“Early the next morning, we visited Shiogama Shrine, rebuilt by Masamune, Lord of Date, when he was governor of the province. The fine wooden pillars were of impressive girth, and the rafter beams were brightly painted. The shrine was at the top of a long flight of stone steps, and its vermilion lacquered fence was … Continue reading
Despite staying three nights in Sendai (仙台) I didn’t get to see all that much of it as I was using it as a base to visit other areas. Still, what I did see of Sendai I liked. It seemed like a very livable city, not too dissimilar to Nagoya really, and it’s certainly a … Continue reading
On Tuesday 3rd June I visited Shichigahama (七ヶ浜). Shichigahama is not a place many people will have heard of, but it’s been somewhere I’ve been aware of for the last few years since I first got involved with the charitable organisation Seven Beach Aid. Shichigahama, or ‘Seven Beach Town’, is home to the founder of … Continue reading
With still a week left in Japan, on 2nd June I set out on one of my most complicated journeys. One thing I had been determined to do when I had begun planning my trip around Tohoku was to travel down the Sanriku Coast – the coast hit by the tsunami in 2011. It’s hard … Continue reading
This week’s Weekly Photo Challenge is on the theme of ‘yellow’, and yesterday I just happened to pick up a brand new sunshiny addition to my kokeshi (こけし) doll family: ‘Yellow’ is making me think about this beautiful piece of craft right now. She’s my first yellow traditional kokeshi doll – most of my other … Continue reading
I know, I know… I really need to get these posts finished! I’m not quite sure where the year has gone, but back in June I was exploring Kamaishi (釜石) in Iwate Prefecture (岩手県) and now it’s about time I told you about it. Kamaishi was not a place I had heard of until 2011, … Continue reading
On Sunday 1st June I made an early start from Tono and headed along the Kamaishi Line on a little train that only runs every two hours to a fishing and industrial town called Kamaishi (釜石). Kamaishi hadn’t been on my original list of places to visit in Tohoku, but as I was planning my … Continue reading
昔々あるところに Mukashi mukashi, aru tokoro ni… Once upon a time, in a certain place… I woke up in a land full of fairytales – Tono (遠野) in Iwate Prefecture. My guide, Matsumoto-san, came to pick me up from my hotel around 10:30am, and she brought with her a fantastic taxi driver, Suzuki-san, who was tasked with … Continue reading
After reading The Legends of Tono by Kunio Yanagita and Tales from a Mountain Cave by Hisashi Inoue I knew I simply had to visit Tono (遠野) in Iwate Prefecture. So, on Friday 30th May I continued my Tohoku adventure and headed towards Tono. After quite a bit of hanging around due to local line trains … Continue reading
Has it really been almost 5 months since I woke up in Naruko Onsen after two peaceful nights and set off on the next part of my adventure? Time flies, doesn’t it? I really must get a wriggle on and finish sharing all these stories! So, it was 29th May and, after a delicious breakfast … Continue reading
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