There has been a long break on this blog once again. Over the past two years, Tabimonogatari has been more dormant than I intended, even though the experiences that usually end up here have very much continued in the background.
In no time we reached day 5 of our New Year’s vacation. We spent the whole day in Morioka and returned with fulfilled wishes and filled bellies to Tokyo in the evening.
On the fourth day, we visited Ryusendo Cave in Iwaizumi, one of Japan’s largest limestone caves. In the evening, we enjoyed memorable sashimi dinner in Morioka.
In just a few hours, we traded snow-covered mountains for the icy Pacific coast. Hachinohe, known for its fishery, welcomed us with serene moments at Kabushima Shrine and a taste of fresh seafood.
As a highlight of this trip we reserved a room in a secluded mountain ryokan high up in Yamagata’s mountains. The inn’s 4×4 minibus picked us up at the last stop of the public bus line. The unpaved mountain road at the end was so steep, most cars would have had trouble to climb it.
Our five day trip to Tohoku began with the sunrise over Tokyo’s skyline. Aizu-Wakamatsu checked all our boxes as a travel destination: called the Samurai city, the city was home to Samurai for a long time; until the Boshin war in 1848. We also looked forward to visiting Higashiyama Onsen, seeing the local crafts including lacquerware and of course the local cuisine and sake.
Happy 2024! Having transitioned into the New Year with Japanese customs, we began our 2024 with a vacation in the Tohoku region. Five prefectures in five days.
Season’s greetings! Today I want to introduce some of the Japanese Christmas celebrations and new year’s traditions.
On the afternoon of January 1st 2024 a strong earthquake occurred on the Japan Sea side of Japan. The strongest magnitude was recorded to be 7 in the Japanese scale with shaking being felt in the whole country.
In late November I had the chance to revisit Kyoto, a place I connect with many memories. Here is a list of scenic places I think have not been found by the typical Kyoto tourist yet.