Places Highlights
1. Kabushima Seagull Shrine
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| I've had enough encounters with these guys from this trip alone to last an entire lifetime... |
Japanese people tend to put shrines in places where naturally occurring phenomena take place. So, of course, they had to come to Kabushima Island and place a shrine in the area I like to call "Seagull Hell". I thought my middle school was infested with these guys, but I was sorely mistaken. Surprisingly, I entered and left this place unscathed, but Ryan and Kevin were blessed/targeted by the sacred seagulls: Kevin, on the back of his jacket and, poor Ryan, smack dab on his face. It was an interesting place to visit, but I'm definitely not returning any time soon.
2. Yagen Valley/Shimokita Peninsula
Our second trip to Eastern Aomori entailed going to the Shimokita Peninsula. Our main reason for going was to see Osorezan, one of the Oshu Sanreijou, considered the three holiest places in all of Tohoku. In case you were wondering, the other two places are called Dewa Sanzan (Yamagata Prefecture) and Kinkasan (Miyagi Prefecture).
Osorezan, literally Fear/Dread Mountain, is fabled to be the Buddist 'Gateway to Hell', where departed souls pass on their way to the underworld. It's totally understandable where they get these ideas from: the nearby Lake Usoriyama is too poisonous/sulfurous to swim in or drink (even the smell is quite atrocious...it's very similar to bad eggs); a yellow river (due to sulfur) believed to be a representation of the Sanzu River in Japanese mythology (considered to be the equivalent of the River Styx); and there are piles of rocks and Jizo statues everywhere that pay homage to the souls of children who have passed on before their parents.
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| The black-ish colored Lake Usoriyama |
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| The bridge over the Sanzu River |
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| Jizo statues |
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| The Main Temple area, which we paid 500円 to enter and explore around |
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| A panoramic view of the lake, temple, and rocky landscape |
3. Yagensou Ryokan
After our long hiking adventure through Osorezan, we drove on over to the small ryokan (traditional Japanese-style hotel) where we stayed for the night. The super friendly owner invited us in and we had some tea and wagashi (Japanese sweets) while (mostly) Ryan chatted with her. She told us that we had about an hour before dinner was ready, so we hung out at a nearby onsen to kill some time.
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| Yagensou (outside) |
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| My side of the onsen |
When we got back, dinner was served~! Aaaaand it was a FEAST. Both dinner and breakfast were phenomenal. To top it off, we ate the meals in yukata, completing the Japanese dining experience :] I'd totally recommend this place to anyone who wants to visit the area!
4. Wild Horses near the Shiriyazaki Lighthouse
After our trip to Ouma, we visited Cape Shiriyazaki, where wild horses (called kandachime) roam the pastures near the lighthouse, grazing for food. They are quite the gentle giants. You could even get close enough to pet them! They aren't scary at all, but I was nervous to touch them because, had they decided to attack me, it would have been GAME OVER, considering those beastly muscles of theirs...
Food Highlights
1. Matabe Ramen
On our first trip west towards Hachinohe, we had lunch at Matabei Ramen. This place gets very crowded around lunch-time because of their tasty, cheap ramen. In fact, I think they only have that one ramen on their menu! However, you can decide the size of the bowl: medium, large, or extra-large.
I'm glad we got there early...it seemed like we got there just before the afternoon lunch rush! We were seated and served very quickly. The fishy shoyu soup was a bit much for Kevin, but everyone else really loved it. On the bottom of each bowl, "マタベイ！" is written, which means "See you again!" in Tsugaru dialect. How cute! :]
2. Milkshakes
After our trip to Matabe, we stopped by a small rest stop (みちのこ) that's popular for their milkshakes. Maybe it's because I haven't had a milkshake since I left the states, but these shakes tasted so good! I got a strawberry chocolate shake and Ryan ordered a coffee-flavored one. They were reminiscent of In-N-Out milkshakes: rich, thick, and delicious! At first, I thought it was a bit small for the price (~￥400), but it ended up being the perfect sized dessert after lunch.
3. Okonomiyaki
On our way back from Seagull Land, we decided to hit up Doutonbori, a chain okonomiyaki/monjayaki restaurant that greets all guests loudly with an "Irasshaimasei! Pon-poko-po~n" when you enter and a "pon-poko-po~n!" whenever you finish ordering something! Quite adorable and incredibly catchy...
Okonomiyaki is one of the famous street-food specialties of the Osaka region. In particular, there's an area in Shinsaibashi, Osaka, called Dotonbori, the eponymous street which this restaurant is named after. Okonomiyaki is often referred to as "Japanese pizza". As the name implies ("okonomi" means "what you like" and "yaki" means "grilled/baked"), there are many flavors and toppings that you can put on/in it! Monjayaki is pretty much the same thing as okonomiyaki, but with a more liquidy batter. We grilled up 4 different kinds of food...and by the end of the night, we left full and happy.
4. Ouma Maguro
On our Shimokita Peninsula trip, we stopped by Ouma, a town famous for its tuna-fishing. Some of the tuna caught here have been sold for 30,000,000 yen ($300,000). The most expensive tuna from this area has sold for 350,000,000 yen, which is 3.5 million dollars! That had better be some godly tuna!!! Anyways, we just had to try out some of this town's famed tuna for ourselves. Ryan and I ordered a tuna bowl featuring some cuts of medium-fat tuna and high-fat tuna. Kevin went with some tuna curry! It was expensive, but well worth it. It just melted in my mouth...~
5. Gyoza
For my last meal in Aomori before heading back to Nagano, Ryan took us to a little gyoza shop near Aomori Station. Even though it was pretty small, it had a very homey feel to it: the waitresses were really friendly, the gyoza was crispy and flavorful, and the drunk guy who sat next to us seemed super excited to have the opportunity to chat with us. He even bought a drink for Kevin~
So concludes my long-overdue trilogy of posts about our awesome Golden Week Vacation. Hopefully I'll have a few more blog posts out before our upcoming trip to Hakone and Kansai! Thanks for reading!
Other Notable Highlights of the GW Trip Pt.3
1. Getting nokedon at the start of the trip. Nokedon is always, always, always going to be a highlight for me. ^__^
2. Getting 20 apples for 300 yen in Asamushi Onsen
3. Seeing Ryan get embarrassed over his students getting excited that I was there with him at the hanami festival in Gappo Park
4. Almost dying because an idiot driving a black car decided to make a 3 point turn on an unlit highway at night...
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| Dinner at the Ryokan (there is mushroom soup (10 different kinds of wild mushrooms), grilled fish, cantalope [which the Japanese simply call "melon"], mountain vegetables, sashimi, clam, ginger, salad, and soup) |
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| Breakfast at the Ryokan (a pot that has a steamed egg and ham inside, grilled fish, a tangerine, a super goopy food called nagaimo, squid sashimi, a yogurt drink, seaweed, picked cucumber, picked eggplant, and pickled plum, and miso soup) |
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| Yagensou (inside) After the meal, a happy and full Ryan napped on my lap. |
4. Wild Horses near the Shiriyazaki Lighthouse
After our trip to Ouma, we visited Cape Shiriyazaki, where wild horses (called kandachime) roam the pastures near the lighthouse, grazing for food. They are quite the gentle giants. You could even get close enough to pet them! They aren't scary at all, but I was nervous to touch them because, had they decided to attack me, it would have been GAME OVER, considering those beastly muscles of theirs...
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| Doesn't look that big here, but the video below will help give you a better idea of the size of these guys... |
Food Highlights
1. Matabe Ramen
On our first trip west towards Hachinohe, we had lunch at Matabei Ramen. This place gets very crowded around lunch-time because of their tasty, cheap ramen. In fact, I think they only have that one ramen on their menu! However, you can decide the size of the bowl: medium, large, or extra-large.
I'm glad we got there early...it seemed like we got there just before the afternoon lunch rush! We were seated and served very quickly. The fishy shoyu soup was a bit much for Kevin, but everyone else really loved it. On the bottom of each bowl, "マタベイ！" is written, which means "See you again!" in Tsugaru dialect. How cute! :]
2. Milkshakes
After our trip to Matabe, we stopped by a small rest stop (みちのこ) that's popular for their milkshakes. Maybe it's because I haven't had a milkshake since I left the states, but these shakes tasted so good! I got a strawberry chocolate shake and Ryan ordered a coffee-flavored one. They were reminiscent of In-N-Out milkshakes: rich, thick, and delicious! At first, I thought it was a bit small for the price (~￥400), but it ended up being the perfect sized dessert after lunch.
| Not my picture/shake, but this shows the shake size and has the shop in the background (the red signs) |
3. Okonomiyaki
On our way back from Seagull Land, we decided to hit up Doutonbori, a chain okonomiyaki/monjayaki restaurant that greets all guests loudly with an "Irasshaimasei! Pon-poko-po~n" when you enter and a "pon-poko-po~n!" whenever you finish ordering something! Quite adorable and incredibly catchy...
Okonomiyaki is one of the famous street-food specialties of the Osaka region. In particular, there's an area in Shinsaibashi, Osaka, called Dotonbori, the eponymous street which this restaurant is named after. Okonomiyaki is often referred to as "Japanese pizza". As the name implies ("okonomi" means "what you like" and "yaki" means "grilled/baked"), there are many flavors and toppings that you can put on/in it! Monjayaki is pretty much the same thing as okonomiyaki, but with a more liquidy batter. We grilled up 4 different kinds of food...and by the end of the night, we left full and happy.
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| Waiting eagerly in anticipation for the okonomiyaki to finish cooking... |
4. Ouma Maguro
On our Shimokita Peninsula trip, we stopped by Ouma, a town famous for its tuna-fishing. Some of the tuna caught here have been sold for 30,000,000 yen ($300,000). The most expensive tuna from this area has sold for 350,000,000 yen, which is 3.5 million dollars! That had better be some godly tuna!!! Anyways, we just had to try out some of this town's famed tuna for ourselves. Ryan and I ordered a tuna bowl featuring some cuts of medium-fat tuna and high-fat tuna. Kevin went with some tuna curry! It was expensive, but well worth it. It just melted in my mouth...~
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| Delicious, delicious fatty tuna~ |
5. Gyoza
For my last meal in Aomori before heading back to Nagano, Ryan took us to a little gyoza shop near Aomori Station. Even though it was pretty small, it had a very homey feel to it: the waitresses were really friendly, the gyoza was crispy and flavorful, and the drunk guy who sat next to us seemed super excited to have the opportunity to chat with us. He even bought a drink for Kevin~
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| Miso-flavored gyoza and black-colored gyoza |
So concludes my long-overdue trilogy of posts about our awesome Golden Week Vacation. Hopefully I'll have a few more blog posts out before our upcoming trip to Hakone and Kansai! Thanks for reading!
Other Notable Highlights of the GW Trip Pt.3
1. Getting nokedon at the start of the trip. Nokedon is always, always, always going to be a highlight for me. ^__^
2. Getting 20 apples for 300 yen in Asamushi Onsen
3. Seeing Ryan get embarrassed over his students getting excited that I was there with him at the hanami festival in Gappo Park
4. Almost dying because an idiot driving a black car decided to make a 3 point turn on an unlit highway at night...
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