After our arrival on the main island of Honshu we could have taken a bullet train directly to Tokyo, but where is the fun in that? Instead we choose to spend a day checking out the city of Hirosaki, then taking a scenic train along the coast of the Sea of Japan.
Our first stop was a little brew pub in Aomori where you served yourself your beer. The snacks were tasty as well.In addition to the incredible sashimi I mentioned in my previous post, we also were educated in the proper way to pour sake. You pour until it overflows into the coaster under your glass. Sadly you can only get this local sake here. It was so smooth it was dangerous.The whole meal was an experience, even if was a bit overwhelming at times. The maximum seating in the restaurant was for 6 people.The next day we took a train to Hirosaki, then a bus to Hirosaki Castle. As chaotic as the bus looks to a foreigner, it is very easy to navigate. The drivers are very patient showing you what to do and the technology is well beyond what we normally experience in North America.Hirosaki Castle is quite small, but simply beautiful. The view of Mt. Iwaki in the background is quite breathtaking. The castle seems a little out of place in its current position. This is because they had to move it (using human muscle power) so repairs could be made to the stone wall it had been sitting on. One of the challenges of being in an area plagued by earthquakes. They had to use muscle power because it was not feasible to move heavy equipment to the location it was initially located.We enjoyed wandering around the grounds and being tourists.It seems the bridge shots never get old for us.We took the time to walk over to one of the temples and check out the pagoda. The combination of Buddhism and Shintoism is a nice change from the western religions we are usually exposed to.After enjoying our brief time in Aomori and Hirosaki we boarded what is called a Joyful Train for a scenic trip down the northwest coast of Honshu. The train was lovely and the trip went at a slow and comfortable pace. They even slow down at certain points to allow you extra time to enjoy the views. Though it was a good trip, sadly I would not call it epic. However, any day on a train is time well spent in my books.One of the very cool aspects of the trip was the live Japanese music played in our car for about an hour of the trip. Most enjoyable.At one point they stop the train and gave us 15 minutes to walk to the shoreline and dip a toe in the Sea of Japan. Kind of neat, if not a little bit windy.I love the fact that business people acknowledge your business here. Whether it is departing a restaurant and having the staff hurry to the door to thank you for the business, or the hawkers waving to you after they have departed the train and you are pulling away. Something about this just makes me smile.We arrived in Akita (yes, where the dog breed originates) without any excitement. We were able to spend a few hours here wandering around before our connecting train departed.As we walked into a mall we came upon a Pole Lantern demonstration. I guess a big festival is coming up and they were doing some advertising/practicing.I was impressed watching the drummers.When it was time to board the Shinkansen (bullet train) I was quite excited. Because it was a longer trip we decided to book green car (1st class) tickets.It was so worth it.
Our arrival in Tokyo was undramatic and on time, to the second. We are glad we took the time to get a little acclimatized to Japanese culture before getting dropped in the epicentre of people and activity. Stay tuned for our introduction to the largest city in the world.
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