Festivals Up North

At the beginning of August, a friend and I went on a three day Japanese-style tour to the north of Japan. The trip was pretty much coach-based, but it was a good way to get a taste of what the north of Honshu has to offer. We were fortunate enough to have fantastic weather, and only got rained down upon on the coach during the journey back to Tokyo.

From Tokyo to Aomori, it takes 10 hours. I bought a snack from one of the service stations we stopped at:

 

[Steamed yellow and purple sweet potato cake]

On Day 1, we watched the Nebuta Festival in Aomori. The illuminated floats were fantastic, but compared to other festivals I've seen in Japan, the atmosphere didn't quite have that festive vibe to it.

On Day 2, we went to Lake Tanzawa in the Akita prefecture which was absolutely gorgeous, it was so clean and clear. We stopped by Kakunodate - traditional Japanese houses in a "Little Kyoto" setting - which I didn't find particularly interesting, before heading to Akita City to watch the Akita Kanko Festival.

 [Top: Fish in the lake; shrine by the lake. Bottom: Misotanbo = miso-glazed barbecued rice on a stick; Baba Hera ice-cream, tastes like it's bubblegum flavoured.]

[Akita City has a lovely park.]

The Kanko Festival was so much more exciting than the Nebuta Festival. Performers balanced bamboo poles hung with candle-lit lanterns on various parts of their bodies, and competed to see who could make theirs the tallest by adding more bamboo extensions to their poles. It was really exhilarating to watch.

Day 3, before starting the journey back to Tokyo, we visited Yamagata, where we checked out the Sankyo Soko Warehouses in Sakata, a seafood shop, and Mt.Haguro. With an hour's free time, I figured, I could climb up the two thousand-odd steps to the summit and back with time to spare for a persimmon snow cone. I was halfway there before I was forced to turn back. My mosquito magnetic powers were working as well as ever, and I wasn't geared for mosquito bite prevention. Yeah, it was disappointing, but hiking the three holy mountains in the area is on my to-do list, so I should be back.

Overall, I enjoyed the trip, as with most tours, it was a little rushed for time, but that was to be expected. Anyway, with all the eating and sitting, I'm sure I had gained weight from it all!