that have been omitted were damaged so severely that the sites likely don’t exist anymore.  If they do still exist or have been rebuilt or restarted, please leave a comment.

Food

Wanko Soba is a popular dish that consists of a small portion of soba noodles and some condiments.  It’s also popular to eat it as all-you-can-eat.

Have you been to Iwate? Did I miss anything?  Leave your recommendations in the comments.

Isehara Manhole Cover

Isehara city’s manhole covers are some of the busier ones I’ve seen.  What I mean is that there are 3 symbols rather than just one.  Featured prominently is a mountain, Oyama.  It’s a great mountain to hike on, and offers some nice views.  Also, the flower is Isehara’s city flower, the Chinese bellflower.  The last symbol is the bird.  It’s the city’s offical bird, the copper pheasant.  Japan’s manhole covers continue to be very interesting.

This is a colourful manhole cover.

Exploring Ishikawa

The next prefecture in Exploring Japan is in the Chubu region, Ishikawa.

Ishikawa Prefecture is on the Japan Sea side of Honshu and much of it extends out into the sea on the Noto Peninsula.  It’s very historic and there are many natural places.  The population is 1,168,929.  The capital is Kanazawa.  The five biggest cities are:

1. Kanazawa (462,478)
2. Hakusan (110,654)
3. Komatsu (109,285)
4. Kaga (73,492)
5. Nanao (58,204)

The population of Ishikawa is dropping, similar to many prefectures, though Kanazawa is growing.

Castles

Kanazawa Castle in Kanazawa was once a very impressive castle.  Today, several buildings have been reconstructed using traditional methods, so they are quite authentic looking.  They were reconstructed only recently, starting in 1999.

Things to see and do

Ishikawa Prefecture is one place I’ve always wanted to see because of the beautiful scenery on the Noto Peninsula, but also because of the historical districts in Kanazawa.

Kanazawa is probably one of the best cities in Japan to see very well preserved historic districts.  Arriving in Kanazawa by train, you’ll notice the amazing architecture of Kanazawa Station and the Tsuzumimon, a massive gate that was completed in 2005.  Probably the best place to see is Kenrokuen, one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan.  The Nagamachi Samurai District is a great place to walk around in with very well preserved buildings.  Higashi-Chayamachi is a famous geisha district with many of the houses still in use.  Kazuemachi and Nishi-Chayamachi are other districts with well-preserved and restored geisha houses.  There are several temples and shrines worth seeing, as well.  Myoryuji, or the Ninja Temple (actually not related to ninja) seems like a very interesting place to tour.  Oyama Shrine has stained glass windows.  Tentokuin was the largest temple in Kanazawa during the Edo Period. Daijoji is an old Zen Buddhist temple that is very active. The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art seems interesting. I’d also like to see the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum.  Of the festivals in Kanazawa, it seems that the Hyakuman-goku Festival is the one to see in early June.

Hakusan is probably best known for Hakusan National Park.

Kaga has some great natural beauty.  There are also several museums, such as Kitamaebune Ship Museum, Nakaya Ukichiro Museum of Snow and Ice, and Nippon Origami Museum.  There are also plenty of hot springs. Kaga is famous for its porcelain, so the Kutaniyaki Art Museum and Kiln Museum are good to see.

In Komatsu, the popular place to go is Nata-dera Temple, which has beautiful grounds and caves. You can also see the Motorcar Museum of Japan, which has 500 working cars.  Yunokunino Mori is a resort with plenty of traditional architecture to see.  Rojo Park is a beautiful park to see.

Nanao is the main city on the Noto Peninsula.  Here, you can see the Notojima Glass Art Museum, Le Musee de H Confectionary Museum, and the Nanao Art Museum.  All seem to be pretty interesting.  Nanao Castle Ruins has  very little in the way of ruins, but has a great view of the bay.  The Seihakusai Dekayama Festival looks very interesting with its huge floats. Notojima Aquarium looks to be pretty good. The Issaki Houtou Festival also looks interesting with its massive floats.

Wajima is a small city known for its lacquerware. It’s also known for its lanterns, so you can visit the Kiriko Museum or see the Wajima Taisai, a festival in which they carry large kiriko lanterns.  Also, along the coast is the 1000 Rice Fields, or Senmaida.  It’s a very scenic place with 1004 rice fields on a hillside.

Hakui is a small city that is famous for being the UFO capital of Japan.  There are a couple of things to see, the UFO Museum and the Sumo Festival in September.

Food

Ishikawa is well-known for its seafood.  There are many different fish and other seafood available, depending on what’s in season.  The Noto Peninsula is known for oysters.  Also, a popular local dish is Noto-don, a kind of donburi (rice bowl) dish that uses only local ingredients.  And finally, you can try Wagashi, a kind of sweet that’s made of rice and sweet bean paste.

Have you been to Ishikawa?  What do you recommend?

Carp Flags at Shirahata Shrine

Yesterday was Kodomo no Hi (子供の日) or Children’s Day in Japan.  It’s a holiday that celebrates children and their happiness.  During this holiday, people string up carp flags/streamers, or koi nobori.  Basically, they’re a kind of wind sock.  I visited Shirahata Shrine (白幡神社) in Fujisawa, near Fujisawa-honmachi Station, and was treated to a large number of very big koi nobori.  Have a look.

The shrine gate.

Those are some big streamers.

Caught in the wind.

White wisteria.

Looking up.

Going up to the main hall.

The main hall with glare from the sun.

Koi nobori from the main hall.

I hope all the children will be strong this year.

Adventures at the Hospital

Reblogged from Foreign Dad in Japan:

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The last few days have been a blur.  So much has happened.

I should begin by saying that April had been one of the more difficult months for us, because Tomoe had caught a cold twice in the first half of the month, requiring us to take a lot of extra care of her.  She'd been to the doctor several times, had to stay at home with a very expensive babysitter on the weekends, and stay at a clinic's nursery on weekdays that she had a fever. 

Read more… 1,575 more words

This shows a bit of an account of what it's like to use the hospital system in Japan. Very annoying thing is that the first hospital we tried has an ER that closes at 11 pm. We were told not to use an ambulance unless it's an emergency. Use a taxi. We did, and we wasted our time and money to go to a hospital that's closed. We were quite fed up with that, so we did get an ambulance. Glad we did, because there was a possibility of a very serious medical problem.

Exploring Ibaraki

This week on Exploring Japan, we return to the northern part of Kanto with Ibaraki Prefecture.

Ibaraki Prefecture is in the northeastern part of the Kanto region, and it’s mostly flat with many lakes.  It’s on the Pacific Ocean, so there are many beaches that are popular for surfing.  The population is 2,964,141.  The capital of Ibaraki is Mito.  The 5 largest cities are:

1. Mito (265,993)
2. Tsukuba (217,315)
3. Hitachi (189,956)
4. Hitachinaka (157,060)
5. Tsuchiura (144,399)

The population of Ibaraki is fairly stable, though some cities are decreasing in population.  Others, such as Tsukuba, are growing quickly.  Ibaraki is also often mispronounced as Ibaragi.  I hear it all the time.  But it is Ibaraki.

Castles

Sakasai Castle is in Bando city, and is a rather recent reconstruction.  Apparently, it’s a pretty nice looking reconstruction, though not terribly impressive as far as size goes.  But it seems interesting.  Also, it isn’t easy to access.

Tsuchiura Castle in Tsuchiura doesn’t have much, but there is a gate still remaining.

Kasama Castle in Kasama has a couple gates and a turret remaining, but not much else.  However, it seems that some money has been allocated to do a survey of the castle grounds.

Ibaraki surprisingly has very little left in terms of castles.  Most have been almost completely destroyed.

Sports

In J League soccer, there are 2 teams in Ibaraki.  They are Kashima Antlers in Kashima and Mito HollyHock in Mito.

Things to see and do

Ibaraki always seems to me to have few things to see and do.  I know about Mt. Tsukuba, which I’ve wanted to hike up, but that’s about it.  But there is more!

Mito, the capital city, has a lot of historic sites.  It’s home to the Mito Domain, with the very influential Tokugawa Mitsukuni (or Mito Komon) as the daimyo.  There’s a very well-known samurai drama on TV in Japan about him.  In Mito, there’s a Mito Komon Festival. Kairakuen Garden is one of Japan’s top 3 gardens, and is the major sight in the city.  It includes the Kobuntei, historic samurai residences, as well as Tokiwa Shrine.  In the shrine, there’s a small museum called the Giretsukan.  Mito Arts Foundation has a tower that commemorates the city’s 100th anniversary. The Tokugawa Art Museum houses art from the clan’s collection.

Kashima city is famous for its Kashima Shrine.

Tsukuba is known for its mountain, Mt. Tsukuba, which you can hike.  At the foot of the hiking path and cable car station is Tsukuba Shrine.  Along the way to the top of the mountain, there’s a large stone Buddha, but it’s on one of the longer trails.  At the top of the cable car, there are several shops and restaurants, while the summit is a short hike away.  The twin summit has a shrine and a frog-shaped rock.  In the city, you can visit the Tsukuba Space Center, which has free tours.  I really want to see that! Tsukuba city is a planned city that was designed to focus on scientific research, a project called Tsukuba Science City.

Food

Probably the most famous food to come out of Ibaraki is natto, sticky and smelly fermented soy beans.  It’s popular in the Kanto region, but not so popular elsewhere in Japan.

Have you visited Ibaraki?  What else would you recommend?